COVID-19: Political challenges for public health

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has become not only an epidemiological and medical problem but also a challenge for all systems of society, a test for political institutions. The real threats to public health and the enormous pressure on public health systems have shaped the unprecedented coercive measures to limit mobility and social exclusion that governments have adopted to control the situation. The effectiveness of political institutions in the implementation of anti-epidemiological measures was different. The review considers interdisciplinary approaches to analy-zing a systemic crisis in a pandemic, which has revealed a close relationship between social and economic equality, health equity and population health. The disproportionately high correlation of mortality from new infection with structural inequality at the intersection of status, class, racial/ethnic minority, and profession is shown. The problems of politicization of the pandemic and social polarization, the influence of confidence in the state, the health care system, and healthcare professionals on compliance with recommended behaviors by various social groups are considered. The speed with which new scientific information is generated during a pandemic and the need for a quick response enhance the likelihood of misinformation appearing in the information environment. The article shows the danger of infodemic for the unity of society against the backdrop of the growing role of the media and social networks in supporting the population. Approaches to the problem of vaccine mistrust are examined, the need to develop a policy of equitable distribution of vaccines, educate the population to increase adherence to vaccination is shown. A post-coronavirus strategy for the development of public health has been proposed, which includes increasing investment in health systems, overcoming health inequities, caring for healthcare professionals, and developing biomedical science.