What have European countries done to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Lessons from the COVID-19 Health system response monitor

Selina Rajan; Martin McKee; Cristina Hernández-Quevedo; Marina Karanikolos; Erica Richardson; Erin Webb; Jonathan Cylus

doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.03.005

What have European countries done to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Lessons from the COVID-19 Health system response monitor

Health Policy. 2022 May;126(5):355-361. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.03.005. Epub 2022 Mar 11.

Authors

Selina Rajan¹, Martin McKee², Cristina Hernández-Quevedo³, Marina Karanikolos⁴, Erica Richardson⁴, Erin Webb⁵, Jonathan Cylus⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK. Electronic address: selina.rajan@lshtm.ac.uk.
² Co-Director, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and Professor of European Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
³ European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
⁴ European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
⁵ European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Berlin Hub and Department of Health Care Management, Berlin University of Technology, H 80 Straße des 17. Juni 135, Berlin 10623, Germany.
⁶ London Hub Coordinator, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. Electronic address: j.d.cylus@lse.ac.uk.

Abstract

Although some European countries imposed measures that successfully slowed the transmission of Covid-19 during the first year of the pandemic, others struggled, either because they acted slowly or implemented measures ineffectively. In this paper we consider the European experience with public health measures designed to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Based on literature and country responses described in the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor from March 2020 to December 2020, we consider some critical aspects of public health policy responses. These include the importance of public health capacity that can scale up surveillance and outbreak control, including effective testing and contract tracing, of clear messaging based on an understanding of human behaviour, policies that address the undesirable consequences of necessary measures, such as support for those isolating or unable to earn, and the ability to implement at pace and scale a major vaccine rollout. We conclude that for countries to be successful at preventing COVID-19 transmission, there is a need for a clear strategy with explicit goals and a whole systems approach to implementation.

Keywords: COVID-19; Contact tracing; European health policy; Public health; Testing.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Pandemics / prevention & control
Public Health
Public Policy
SARS-CoV-2