At the beginning of the pandemic, which will be two years old soon, Angela Merkel warned that the whole world would end up getting sick from covid, in the same way that everyone has contracted the flu at some time. Proven that the covid is more lethal than the flu but that, at the same time, most of the sick heal, the challenge of pandemic management has always been not to avoid contagion, but rather graduate it so that the number of patients does not collapse the health system at the same time that we financially suffocate ourselves. They imposed house confinement on us, perimeter closures were decreed, curfews were put in place and capacity was limited, not to prevent us from getting infected, without to slow down or slow down the rate at which we are infected as a collective. Each death is an irreplaceable loss, and of course we must give all the importance to data such as infections, Rt and the risk of rebound, but from a management point of view the key figure is that of hospital admissions and critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICU). That, and the situation in primary care, the first line not only of the covid, but of our entire health network.
The first scourge
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The first scourge of the pandemic, they told us, caught us off guard and with health systems that still paid the huge cuts and the more or less open privatization policies (see Catalonia and Madrid as clear examples, although not unique, of the two cases). The succession of waves has been catching us exhausted and without having the weapons to fight against the virus, rain on wet. At first, we expected the vaccine. Afterwards, we waited for the extension of the vaccination. This time, we wait for the childhood vaccination and the booster dose. We always lack something so that the outbreaks (which, occasionally, continue to form waves and, in the case of omicron, tsunamis) do not force us to adopt more sacrifices. And the debates are repeated: many say that it was coming, doctors and epidemiologists demand tougher measures, the affected sectors rage, the Spain of the autonomies demonstrates its more than imperfect governance structure and its very little institutional loyalty. And the health workers denounce the abandonment of the administration, contracts that are not renewed (8,000 in Andalusia) and working conditions that do not improve. The covid sheds light mercilessly on the shortcomings of a healthcare system that is too often sustained by the sacrifice of the staff who work there. No wonder doctors and nurses spearhead the Great Resignation movement.
Of the debates that the covid has raised, one of the most tricky is the one that talks about distribution of individual and government responsibilities to stop the pandemic. It is clear that individual responsibility is crucial, but decisions cannot be solely personal. Governments (not economic sectors or epidemiologists) are the ones who must balance risks and establish frameworks, as well as obligations and prohibitions. The balance of the management of public powers is uneven, but with regard to the management of the health system, there is room for improvement. Because if what it is about is that the health system can care for covid patients (and others, it should not be forgotten) there are two possibilities: try not to get infected (we are already on the sixth wave) or reinforce the system health not to the pre-pandemic numbers, but at least to the pre-cuts situation. The iron (ill) health of the sanitary system must be remedied.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com