COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Intro: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health problem threatening national and global health security. Early during the pandemic, countries and governments including Lebanon declared states of emergency and imposed strict public health measures including national lockdowns and nonpharmaceutic...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971223003296 |
| _version_ | 1797824553222668288 |
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| author | N. Melhem F. Abou Hassan M. Bou Hamdan |
| author_facet | N. Melhem F. Abou Hassan M. Bou Hamdan |
| author_sort | N. Melhem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intro: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health problem threatening national and global health security. Early during the pandemic, countries and governments including Lebanon declared states of emergency and imposed strict public health measures including national lockdowns and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce the spread of the virus. Lebanon has been struggling with plethora of challenges at the social, economic, financial, political and healthcare levels before the start of the pandemic in the country in February 2020. Methods: The aim of this study is to advance the evolution of the COVID-19 epidemiology in Lebanon pre- and post-vaccination as well as the gaps and challenges affecting recovery and response. We will present the evolution of total number of cases, PCR positivity rates, case-fatality rates an hospitalizations. Findings: We present the evolution of the clinical and melocular epidemiology of COVID-19 in Lebanon, national response prior and following the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and the impact of the latter on the course of the pandemic in Lebanon, national challenges and successes as well as the need to reimagine a national health strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability, gaps and needs of the Lebanese health infrastructure including epidemiologic surveillance, genomic surveillance, integrated and concerted data sharing, diagnostic capacity, community mobilization and risk communication. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has been an eye opener about the need to invest in systemic and equal improvement in national health strategies. This is key to prevent future pandemics and to protect global health security. National and international coordinated strategies for emergency preparedness, response and recovery are critically needed in order to support the continuous monitoring of potential threats. The national commitment to these important inherent components of a rapid response requires investment in human and technical expertise to reduce inequality in access to information and care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:40:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-156c9a8330f04e298de5bba6eb8c6266 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1201-9712 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:40:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-156c9a8330f04e298de5bba6eb8c62662023-05-18T04:38:37ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases1201-97122023-05-01130S81COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNEDN. Melhem0F. Abou Hassan1M. Bou Hamdan2American University of Beirut, Faculty of Health Sciences, Division of Health Professions, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Beirut, LebanonAmerican University of Beirut, Faculty of Health Sciences, Division of Health Professions, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Beirut, LebanonAmerican University of Beirut, Faculty of Health Sciences, Division of Health Professions, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Beirut, LebanonIntro: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health problem threatening national and global health security. Early during the pandemic, countries and governments including Lebanon declared states of emergency and imposed strict public health measures including national lockdowns and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce the spread of the virus. Lebanon has been struggling with plethora of challenges at the social, economic, financial, political and healthcare levels before the start of the pandemic in the country in February 2020. Methods: The aim of this study is to advance the evolution of the COVID-19 epidemiology in Lebanon pre- and post-vaccination as well as the gaps and challenges affecting recovery and response. We will present the evolution of total number of cases, PCR positivity rates, case-fatality rates an hospitalizations. Findings: We present the evolution of the clinical and melocular epidemiology of COVID-19 in Lebanon, national response prior and following the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and the impact of the latter on the course of the pandemic in Lebanon, national challenges and successes as well as the need to reimagine a national health strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability, gaps and needs of the Lebanese health infrastructure including epidemiologic surveillance, genomic surveillance, integrated and concerted data sharing, diagnostic capacity, community mobilization and risk communication. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has been an eye opener about the need to invest in systemic and equal improvement in national health strategies. This is key to prevent future pandemics and to protect global health security. National and international coordinated strategies for emergency preparedness, response and recovery are critically needed in order to support the continuous monitoring of potential threats. The national commitment to these important inherent components of a rapid response requires investment in human and technical expertise to reduce inequality in access to information and care.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971223003296 |
| spellingShingle | N. Melhem F. Abou Hassan M. Bou Hamdan COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| title | COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED |
| title_full | COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED |
| title_short | COVID-19 IN LEBANON: UPDATE, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED |
| title_sort | covid 19 in lebanon update challenges and lessons learned |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971223003296 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nmelhem covid19inlebanonupdatechallengesandlessonslearned AT fabouhassan covid19inlebanonupdatechallengesandlessonslearned AT mbouhamdan covid19inlebanonupdatechallengesandlessonslearned |