Reaction of the Colombian Health System to the Covid-19 pandemic: A rapid assessment using epidemiological indicators

ABSTRACT

This article describes some of the actions taken by the Colombian health system in order to improve the response capacity to the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and correct some of the structural failures of the system that threatened the effectiveness of the response. The evolution of some epidemiological markers of the impact of the pandemic is also presented, between March 2020 and September 2021, which can help to unders-tand whether the measures taken could mitigate the impact of the pandemic or not. Among the actions that could most influence the epidemiological outcomes (cases and deaths) of the pandemic, we can highlight the increase in the number of Intensive Care Unit beds (from 5 000 to 11 000 approximately) and the steps taken to acquire vaccines in a highly competitive international market which preferred to provide vaccines first to industrialized countries than to less developed ones. Despite these efforts, the draconian isolation measures, and the suspension of many economic activities, during the study period, Colombia was one of the 15 countries with the highest mortality in the world and more than 60% of the population became infected after the first wave of the pandemic. This suggests a low effectiveness of the efforts made to strengthen the health system. © 2022, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved.