Articles: pandemics.
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The Spanish flu occurred at the end of the First world war, in disastrous epidemiological conditions on populations exhausted by four years of war. At that time, there were no vaccines, no antibiotics, no oxygen and no resuscitation. It was even thought that the infectious agent was a bacterium. ⋯ The high mortality in the 20-40 age group remains an enigma. Some experts point to reduced immune response in patients previously exposed to related viral hemagglutinins during the 1889 pandemic. In any event, even though it concerns a markedly different virus, the history of the Spanish flu sheds light on the difficulties of management during today's pandemic.
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A substantial drop in emergency department (ED) visit volume was previously demonstrated at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ A substantial decline in non-COVID ED visits and excess mortality at the beginning of the pandemic, are probably the results of social distancing restrictions alongside patients' fear of exposure to COVID-19, which gradually moderated thereafter, until near normalization was reached after 14 months. Gradual return to pre-pandemic ED utilization patterns were noticed as the population and the healthcare system acclimatize to life alongside COVID.
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Worldwide, nations have struggled during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, Latin America and the Caribbean faced an unmatched catastrophic toll. As of March 2022, the region has reported approximately 15% of cases and 28% of deaths worldwide. ⋯ Moreover, reliance on repurposed and ineffective drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin-to treat or prevent COVID-19-was publicised through misinformation and created a false sense of security and poor adherence to social distancing measures. While there were hopes that herd immunity could be achieved after the region's disastrous first peak, the emergence of the Gamma, Lambda, and Mu variants made this unattainable. This review explores how Latin America and the Caribbean fared during the first 2 years of the pandemic, and how, despite all the challenges, the region became a global leader in COVID-19 vaccination, with 63% of its population fully vaccinated.