Lessons from the pandemic

Without a doubt, the lessons from the pandemic are the most important consequences of this global event.

The world received 2020 with an unexpected event for which no country was really prepared. Despite the proliferation of news that emerged from China, through the media and social networks, the rapid and imminent expansion of covid-19 revealed insufficient global public health policies, while citizens obeyed government orders to face to the unknown.

In the beginning, the predictions of the American historian of medicine, Charles E. Rosenberg, about the social response to an epidemic, materialized, as he explained with the appearance of AIDS in the eighties: slow to accept and recognize his existence. Even the later tendency of the communities to believe that everything that happened around them was only the product of an exaggerated concern or, in some cases, of the imagination.

It was only when the numbers of infections and deaths not only grew, but increasingly affected closer areas, that societies saw the pandemic as a real situation and, therefore, could directly affect them. Initially, in countries like Italy, Spain and France. Later, the United States, Mexico and South America.

As new information emerged about the behavior of the virus, plans were also created that sought to mitigate its devastating effects. This is how, little by little, there have been lessons that world governments and humanity in general cannot ignore in future emergencies, even if they are not of the magnitude of the current one:

It becomes imperative, more than ever, to establish health as a fundamental human right.
Cleaning and disinfection policies must be permanently established in work, study and commercial places, as well as in equipment with which there is daily contact.
Knowledge management will continue to play a leading role in strengthening prevention in future health situations. Carmen Natal, in her article Some lessons learned (or not so much) from covid-19, highlights the usefulness of the covid-19 treatment guidelines developed by NHI (National Institutes of Health), in the that recommendations based on scientific evidence are presented, away from all speculation and misinformation in the era of fake news.
Significant investments in hospital resources are urgently needed in most countries of the world, according to the needs of each patient. With a more robust health system, possible health crises in the future can be attended to more quickly and precisely. The infeasibility of depending totally on a few States became clear.
Training and access to digital technologies for health workers. From smartphones to virtual platforms that allow them to monitor, protocols, schedule automation, among other processes that contribute to the control of health threats such as the current one.

Finally, as one of the main lessons of the pandemic, is the responsibility in the information that is communicated to the public, which must be a non-negotiable policy of all governments. Greater awareness and organization in the face of similar situations will depend on this.