Historian Dora Vargha and futurist Sohail Inayatullah sat down to think about the ways in which past pandemics have catalyzed radical change and sometimes contributed to further entrench inequalities, emphasizing that we need to ask “who's not in the room” when decisions about the future of health, wellbeing and health systems are made. In a strong call to action, they expose how in addition with other change drivers such as the push for well-being or urbanization, the COVID-19 pandemic could be a unique opportunity to shift towards more inclusive and more efficient health systems.