Institute for Population Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Premedical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Epidemiol Infect. 2020 Sep 22;148:e223. doi: 10.1017/S0950268820002216.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while mild in most cases, has nevertheless caused significant mortality. The measures adopted in most countries to contain it have led to colossal social and economic disruptions, which will impact the medium- and long-term health outcomes for many communities. In this paper, we deliberate on the reality and facts surrounding the disease. For comparison, we present data from past pandemics, some of which claimed more lives than COVID-19. Mortality data on road traffic crashes and other non-communicable diseases, which cause more deaths each year than COVID-19 has so far, is also provided. The indirect, serious health and social effects are briefly discussed. We also deliberate on how misinformation, confusion stemming from contrasting expert statements, and lack of international coordination may have influenced the public perception of the illness and increased fear and uncertainty. With pandemics and similar problems likely to re-occur, we call for evidence-based decisions, the restoration of responsible journalism and communication built on a solid scientific foundation.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）虽然在大多数情况下症状较轻，但仍导致了大量死亡。大多数国家为控制该疾病而采取的措施导致了巨大的社会和经济混乱，这将影响许多社区的中长期健康结果。在本文中，我们详细讨论了该疾病的现实和事实。为了进行比较，我们提供了来自过去大流行的数据，其中一些大流行的死亡人数超过了 COVID-19。我们还提供了道路交通碰撞和其他非传染性疾病（每年导致的死亡人数超过 COVID-19 迄今为止的死亡人数）的死亡率数据。简要讨论了间接的严重健康和社会影响。我们还讨论了错误信息、专家声明之间的矛盾所导致的混乱以及缺乏国际协调如何可能影响公众对该疾病的看法，并增加了恐惧和不确定性。随着大流行和类似问题可能再次发生，我们呼吁基于证据的决策、恢复负责任的新闻业以及建立在坚实科学基础上的沟通。
