Source– The post is based on the article “With COVID-19 ‘over’, applying the lessons learnt” published in “The Hindu” on 8th May 2023.
Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to development and management of healthy
Relevance– Issues related to epidemics
News- World Health Organization, on May 5, 2023, declared that COVID19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern.
What are the lessons learnt from the COVID management?
Misinformation– There have been kneejerk and unscientific responses to spikes in COVID19 cases. The most recent example is the response in March-April 2023, when there was a rise in viral flu and SARSCoV2 cases.
It led to the closure of schools in some Indian cities and States. In some schools, mask wearing was made a mandatory condition for children to attend classes. This, in some instances, happened without a formal government directive.
It was not supported by scientific evidence. There was misinformation, and social media influencers were shaping the public discourse.
Neglect of local contexts– In outbreaks and epidemics, policy interventions and preventive advice need to factor in the local context. The context determines the epidemiological pattern, spread of disease and proposed interventions.
China faced a wave in December 2022. Switzerland, in April 2023, decided not to continue with any more COVID19 vaccination. Countries have made decisions based on the local context. However, that does not mean every other country should do exactly the same thing.
Approach of influencers– An extremely worrying trend has been the dogmatic stand adopted by self proclaimed experts and influencers. They selectively and use emerging evidence and published literature to support their stand.
A few influencers have positioned themselves as ‘super reviewers’ of scientific studies. They have used social media platforms to find limitations and criticise even the most robust studies. They often fail to factor in that no scientific study is ideal.
In late April 2023, the not for profit Foundation for People Centric Health Systems Analysed the trends and stance of influencers and experts on social media platforms and in newspaper reports on the COVID19 linked mask enforcement for school children.
Those based out of India were analysed into three subgroups: trained or practising public health experts and epidemiologists; other medical doctors and superspecialists; and everyone else.
The fourth group was of those who had had an opinion about India but living abroad, irrespective of their education.
In the subgroup of trained public health experts and epidemiologists, there was near consensus that schools should not be closed, and there was no role in making mask wearing mandatory for children.
Most clinicians and infectious diseases were a bit more supportive of masking, but very few supported universal masking for any age group.
In the subgroup of superspecialists, there was greater endorsement of mask wearing for children and of school closure.
Experts’ and influencers living outside India were making stronger arguments for school closure and mask wearing for children in India.
COVID foreverers– There exist groups of ‘COVID foreverers. They keep insisting on the enforcement of restrictions such as universal masking.
What is the way forward for a sound approach on epidemic management in the present context?
COVID19 has ‘officially’ transitioned from a population level challenge to more of an individual health concern. It is time for calm assessment, to shift the gears and also apply the lessons from the last three years.
The government should offer formal training courses on the principles and practice of epidemiology to prepare India for more nuanced responses to outbreaks and epidemics and to curb misinformation.
The government needs to integrate the COVID19 response to general health services. There is no role of universal measures against COVID19 to be enforced.
India’s response to surges, outbreaks, and epidemics should be guided by a nuanced understanding of epidemiology and not unduly derailed by ‘social media influencers’.
Therefore, in future, schools should not be closed for a COVID19 uptick. Wearing masks in order to attend school should never again be made mandatory.
It is time to drop the COVID19 fixation and move on to tackle other more pressing health challenges in the country.
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