Call for a pan-European COVID-19 response must be comprehensive
Authors: Carsten Krüger
Journal: The Lancet (2021)

While agreeing with most aspects of the call for a European strategy against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by Viola Priesemann and colleagues,1Priesemann V Brinkmann MM Ciesek S et al.Calling for pan-European commitment for rapid and sustained reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infections.Lancet. 2021; 397: 92-93Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (59) Google Scholar I would like to comment on three shortcomings. First, when looking at the list of authors and signatories, the humanities and social sciences are grossly under-represented. As much as the strategy is justified from biomedical, epidemiological, and public health perspectives, it does not consider the huge impact the lockdown measures have on social, psychological, educational, and environmental aspects of human life.2Michie S West R Behavioural, environmental, social, and systems interventions against covid-19.BMJ. 2020; 370m2982Crossref PubMed Scopus (59) Google Scholar, 3Schippers MC For the greater good? The devastating ripple effects of the Covid-19 crisis.Front Psychol. 2020; 11577740Crossref PubMed Scopus (54) Google Scholar Second, the paper is written from a Eurocentric perspective. Even if European countries contained the pandemic in Europe to some degree, this would not imply an end to the pandemic in other parts of the world. More importantly, this restricted focus risks harming the wellbeing of the majority of people worldwide—namely, children, low-income individuals, people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups. Millions of people with no access to education and health services are driven into unemployment and poverty, facing hunger and ultimately death. Their number would easily surpass any gains achieved in Europe. Third, it seems inexplicable that a strategy issued in the middle of December, 2020, hardly mentions the importance of vaccination for the containment of the global pandemic. At present, vaccines seem to be the most important and effective long-term intervention we have at hand to contain a potentially deadly virus that will most probably continue to circulate in the human population for the foreseeable future.4Sewell HF Agius RM Kendrick D Stewart M Covid-19 vaccines: delivering protective immunity.BMJ. 2020; 371m4838Crossref PubMed Scopus (47) Google Scholar I declare no competing interests. Calling for pan-European commitment for rapid and sustained reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infectionsAcross Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing excess deaths, placing a burden on societies and health systems and harming the economy. European governments have yet to develop a common vision to guide the management of the pandemic. Overwhelming evidence shows that not only public health, but also society and the economy benefit greatly from reducing cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Vaccines will help control the virus, but not until late 2021. Full-Text PDF Call for a pan-European COVID-19 response must be comprehensive – Authors' replyWe thank Carsten Krüger for the opportunity to further elaborate on the important aspects raised in his Correspondence. Full-Text PDF