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- Czypionka, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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The benefits, costs and feasibility of a low incidence COVID-19 strategy
- 2022
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Ingår i: The Lancet Regional Health. - : Elsevier. - 2666-7762. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the summer of 2021, European governments removed most NPIs after experiencing prolonged second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most countries failed to achieve immunization rates high enough to avoid resurgence of the virus. Public health strategies for autumn and winter 2021 have ranged from countries aiming at low incidence by re-introducing NPIs to accepting high incidence levels. However, such high incidence strategies almost certainly lead to the very consequences that they seek to avoid: restrictions that harm people and economies. At high incidence, the important pandemic containment measure test-trace-isolate-support becomes inefficient. At that point, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its numerous harmful consequences can likely only be controlled through restrictions. We argue that all European countries need to pursue a low incidence strategy in a coordinated manner. Such an endeavour can only be successful if it is built on open communication and trust. Copyright (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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| 2. |
- Iftekhar, Emil Nafis, et al.
(författare)
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A look into the future of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe : an expert consultation
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Lancet Regional Health. - : Elsevier. - 2666-7762. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How will the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic develop in the coming months and years? Based on an expert survey, we examine key aspects that are likely to influence the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The challenges and developments will strongly depend on the progress of national and global vaccination programs, the emergence and spread of variants of concern (VOCs), and public responses to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). In the short term, many people remain unvaccinated, VOCs continue to emerge and spread, and mobility and population mixing are expected to increase. Therefore, lifting restrictions too much and too early risk another damaging wave. This challenge remains despite the reduced opportunities for transmission given vaccination progress and reduced indoor mixing in summer 2021. In autumn 2021, increased indoor activity might accelerate the spread again, whilst a necessary reintroduction of NPIs might be too slow. The incidence may strongly rise again, possibly filling intensive care units, if vaccination levels are not high enough. A moderate, adaptive level of NPIs will thus remain necessary. These epidemiological aspects combined with economic, social, and health-related consequences provide a more holistic perspective on the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| 3. |
- Pickersgill, Martyn, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping the New Molecular Landscape: Social Dimensions of Epigenetics
- 2013
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Ingår i: New Genetics and Society. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1463-6778 .- 1469-9915. ; 32:4, s. 429-447
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the DNA itself. The field is rapidly growing and being widely promoted, attracting attention in diverse arenas. These include those of the social sciences, where some researchers have been encouraged by the resonance between imaginaries of development within epigenetics and social theory. Yet, sustained attention from STS scholars to epigenetics and the praxis it propels has been lacking. In this article, we reflexively consider some of the ways in which epigenetics is being constructed as an area of biomedical novelty and discuss the content and logics underlying the ambivalent promises being made by scientists working in this area. We then reflect on the scope, limits and future of engagements between epigenetics and the social sciences. Our discussion is situated within wider literatures on biomedicine and society, the politics of ‘interventionist STS’, and on the problems of ‘caseness’ within empirical social science.
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