No travellers from China? The imperative for developing empathetic public health policies and communication strategies post-COVID

作者：Zhaohui Su, Ali Cheshmehzangi, Barry L. Bentley, Dean McDonnell, Sabina Šegalo, Claudimar Pereira da Veiga, Yu‐Tao Xiang · 发表于：European Journal of Public Health · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/eurpub/ckae020 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：COVID-19 and Mental Health、Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy、COVID-19 epidemiological studies

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a time of great changes and challenges. Among the most transferable lessons of COVID-19 is how public policies that are meant to protect global health and solidarity, especially when ill-considered or poorly-developed, could undermine their raison d'être. Arguably, some of the most revealing examples are centring around a key epicentre of the pandemic, China, especially during times when its public health infrastructure is under considerable duress—conditions with which many health systems have struggled and may have to confront during grave crises like pandemics. In December 2022, for instance, the Chinese government abruptly reversed its pandemic management strategy, effectively abandoning most, if not all, key ‘zero-COVID’ measures that have helped the country maintain a largely low COVID-19 infection or death counts for the past three years.1 The timing of the policy change—which includes the easing or lifting of measures that range from mass testing, centralized quarantine, to travel restrictions—means that many people in China had to hold (belated) celebrations for holidays such as Christmas and the Chinese Lunar New Year, and the Lantern Festival with their faraway loved ones. However, though the policy change had the potential to serve as an unadulterated source of joy for many, due to its abruptness, particularly in light of the government’s lack of preparation even in critical areas such as timely pandemic communication a...