Title : COVID-19 is not over: The global COVID community council advocates for change to support medically vulnerable populations post-pandemic
Abstract:
Background: The decline in global COVID-19 testing has reduced attention to public health measures designed to mitigate infections among vulnerable populations at heightened risk of severe outcomes and long-term complications. With a lack of current guidance and misinformation around prevention, vaccination, and treatment, COVID-19 continues to have a pervasive impact on high-risk communities. Further, studies maintain a backward look at the pandemic and survey domains take a condition-led or regional approach to population data, leaving gaps in currently available evidence regarding the global impact of COVID-19 on the medically vulnerable post-Omicron. To increase public awareness and inform policies addressing health inequities, it is imperative to understand how COVID-19 continues to affect the daily lives and mental wellbeing of medically vulnerable populations and their caregivers in the post-pandemic era.
Methods: The Global COVID Community Council (The Council), a collective of eight leaders of patient and citizen organizations across Europe, North America, and the UK, has united to raise awareness and seek innovative solutions to combat the ongoing health challenges faced by medically vulnerable populations. To date, The Council has convened three virtual meetings, supplemented with preparatory work and a literature review, providing an opportunity for collaborative discussions around the unmet needs of the patients they represent and the continued impact of COVID-19 on a global scale. The work of The Council has since paved the way for a global patient survey to address data gaps in COVID-19 care post-pandemic, targeting several thousand medically vulnerable patients.
Results: The Council has identified key barriers to testing and the widespread impacts of COVID-19 on the mental wellbeing of medically vulnerable populations. The Council aimed to translate this knowledge into action by co-defining a community call-to-action statement and developing recommendations for future COVID-19 interventions. The Council calls for better protection of those at greatest risk of severe illness, emphasizing the role of patients, healthcare professionals, pharmacists, policymakers, and the general public in the education and awareness of the burden on vulnerable communities, as well as strategies to improve health outcomes and mental wellbeing for all. When discussing a global patient survey, The Council agreed that the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) approach, focusing on three key themes (current risk management strategies, impact, and treatment), was an effective framework to promote insights into medically vulnerable populations previously infected with COVID-19. Understanding how COVID-19 continues to affect the daily lives and mental wellbeing of these communities may create opportunities to implement meaningful change that closely aligns with patient needs.
Conclusion: The shared motivation of The Council to empower medically vulnerable populations has fueled the co-creation of tangible outputs to influence public health policy and evidence-based practices around COVID-19 testing and treatment, as well as support mental wellbeing in the post-pandemic era.
