Lessons Learnt From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal Article · 01 August 2021 · Frontiers in Public Health

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.694705 · OSTI ID:1811574

Stenseth, Nils Chr.; Dharmarajan, Guha; Li, Ruiyun; Shi, Zheng-Li; Yang, Ruifu; Gao, George F.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been characterized by unprecedented rates of spatio-temporal spread. Here, we summarize the main events in the pandemic's timeline and evaluate what has been learnt by the public health community. We also discuss the implications for future public health policy and, specifically, the practice of epidemic control. We critically analyze this ongoing pandemic's timeline and contrast it with the 2002–2003 SARS outbreak. We identify specific areas (e.g., pathogen identification and initial reporting) wherein the international community learnt valuable lessons from the SARS outbreak. However, we also identify the key areas where international public health policy failed leading to the exponential spread of the pandemic. We outline a clear agenda for improved pandemic control in the future.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Ministry of Science and Technology of China; USDOE; USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• Grant/Contract Number: EM0004391
• OSTI ID: 1811574
• Journal Information: Frontiers in Public Health, Journal Name: Frontiers in Public Health Vol. 9; ISSN 2296-2565
• Publisher: Frontiers Media SACopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: Switzerland
• Language: English