Subject(s)
COVID-19/prevention & control , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Public Health Administration/economics , Public Health/economics , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/transmission , COVID-19 Vaccines/administration & dosage , COVID-19 Vaccines/economics , Europe , Healthcare Disparities/economics , Humans , Mass Vaccination/organization & administration , Pandemics/economics , Pandemics/prevention & control , Primary Health Care/economics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed cracks in the nation's public health infrastructure.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Public Health Administration/economics , Public Health Administration/standards , Budgets , Humans , United States/epidemiology , WorkforceSubject(s)
Health Workforce/statistics & numerical data , Public Health Administration/economics , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , State Medicine/economics , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/virology , Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data , Health Workforce/trends , Humans , Private Sector/economics , Private Sector/statistics & numerical data , Public Health/standards , Public Health Administration/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Sector/economics , Public Sector/statistics & numerical data , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , State Medicine/organization & administration , United Kingdom/epidemiologySubject(s)
Antigens, Viral/analysis , COVID-19 Serological Testing , COVID-19/diagnosis , Public Health , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Antigens, Viral/isolation & purification , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19 Serological Testing/economics , COVID-19 Serological Testing/methods , COVID-19 Serological Testing/statistics & numerical data , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Early Diagnosis , Humans , Nose/virology , Pandemics , Public Health/economics , Public Health/methods , Public Health/statistics & numerical data , Public Health Administration/economics , Public Health Administration/methods , Public Health Administration/statistics & numerical data , Sensitivity and SpecificitySubject(s)
COVID-19/economics , Epidemics/economics , European Union/economics , Public Health/economics , Public Health/methods , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Contact Tracing , Epidemics/prevention & control , Europe , Humans , Mass Screening , Public Health Administration/economics , QuarantineSubject(s)
Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods , Clinical Laboratory Techniques/trends , Communicable Disease Control/methods , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Point-of-Care Testing/trends , Public Health Administration/methods , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Testing , Clinical Laboratory Techniques/economics , Communicable Disease Control/economics , Communicable Disease Control/trends , Coronavirus Infections/economics , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Health Policy , Humans , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Point-of-Care Testing/economics , Public Health Administration/economics , Public Health Administration/trendsABSTRACT
While the COVID-19 pandemic presents every nation with challenges, the United States' underfunded public health infrastructure, fragmented medical care system, and inadequate social protections impose particular impediments to mitigating and managing the outbreak. Years of inadequate funding of the nation's federal, state, and local public health agencies, together with mismanagement by the Trump administration, hampered the early response to the epidemic. Meanwhile, barriers to care faced by uninsured and underinsured individuals in the United States could deter COVID-19 care and hamper containment efforts, and lead to adverse medical and financial outcomes for infected individuals and their families, particularly those from disadvantaged groups. While the United States has a relatively generous supply of Intensive Care Unit beds and most other health care infrastructure, such medical resources are often unevenly distributed or deployed, leaving some areas ill-prepared for a severe respiratory epidemic. These deficiencies and shortfalls have stimulated a debate about policy solutions. Recent legislation, for instance, expanded coverage for testing for COVID-19 for the uninsured and underinsured, and additional reforms have been proposed. However comprehensive health care reform - for example, via national health insurance - is needed to provide full protection to American families during the COVID-19 outbreak and in its aftermath.