COVID-19’s 3 lessons learned in New Mexico

Two years in the past, the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as all of us knew it. Individuals everywhere in the world have been abruptly struck by isolation, frustration and concern. In 2020, all of us hoped that stay-at-home orders, the widespread utilization of masks, and the determined name for vaccine improvement can be the options wanted to cease the overwhelming unfold of an infection. Little did we all know that two lengthy years later, the virus would declare the lives of over 1 million individuals in the US alone, debilitating many extra. Though lifted masks mandates and conversations about steps towards normalcy have kindled a way of optimism, the transition towards endemicity calls for reflection.

So, what have we discovered throughout this unprecedented time?

First, the pandemic has taught us that we have to take a complete strategy to uphold the three pillars of worldwide well being safety, that are to stop, detect and reply. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham took a proactive strategy as she declared a statewide emergency the identical day the state confirmed its first set of COVID-19 instances. She shut down colleges and nonessential companies simply days later. Nonetheless, regardless of swiftly launching a widespread testing program, it grew to become exceedingly troublesome to precisely detect the unfold of COVID-19 in our state because the demand for exams critically outweighed the provision. Guaranteeing the speedy manufacturing of dependable diagnostics was essential, however many underserved communities didn’t have entry to these exams.

COVID-19 instances have been closely concentrated in ZIP codes with a higher American Indian inhabitants and in areas the place appreciable socioeconomic disadvantages exist. Thus, it’s crucial that we talk the necessity to prioritize significant interventions amongst disenfranchised communities.

Second, public well being insurance policies appeared to ignite public outcry and political controversy. Consequently, the pandemic underscored the concept public well being should supersede politics. As instances mounted, we noticed that celebration orientation continued to perpetuate the stark disagreement over the specter of the virus and the precautionary actions essential to mitigate the unfold of illness. Lastly, COVID-19 has reinvigorated the notion that hope and resilience lies in vaccination. The New Mexico Division of Well being experiences that over 3 million vaccine doses have been administered and 66.5% of all eligible New Mexicans have obtained two doses of the vaccine. The state should handle vaccine hesitancy by selling science training, permitting people to make knowledgeable selections on scientific points that come up within the public realm. Hopefully, it could additionally permit extra individuals to simply accept sure response efforts which might be pushed by scientific information.

It is very important keep in mind that once we encounter people who show the shortcoming to acknowledge misinformation, we now have an obligation to not criticize, however to show. An obligation to bolster scientific consensus as a result of empirical proof holds an infinite quantity of data.