Health System Response to COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

Jai Prakash Narain,Natasha Dawa,Rajesh Bhatia

doi:10.1177/0972063420935538

Jai Prakash Narain, Natasha Dawa + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063420935538

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health and economic crisis of a scale never witnessed before. Beginning in China, it has within a few months devastated many countries around the globe, requiring an unprecedented mobilisation of health systems. While the disease caused by this novel virus is generally mild and self-limiting, the risk of severe disease is disproportionately high among elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. In the absence of a vaccine or treatment, the public health strategies include: (a) preventing transmission through early detection and isolation, tracing contacts and quarantining them and implementation of measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene and (b) reducing mortality by augmenting clinical management and shielding the most vulnerable populations in the society. The pandemic is yet another reminder that we need to invest in public health, ramp up national capacities to detect a disease early and respond rapidly to emerging infections, strengthen and respect our national institutions and rely on evidence base for policymaking. It is high time that we paid heed to these lessons and strengthened without any further delay our health system capacity, as epidemics and pandemics of this nature will continue to challenge public health well into the future.

Highlights

We are all in the midst of a global public health crisis that is moving at a speed and scale never witnessed before
The story began in Wuhan City of China in December 2019, when a cluster of unusual respiratory cases characterised by pneumonia was reported (Zhou, 2020; Zhu, 2020)
The cluster was ostensibly linked to a wholesale seafood and wet animal market in Wuhan—as if it was a common source outbreak

Summary

Introduction

We are all in the midst of a global public health crisis that is moving at a speed and scale never witnessed before. The story began in Wuhan City of China in December 2019, when a cluster of unusual respiratory cases characterised by pneumonia was reported (Zhou, 2020; Zhu, 2020). This heralded the emergence of a new or novel coronavirus, named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Gorbalenya et al, 2020) and the disease. A health system is, more than the pyramid of publicly owned facilities that deliver personal health services It includes, for example, a mother caring for a sick child at home; private providers; behaviour change programmes; vector-control campaigns; health insurance organizations; occupational health and safety legislation. Countries that have not yet experienced community transmission may by acting urgently and decisively, can slow down the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and have the time to prepare their health systems to mitigate the impact of the pandemic

Public health surveillance for early detection and rapid response

Findings

Implementing key public health measures