Why COVID-19 Readiness Continues after the Public Health Emergency

January 16, 2024

The pandemic helped everyone understand the value of planning, communication, and situational awareness as core aspects of emergency preparedness.

And for us, those pandemic lessons are still very much relevant for today.

Across Pennsylvania and throughout the U.S., we are seeing hospitals implement masking, vaccination campaigns, and other public health staples that were commonplace during the pandemic. COVID-19 presents a much different threat due to our shared immunity, but we should not forget our lessons learned in the last few years.

From global to local

A global health threat has entered its local era.

Key decisions about managing the virus are happening at the local level. During May, the CDC recommended using a risk-based assessment—as well as community feedback and local metrics—to determine the need for universal masking. The federal government is providing support for the latest booster campaign, but much of the distribution of this winter’s COVID-19 shot is being handled by the commercial market. We are seeing some hospitals decide masking is needed, while others are not at that point in their public health response.

This shift gives us the flexibility to make choices based on what we are seeing in our communities, but it also means we must be even more diligent in our planning and monitoring of the health of our community. This winter, emergency managers should be ready to answer the following key questions:

• How are you monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and other viral illnesses in your community?
• What metrics (wastewater data, patient counts, lab-confirmed positives) matter most to you? What are the data thresholds for your organization to take broader actions like masking?
• Who are the key members of your team who needs to be involved in these decisions across your organization?
• Is your organization’s plan to address a seasonal surge of patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses up to date based on your current staffing levels/needs?
• How will you communicate changes to your policies related to masking and other public health decisions with your staff, your patients, and your community?

Even before the pandemic, the monitoring of viral illnesses and other contagious diseases was an important part of our preparedness. Now, it’s time to take the lessons learned from the last few years to improve our emergency response.

For additional information, don’t hesitate to contact me or HAP’s emergency management team.