A study promoted from Spain achieves a global consensus on Covid: "There are reservoirs from which new variants could still emerge"

Almost three years after SARS-CoV-2 began to circulate, hundreds of experts from all over the world have just reached a consensus on how to fight the virus so that it leaves us

.

That "everyone" includes vulnerable people, countries without access to vaccines and treatments, or the countless patients with sequelae or persistent Covid.

And "once and for all" means that, as things stand, nobody knows if a new variant could reignite the crisis again.

"SARS-CoV-2 is still moving among us, even if some governments have turned the page, and it requires

," the report reflects.

Among his proposals, he insists that the Covid is transmitted through the air and asks the health authorities to indicate it clearly, something that, oddly enough, is still missing.

The study, which has taken a year to complete, is published today in the prestigious journal

.

It is signed

from

, and more than 180 organizations from 72 countries have already endorsed its conclusions.

The work has been led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

should have done

from the beginning," reflects researcher

, first signatory and coordinator of the study, as well as head of the group. Researcher in Health Systems and co-director of ISGlobal's Viral and Bacterial Infections Program.

"Two and a half years ago," recalls Lazarus,

, when a consensus among experts from all areas and levels would have been necessary.

Now, with much more knowledge, vaccines and treatments available, the acute phase of the pandemic has passed, but "there is still much to change so that it is not a threat to public health."

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In any case, the new study is not only a guide to deal with the current Covid scenario, but also a model to

, since it has managed to agree with hundreds of specialists from around the globe, who have agreed dozens of recommendations based on scientific evidence.

All the proposals and technical statements reached different levels of consensus among the experts throughout three rounds of discussion.

"There were

. There were three rounds of comments and then a consensus meeting among the top 40 authors," summarizes Lazarus.

"I asked the most intelligent people in the world to collaborate, so I

", comments the coordinator of the study, whose main conclusions are summarized in these

:

1. The virus is not gone

"There are reservoirs from which new variants could still emerge," says the report, and recalls that, even if the virus becomes endemic - that is, it stays forever - that "

."

That is, we do not know if omicron will be the last family of variants, or if it is already exhausting its ability to mutate into potentially more dangerous forms.

For this reason, Lazarus distinguishes between two kinds of policies:

.

Obviously, the scientific consensus bets on the second.

In fact, this has been the scientific statement that has elicited the most agreement among the hundreds of participants: "The decision of a government to reduce control measures for the Covid pandemic does not mean that the threat to public health has ended."

2. Vaccines and more

"Vaccines are an effective tool against Covid-19, but they alone will not end Covid-19 as a public health threat," the report reflects.

In addition to calling for greater efforts and investments in

against the new variants, the experts recall that it is still necessary to have

in public spaces, such as ventilation and air filtering.

And also help for vulnerable populations.

3. Collaboration and trust

"Ending Covid-19 as a public health threat requires a 'whole of society' and 'whole of government' approach, engaging trusted organizations and community leaders, scientific experts, business and other disciplines and sectors" experts suggest.

It is not about issuing recommendations 'from above', but about making them reach the entire population,

in marginalized communities or sectors of the population that are difficult to access.

"Collaboration, communication, trust... are things that

. Trust in science and in health authorities has decreased, due to contradictory and non-evidence-based policies, so we have tried to learn from the past to recommend what to do now," says Lazarus.

4. Robust health systems

The pandemic has weakened the health systems of many countries, including Spain.

Among other reasons, because many health workers have died, have become ill or have been physically and mentally exhausted.

However, health systems "are crucial to responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and

" the study warns.

To do this, he asks that the "economic barriers to receive treatment" be eliminated and primary care be strengthened.

The experts also stress the need for a "comprehensive approach" that involves all levels of administration and all social sectors.

In short,

.

"I want to know where the Spanish plan is, or the global plan. What is the plan?" asks Lazarus.

“And I think that the president or the political party that promotes it is going to be very successful, because the plan

; have free masks in the pharmacies for marginalized populations; explain who needs the fourth dose; talk to people; that student doctors go out and talk to the elderly, with people who have doubts...", he lists.

5. Tackle misinformation

"Adverse forces challenge efforts to end the public health threat of Covid-19," warns the report, which invites to "counteract

towards science and public health, as well as other entities with vested interests in disseminating false information.

Lazarus contrasts that, while the deniers speak, many politicians and authorities prefer to stand in profile: "They think it's unpopular, but

... politicians have a great responsibility; the greatest, I think, since the Second World War. And they have failed. There are examples of good politicians in Spain, of course, but they have failed as a whole, "he laments.

"We must insist that they focus on how to improve the quality of life and save lives. This study is a call to action... We cannot continue like this,

" ".

6. End pandemic inequality

"No one is safe until we are all safe," states the scientific consensus.

Not only for a matter of solidarity, but also because we are facing a disease that, with each new variant,

, as we have seen too many times.

However, at this point in the pandemic, vaccination levels in Africa, for example, remain extremely poor.

Ending pandemic inequality "requires taking into account the social determinants of health,

, and paying special attention to the needs of vulnerable groups, such as the immunosuppressed and the elderly. "

, children and social workers", endorse the experts.

The mention of children may be strange, but that is precisely because they have not been given much attention.

"You have to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 while working on their physical, mental and social well-being," the report demands.

He also denounces that "

".

Given the immense number of minors who are being infected once or several times a year in countries like Spain, it does not seem like a bad idea.

An innovative method for a unique consensus

It is the first time, in more than a century and a half of history, that the journal

has published a study carried out using the

, which consists of reaching a consensus between experts from different areas through a series of structured steps.

In this case,

has not considered that the consensus reached to combat Covid worldwide is just a scientific opinion or perspective, but rather has classified it as research, that is, as work

.

Numerous leaders in different areas of knowledge have participated in the study, including the Spaniards

, a pioneer in the study of airborne transmission,

, who has investigated persistent Covid in depth, the pediatrician

or the epidemiologist

, among others.

"There are very bright people," celebrates Lazarus.

"We have not received money, it has been

as a threat to public health; that we protect vulnerable populations while we return to normality and that we are prepared for any change that may happen, because there are mutations of the virus being transmitted now," he concludes.

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