Lessons From Ebola For Today's Covid-19

So I’m taking this Harvard course “Lessons from Ebola:Preventing the Next Pandemic” which is being offered free online. Was hoping to get insights from that outbreak in 2015.


I’m midway through the course but already so many themes resonate.


It was called a “caregiver’s disease” because many fatalities were health care workers. Initial response was focused on controlling the movement of people instead of clinical care. Beyond the need for medicines was the absence of basic health structures. The need to move away from a “disease only” paradigm to a holistic view.


"A good everyday health care system is the best emergency response system." The cost of inaction (in lives and to the economy) is much higher than the cost of action (putting the infrastructure and health care capacity in place before you need it).


Stories of ethical decisions, of health workers deciding between their own safety and caring for their patients in the absence of PPEs; deciding who to care for and who to let go; making do with plastic bags instead of gloves; delayed test results; makeshift clinics. Familiar today, and heartbreaking knowing much pain could have been avoided.


Eventually an organized and coordinated surveillance system between communities; logistics and supply chain for PPEs, and medicines; massive training and incentives to retain health care workers. Albeit late and at massive cost, these mechanisms put in place helped to stem the tide.


I’m not done with the course, but I was curious if there’s a success story in the current Covid-19 pandemic. I found Taiwan as a possible case study (6 deaths to date for a 23 million population).


Taiwan’s battle against the virus started in 2019, applying learnings from SARS. As one pulmonologist said, they were “many steps ahead” because it was “more comfortable than trying to put out fires here and there.” As early as January, they put up emergency centers, ensured supply of surgical masks, and by February banned entry from China, HongKong and Macau. Everyone is required to wear masks, and strict surveillance using big data and digitaltechnology -- and everyone follows.


It’s not over yet, but rapid response, a world-leading health care system, and the cooperation of the population. That sounds like the next lesson in the Harvard course. And for everyone.