Fighting a war without weapons? Lessons from the COVID‐19 outbreak
TL;DR: In this paper, a global organization which stores and renews basic medical and personal protective equipment (MAPPE) would be beneficial in the fight against the next pandemic and that such an organization can be established without significantly increasing the public expenses of the countries.
Abstract: The recent pandemic of COVID‐19 revealed that a highly transmissible virus threatens all humanity because extensive mobility, migration, and millions of passengers who travel worldwide shape our globalized environment and make containment of a virus more difficult In a war between humans and viruses, we should have the necessary weapons, such as masks, gloves, ventilators, and so forth However, during the COVID‐19 outbreak, there was a shortage of this basic medical and personal protective equipment (MAPPE), even for the health workers This note focuses on this issue and suggests that a global organization, which stores and renews basic MAPPE would be beneficial in the fight against the next pandemic and that such an organization can be established without significantly increasing the public expenses of the countries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of World Medical & Health Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )
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TL;DR: This evidence map provides valuable insight on COVID-19-related healthcare needs of adult patients, their family members, and the professionals involved in their care during the first year of the pandemic.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and areas of need in health systems worldwide. This work aims to map the evidence on COVID-19-related healthcare needs of adult patients, their family members, and the professionals involved in their care during the first year of the pandemic. We searched the databases MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and assessed full texts for eligibility. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Descriptive data were extracted and inductive qualitative content analysis was used to generate codes and derive overarching themes. Thirty-six studies met inclusion criteria, with the majority reporting needs from the perspective of professionals (35/36). Professionals’ needs were grouped into three main clusters (basic, occupational, and psycho-socio-emotional needs); patients’ needs into four (basic, healthcare, psycho-socio-emotional, and other support needs); and family members’ needs into two (psycho-socio-emotional and communication needs). Transversal needs across subgroups were also identified and grouped into three main clusters (public safety, information and communication, and coordination and support needs). This evidence map provides valuable insight on COVID-19-related healthcare needs. More research is needed to assess first-person perspectives of patients and their families, examine whether needs differ by country or region, and evaluate how needs have evolved over time.
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TL;DR: A massive analysis of the impact of lockdown measures introduced in response to the spread of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on socioeconomic conditions of Italian citizens is presented and evidence of a segregation effect is found, since mobility contraction is stronger in municipalities in which inequality is higher and for those where individuals have lower income per capita.
Abstract: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, several national governments have applied lockdown restrictions to reduce the infection rate. Here we perform a massive analysis on near-real-time Italian mobility data provided by Facebook to investigate how lockdown strategies affect economic conditions of individuals and local governments. We model the change in mobility as an exogenous shock similar to a natural disaster. We identify two ways through which mobility restrictions affect Italian citizens. First, we find that the impact of lockdown is stronger in municipalities with higher fiscal capacity. Second, we find evidence of a segregation effect, since mobility contraction is stronger in municipalities in which inequality is higher and for those where individuals have lower income per capita. Our results highlight both the social costs of lockdown and a challenge of unprecedented intensity: On the one hand, the crisis is inducing a sharp reduction of fiscal revenues for both national and local governments; on the other hand, a significant fiscal effort is needed to sustain the most fragile individuals and to mitigate the increase in poverty and inequality induced by the lockdown.
708 citations
TL;DR: The global community is concerned about Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its long-term consequences and it is going to impact various spheres of life such as the economy, industries, global mar...
Abstract: The global community is concerned about Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its long-term consequences. It is going to impact various spheres of life such as the economy, industries, global mar...
464 citations
TL;DR: Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this study finds that cohorts in utero during the Pandemic exhibit impaired health outcomes relative to cohorts born a few months earlier or later, and suggests that changes to fetal health can have life-long effects.
Abstract: The fetal-origins hypothesis has recently achieved “textbook” status in medicine (see Colin D. Rudolph and Abraham M. Rudolph, 2003; David A. Warrell et al., 2003) and is drawing increasing attention from social scientists (e.g., Anne Case et al., 2005; Janet Currie and Enrico Moretti, 2005). The hypothesis holds that disruptions to fetal nutrition can exert persistent effects on subsequent health. From the perspective of a health production function, determinants of health may be divided into (i) post-birth health investments (e.g., Medicare) and (ii) the initial health endowment. The fetalorigins hypothesis emphasizes the importance of the initial health endowment, often proxied with birth weight, in determining adult health. Despite growing acceptance of the fetal-origins hypothesis by physicians and epidemiologists, the physiologic mechanisms by which fetal damage exerts long-term effects are relatively poorly understood. Experimental evidence from animal studies has established that maternal nutrition has a causal effect on subsequent health. Still, researchers have questioned the causality of statistical associations drawn from human populationbased studies of size at birth and subsequent health (e.g., Kathleen M. Rasmussen, 2001). A particular concern is whether omitted factors might bias or even account for the positive correlations between measures of early-life and adult health. Recent research has used the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as a natural experiment for studying the effects of fetal health (Almond, 2003). In contrast to typical influenza strains, the 1918 virus disproportionately affected young adults: approximately one-third of pregnant women contracted the debilitating virus. The Pandemic arrived without warning and was highly concentrated between October 1918 and January 1919. As a result, the long-term damage predicted by the fetal-origins hypothesis is similarly concentrated. Approximately two-thirds of those in utero during the height of the Pandemic would have been born in the first six months of 1919. In order to bias estimates of long-term fetal effects, post-birth health investments would have to behave in the same abrupt manner as the Pandemic. Using Decennial Census data for 1960–1980, Almond (2003) found that cohorts in utero during the height of the Pandemic displayed reduced educational attainment, increased rates of disability, lower income, and lower socioeconomic status. However, the absence of specific health outcomes in the Census precludes identification of physiologic pathways and therefore limits the relevance of the findings for physicians and epidemiologists. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this study finds that cohorts in utero during the Pandemic exhibit impaired health outcomes relative to cohorts born a few months earlier or later. That these patterns are manifest 65–80 years after the Pandemic suggests that changes to fetal health can have life-long effects.
248 citations
"Fighting a war without weapons? Les..." refers background in this paper
...This unprecedented global health crisis and the protective measures taken to slow the spread of the disease generated a blend of negative economic (Almond & Mazumder, 2005; Keogh‐Brown et al., 2010), psychological (Kumar & Nayar, 2020), and social (Bonaccorsi et al., 2020) consequences....
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TL;DR: The UK macroeconomic model 'COMPACT' was applied to epidemiological data on previous UK influenza pandemics, and a sensitivity analysis was extrapolated to cover more extreme disease scenarios, indicating the significance of behavioural change over disease parameters.
Abstract: Little is known about the possible impact of an influenza pandemic on a nation's economy. We applied the UK macroeconomic model 'COMPACT' to epidemiological data on previous UK influenza pandemics, and extrapolated a sensitivity analysis to cover more extreme disease scenarios. Analysis suggests that the economic impact of a repeat of the 1957 or 1968 pandemics, allowing for school closures, would be short-lived, constituting a loss of 3.35 and 0.58% of GDP in the first pandemic quarter and year, respectively. A more severe scenario (with more than 1% of the population dying) could yield impacts of 21 and 4.5%, respectively. The economic shockwave would be gravest when absenteeism (through school closures) increases beyond a few weeks, creating policy repercussions for influenza pandemic planning as the most severe economic impact is due to policies to contain the pandemic rather than the pandemic itself.Accounting for changes in consumption patterns made in an attempt to avoid infection worsens the potential impact. Our mild disease scenario then shows first quarter/first year reductions in GDP of 9.5/2.5%, compared with our severe scenario reductions of 29.5/6%. These results clearly indicate the significance of behavioural change over disease parameters.
159 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that pro-active and on-going analysis of blame circulating in social media can usefully help to guide communications strategies, making them more responsive to public perceptions.
Abstract: This study aimed to analyze main groups accused on social media of causing or spreading the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In this analysis, blame is construed as a vehicle of meaning through which the lay public makes sense of an epidemic, and through which certain classes of people become “figures of blame”. Data was collected from Twitter and Facebook using key word extraction, then categorized thematically. Our findings indicate an overall proximate blame tendency: blame was typically cast on “near-by” figures, namely national governments, and less so on “distant” figures, such as generalized figures of otherness (“Africans”, global health authorities, global elites). Our results also suggest an evolution of online blame. In the early stage of the epidemic, blame directed at the affected populations was more prominent. However, during the peak of the outbreak, the increasingly perceived threat of inter-continental spread was accompanied by a progressively proximal blame tendency, directed at figures with whom the social media users had pre-existing biopolitical frustrations. Our study proposes that pro-active and on-going analysis of blame circulating in social media can usefully help to guide communications strategies, making them more responsive to public perceptions.
57 citations