A consortium of 386 international experts has set out a plan to end the COVID-19 public health threat. The group calls for the adoption of joined-up approaches across societies and governments to make efforts to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines.
The group assessed learnings from the past three years and developed a Delphi consensus on the most effective responses for ending the pandemic.
The document, published in Nature, includes 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations, which are broken down into six main categories: communication, health systems, vaccination, prevention, treatment and care, and pandemic inequities.
The experts call for a ‘vaccines plus’ approach, which includes COVID-19 vaccination, prevention measures, treatment, and financial incentives.
They also recommend collaboration between multiple sectors, including community leaders, scientific experts, and public health authorities, to improve public trust in the pandemic response. Governments and other stakeholders are advised to improve communication and engage communities
This guidance, which has been further endorsed by 184 organizations globally, “advances a global vision of informed decision-making on how the world can end COVID-19 as a public health threat without a return to sweeping limitations on civil liberties, without risking the health and lives of vulnerable groups, and without exacerbating economic burdens”, the consortium says.