Lessons learned from COVID-19 for the post-antibiotic future
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COMMENTARY
Open Access
Lessons learned from COVID-19 for the post-antibiotic future Lindsay A. Wilson1, Susan Rogers Van Katwyk1, Patrick Fafard1,2, A. M. Viens1,3 and Steven J. Hoffman1,4,5,6*
Abstract Introduction: COVID-19 has rapidly and radically changed the face of human health and social interaction. As was the case with COVID-19, the world is similarly unprepared to respond to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the challenges it will produce. COVID-19 presents an opportunity to examine how the international community might better respond to the growing AMR threat. Main body: The impacts of COVID-19 have manifested in health system, economic, social, and global political implications. Increasing AMR will also present challenges in these domains. As seen with COVID-19, increasing healthcare usage and resource scarcity may lead to ethical dilemmas about prioritization of care; unemployment and economic downturn may disproportionately impact people in industries reliant on human interaction (especially women); and international cooperation may be compromised as nations strive to minimize outbreaks within their own borders. Conclusion: AMR represents a slow-moving disaster that offers a unique opportunity to proactively develop interventions to mitigate its impact. The world’s attention is currently rightfully focused on responding to COVID-19, but there is a moral imperative to take stock of lessons learned and opportunities to prepare for the next global health emergency. Keywords: COVID-19, Antimicrobial resistance, Emergency preparedness, International cooperation
Introduction COVID-19 has radically changed the face of human health and social interaction in the span of a few months. This should not come as a surprise: health researchers have long warned that the world’s lack of pandemic preparedness would have catastrophic implications. We are similarly unprepared to deal with the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the challenges it will produce [1, 2]. The impact of AMR can already be felt through rising morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs associated with infections * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Global Strategy Lab, York University/University of Ottawa, 4700 Keele Street, 2120 Dahdaleh Building, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada 4 Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, Faculty of Health and Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
that were previously considered treatable [2]. As COVID-19 reveals the cracks in emergency responses around the world, it also offers important opportunities to examine how our health systems, social and economic policies, and global institutions might better respond to the growing AMR threat.
Health system implications COVID-19 has had enormous consequences for health systems around the world, overwhelming even some systems considered well-prepared for pandemic emergencies. This pressure has forced governments and healthcare provi
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