EU Public Health: Countermeasures to Swine Flu

2019 ◽  
pp. 121-150
Author(s):  
Anniek de Ruijter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Institutional Actors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health Policymaking

This chapter is a case study on the EU’s response to a public health emergency in the form of countermeasures. More specifically, the scope of the case study is the involvement of the EU in the response to the outbreak of swine flu (influenza A H1N1) in 2009–10. The case study explores and maps legally the manner by which health policymaking can become strengthened through intertwining with more formal rules and the impact this may have for EU fundamental rights and values. It illustrates the growth and impact of EU health policy beyond legislative powers, where Member State engagement in EU health policymaking may have an impact beyond what is envisioned in law. The chapter first addresses how measures to counter a public health emergency can be taken at EU level, particularly focusing on the institutional actors. Second, the chapter identifies the countermeasures taken at EU level to combat the swine flu pandemic. Third, the chapter looks at the ways informal health policy (deliberately) intertwines with more formal regulation. Lastly, the impact of EU health law and policy in this particular case is analysed in terms of fundamental rights and values. The case study shows that the precarious balancing between public health and individual rights is not done by Member States alone.

Institutional Build-up of EU Health Actors

2019 ◽  
pp. 92-120
Author(s):  
Anniek de Ruijter
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Institutional Involvement ◽  
Institutional Expansion ◽  
Regulatory Powers ◽  
Institutional Actors ◽  
Health Policymaking ◽  
The Eu

The growth of substantive EU public health and individual health policy and law is matched by a historic build-up of EU institutional actors. The institutional expansion has increased the EU’s capacity for law- and policy-making in the field of health and as such the possibility for the growth of EU power in this area. This chapter traces the evolution and growing presence of EU institutional actors in human health. It outlines the relevance of the growing institutional capacity for creating EU health law and policy. Subsequently a sketch is drawn of the emergence of EU institutional involvement in health policy—while taking into consideration that it may not be possible to create an exhaustive overview of all health actors involved at the EU level. This outline illustrates the growth of a variety of institutional actors and the expanding number of ways these engage in health policymaking. Moreover, the chapter demonstrates various ways in which EU institutional involvement in health is continuously expanding and changing. It illustrates that there is ample opportunity for formal actors with legislative or regulatory powers to be involved in informal processes of coordinating policy in the shadow of hierarchy. The growing institutional presence of the EU in health policy over time, and the possible shift in power to the EU this can entail, again confronts us with the pressing issue of its impact on fundamental rights and values in health.

Coronavirus and the Law in Europe

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
World Health ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

On 30 January 2020, in response to the globalisation of COVID-19, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The deadly outbreak has caused unprecedented disruption to travel and trade and is raising pressing legal questions across all disciplines, which this book attempts to address. <br><br>The aims of this book are twofold. First, it is intended to serve as a 'toolbox' for domestic and European judges, who are now dealing with the interpretation of COVID-19-related legislation and administrative measures, as well as the disruption the pandemic has caused to society and fundamental rights. Second, it aims to assist businesses and citizens who wish to be informed about the implications of the virus in the existence, performance and enforcement of their contracts. <br><br><i>Coronavirus and the Law in Europe</i> is probably the largest academic publication on the impact of pandemics on the law. This academic endeavour is a joint, collaborative effort to structure the recent and ongoing legal developments into a coherent and pan-European overview on coronavirus and the law. It covers practically all European countries and legal disciplines and comprises contributions from more than 80 highly reputed European academics and practitioners.

scholarly journals The Effects of Social Distancing Policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 Respiratory Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Nawrocki ◽  
Katherine Olin ◽  
Martin C Holdrege ◽  
Joel Hartsell ◽  
Lindsay Meyers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Detection Rate ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Respiratory Pathogens ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The initial focus of the US public health response to COVID-19 was the implementation of numerous social distancing policies. While COVID-19 was the impetus for imposing these policies, it is not the only respiratory disease affected by their implementation. This study aimed to assess the impact of social distancing policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens typically circulating across multiple US states. Methods Linear mixed-effect models were implemented to explore the effects of five social distancing policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens across nine states from January 1 through May 1, 2020. The observed 2020 pathogen detection rates were compared week-by-week to historical rates to determine when the detection rates were different. Results Model results indicate that several social distancing policies were associated with a reduction in total detection rate, by nearly 15%. Policies were associated with decreases in pathogen circulation of human rhinovirus/enterovirus and human metapneumovirus, as well as influenza A, which typically decrease after winter. Parainfluenza viruses failed to circulate at historical levels during the spring. Total detection rate in April 2020 was 35% less than historical average. Many of the pathogens driving this difference fell below historical detection rate ranges within two weeks of initial policy implementation. Conclusion This analysis investigated the effect of multiple social distancing policies implemented to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens. These findings suggest that social distancing policies may be used as an impactful public health tool to reduce communicable respiratory illness.

scholarly journals Integrating quasi-experimental and inductive designs in evaluation: A case study of the impact of free bus travel on public health

Evaluation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Green ◽  
Helen Roberts ◽  
Mark Petticrew ◽  
Rebecca Steinbach ◽  
Anna Goodman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The challenge of bringing evidence in decision-making for public health emergencies: can preparedness reach out to HTA?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Chronaki ◽  
A Miglietta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

Abstract Evidence-based decision-making is central to public health. Implementing evidence-informed actions is most challenging during a public health emergency as in an epidemic, when time is limited, scientific uncertainties and political pressures tend to be high, and reliable data is typically lacking. The process of including data for preparedness and training for evidence-based decision making in public health emergencies is not systematic and is complicated by many barriers as the absence of common digital tools and approaches for resource planning and update of response plans. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is used with the aim to improve the quality and efficiency of public health interventions and to make healthcare systems more sustainable. Many of today's public health crises are also cross-border, and countries need to collaborate in a systematic and standardized way in order to enhance interoperability to share data and to plan coordinated response. Digital health tools have an important role to play in this setting, facilitating use of knowledge about the population that can potentially affected by the crisis within and across regional and national borders. To strengthen the impact of scientific evidence on decision-making for public health emergency preparedness and response, it is necessary to better define and align mechanisms through which interdisciplinary evidence feeds into decision-making processes during public health emergencies and the context in which these mechanisms operate. Activities and policy development in the HTA network could inform this process. The objective of this presentation is to identify barriers for evidence-based decision making during public health emergencies and discuss how standardization in digital health and HTA processes may help overcome these barriers leading to more effective coordinated and evidence-based public health emergency response.

scholarly journals Rapid disappearance of influenza following the implementation of COVID-19 mitigation measures in Hamilton, Ontario

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (04) ◽  
pp. 202-208
Author(s):  
Kevin Zhang ◽  
Avika Misra ◽  
Patrick J Kim ◽  
Seyed M Moghadas ◽  
Joanne M Langley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Respiratory Virus ◽  
Respiratory Viruses ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Bayesian Linear Regression ◽  
Syncytial Virus ◽  
The Impact

Background: Public health measures, such as physical distancing and closure of schools and non-essential services, were rapidly implemented in Canada to interrupt the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We sought to investigate the impact of mitigation measures during the spring wave of COVID-19 on the incidence of other laboratory-confirmed respiratory viruses in Hamilton, Ontario. Methods: All nasopharyngeal swab specimens (n=57,503) submitted for routine respiratory virus testing at a regional laboratory serving all acute-care hospitals in Hamilton between January 2010 and June 2020 were reviewed. Testing for influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, parainfluenza I–III, adenovirus, and rhinovirus/enterovirus was done routinely using a laboratory-developed polymerase chain reaction multiplex respiratory viral panel. A Bayesian linear regression model was used to determine the trend of positivity rates of all influenza samples for the first 26 weeks of each year from 2010 to 2019. The mean positivity rate of Bayesian inference was compared with the weekly reported positivity rate of influenza samples in 2020. Results: The positivity rate of influenza in 2020 diminished sharply following the population-wide implementation of COVID-19 interventions. Weeks 12–26 reported 0% positivity for influenza, with the exception of 0.1% reported in week 13. Conclusion: Public health measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with a reduced incidence of other respiratory viruses and should be considered to mitigate severe seasonal influenza and other respiratory virus pandemics.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Health Agency Response and Public Engagement in Public Health Emergency: A Case Study of CDC Tweeting Patterns During the 2016 Zika Epidemic

10.2196/10827 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. e10827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Chen ◽  
Qian Xu ◽  
John Buchenberger ◽  
Arunkumar Bagavathi ◽  
Gabriel Fair ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Emergency
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