The Lancet Microbe at 2: what is past is prologue
Authors: None The Lancet Microbe
Journal: The Lancet Microbe (2022)

This issue marks the second anniversary of The Lancet Microbe. As we acknowledged in our very first Editorial (May 2020), when we planned to launch a new journal focusing on pathogens in 2020, we could not have predicted the challenges that would lie ahead. But we faced down these challenges to produce a journal that highlights the direct bearing the microbial sciences have on health. In that same Editorial we also committed to be receptive to work on SARS-CoV-2, even when it was no longer newsworthy. At a time when many governments of high-income countries are eager to move on from COVID-19, we reaffirm our commitment. We remain interested in research that provides a deeper insight into SARS-CoV-2 and the pathology of COVID-19 beyond what is needed to guide the current response.Over the past 2 years we have published 108 research articles. Predictably, the dominant topics were antimicrobial resistance in some form (32 articles) and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 (30 articles). However, we have also covered a range of other topics including, but not limited to, mycobacteria, diagnostics, neglected tropical diseases, malaria, HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and Ebola virus. In many cases these topics have overlapped in a variety of ways, producing a rich collection of research. Furthermore, over the past year, we have added to our range of content by publishing Reviews and Personal Views.In keeping with the ethos of the Lancet family, we have sought to add our voice to discussions within the microbial research community. Unsurprisingly, many of our contributions have been related to the COVID-19 pandemic, although we have sought to offer a wider perspective. As early as our second Editorial published in June 2020, we highlighted the risks of neglecting HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis control as attention was focused on COVID-19. Over a year later, in our October 2021 Editorial, we noted that these concerns were justified, as the 20th anniversary Results Report of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria stated “the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact” on these diseases. In June 2020, we had expressed particular concern over tuberculosis control, and this is where the most disruptive impact of COVID-19 was felt. Offering an important, yet obvious, lesson for the handling of future pandemics, other health challenges do not evaporate because the world's attention is focused elsewhere.Our most controversial Editorial proved to be the one published in October 2020. Written before the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, we sought to inject some caution into the messaging around what was going to happen next. We were concerned that many governments were asserting that a vaccine would bring about the abrupt end of the pandemic. Although we were confident of the clear benefits of the vaccines, we saw the danger of overpromising what they could achieve in isolation. Overpromising could lead to a loss of public trust and, more alarmingly, that the political capital invested by governments would mean that they would be under pressure to abandon other measures given their confident assertions. The real consequences were more nuanced than we feared, but nonetheless we have seen interventions guided by political expediency rather than evidence-based public health concerns. Our significant alarm was for the most vulnerable people among us for whom vaccines alone might not be enough. A year and a half since that Editorial we are still concerned for these people as it is unclear if their needs are part of the planning for “living with COVID”.Publishing a journal such as The Lancet Microbe over the course of the most impactful pandemic for a century has not been easy, but it has been a privilege to be part of a research community that has put unprecedented effort into understanding and tackling a new pathogen. It offers great hope to see what can be achieved when we choose to act together. Before 2020, it would have been difficult to envisage a response on the scale that we witnessed and with the resulting successes. We need to keep repeating to ourselves and to authorities and funders, when faced with other challenges: choose to act. This action takes many forms; so-called basic science is crucial to underpin future interventions, and this is what The Lancet Microbe is here to support. Launching any journal is a challenge, but to do so during the events of the past 2 years has been a truly awesome test. We foresee great things ahead and look forward to sharing this journey with you. This issue marks the second anniversary of The Lancet Microbe. As we acknowledged in our very first Editorial (May 2020), when we planned to launch a new journal focusing on pathogens in 2020, we could not have predicted the challenges that would lie ahead. But we faced down these challenges to produce a journal that highlights the direct bearing the microbial sciences have on health. In that same Editorial we also committed to be receptive to work on SARS-CoV-2, even when it was no longer newsworthy. At a time when many governments of high-income countries are eager to move on from COVID-19, we reaffirm our commitment. We remain interested in research that provides a deeper insight into SARS-CoV-2 and the pathology of COVID-19 beyond what is needed to guide the current response. Over the past 2 years we have published 108 research articles. Predictably, the dominant topics were antimicrobial resistance in some form (32 articles) and SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 (30 articles). However, we have also covered a range of other topics including, but not limited to, mycobacteria, diagnostics, neglected tropical diseases, malaria, HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and Ebola virus. In many cases these topics have overlapped in a variety of ways, producing a rich collection of research. Furthermore, over the past year, we have added to our range of content by publishing Reviews and Personal Views. In keeping with the ethos of the Lancet family, we have sought to add our voice to discussions within the microbial research community. Unsurprisingly, many of our contributions have been related to the COVID-19 pandemic, although we have sought to offer a wider perspective. As early as our second Editorial published in June 2020, we highlighted the risks of neglecting HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis control as attention was focused on COVID-19. Over a year later, in our October 2021 Editorial, we noted that these concerns were justified, as the 20th anniversary Results Report of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria stated “the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact” on these diseases. In June 2020, we had expressed particular concern over tuberculosis control, and this is where the most disruptive impact of COVID-19 was felt. Offering an important, yet obvious, lesson for the handling of future pandemics, other health challenges do not evaporate because the world's attention is focused elsewhere. Our most controversial Editorial proved to be the one published in October 2020. Written before the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, we sought to inject some caution into the messaging around what was going to happen next. We were concerned that many governments were asserting that a vaccine would bring about the abrupt end of the pandemic. Although we were confident of the clear benefits of the vaccines, we saw the danger of overpromising what they could achieve in isolation. Overpromising could lead to a loss of public trust and, more alarmingly, that the political capital invested by governments would mean that they would be under pressure to abandon other measures given their confident assertions. The real consequences were more nuanced than we feared, but nonetheless we have seen interventions guided by political expediency rather than evidence-based public health concerns. Our significant alarm was for the most vulnerable people among us for whom vaccines alone might not be enough. A year and a half since that Editorial we are still concerned for these people as it is unclear if their needs are part of the planning for “living with COVID”. Publishing a journal such as The Lancet Microbe over the course of the most impactful pandemic for a century has not been easy, but it has been a privilege to be part of a research community that has put unprecedented effort into understanding and tackling a new pathogen. It offers great hope to see what can be achieved when we choose to act together. Before 2020, it would have been difficult to envisage a response on the scale that we witnessed and with the resulting successes. We need to keep repeating to ourselves and to authorities and funders, when faced with other challenges: choose to act. This action takes many forms; so-called basic science is crucial to underpin future interventions, and this is what The Lancet Microbe is here to support. Launching any journal is a challenge, but to do so during the events of the past 2 years has been a truly awesome test. We foresee great things ahead and look forward to sharing this journey with you.