Clinical FeaturesPharmacy

End of Year: IPHA Lessons Learned from Covid

Covid-19 and the pandemic should renew our trust in science for better health, writes Bernard Mallee

Bernard Mallee is Director of Communications and Advocacy at the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association.

HPN December 2021 Digital page 15

Covid-19 has taught us many lessons, although most of them are harrowing.

More than five million people globally have died. The true mortality rate is likely to be much higher.

Every day, the path of the pandemic looks increasingly likely to hinge on vaccinations. Above all, it doesn’t matter how many of us, wherever we live. Therefore you can get protected against serious illness and death.

On their own, vaccines for Covid-19 won’t be enough to stop the disease. Responsible behaviours like social distancing, mask-wearing, hand-washing and cough etiquette for instance will help.

Covid-19 has taught us other lessons, especially about science.

The world needs more collaboration, not less, in the discovery and development of vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat diseases.

A policy ecosystem that generates greater investment in biopharmaceutical research and development, in addition to encouraging scientific collaboration among private companies, public agencies and academic institutions is needed.

We need to place our trust in science in the battle against cancer, heart disease and many other chronic conditions. We need to arm ourselves against future global health crises.

All of this is possible through partnership. Out of Covid-19, let us resolve to work more as a community to solve the problems that affect us all.

Read our latest magazine HERE

Catch up on our previous magazines HERE

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please Confirm

This website is only for the eyes of medical professionals. Are you a medical professional?