American journal of public health | 2021
Katrina to Corona: Surges Urge United States to Learn.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), presents monumental challenges on multiple fronts and on a global scale Since the first report out of the Wuhan district in China in December 2019, the pandemic has resulted in nearly 75 million cases worldwide The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported more than 16 million casesand more than 300 000 deaths domestically as of December 17, 2020, making the United States the most affected country 1 When catastrophic events occur, public institutions, especially government agencies, find ways to mitigate injury and loss to their citizens Katrina, one of the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States, caused an estimated $200 billion in damage, mostly concentrated in the Gulf Coast region 4 Fortunately, the rest of the US economy was relatively stable and could support the region s recovery [ ]even excluding in-kind donations, the Department of State received $126 million from 36 countries and international organizations;the United States government had never before received such large amounts of disaster assistance 5 Unlike Katrina, the economic damage from COVID-19 is not limited in geographic scope or duration;its legacy will be far flung and long term Seven hurricane-specific and four generaldisaster recommendations resulted 18 Similarly, the US Naval War College s September 2019 urban outbreak pandemic exercise yielded 16 defensive recommendations to manage a COVID-19 pandemic-like situation 19 Dozens of additional modeling teams now offer support to policy and response directors by predicting COVID-19 trajectories through infectious disease and statistical modeling 20 Notably, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response have developed five COVID-19 pandemic planning scenarios to evaluate the potential effects of various mitigation strategies and help inform public health planning 1 DISPARITIES REVEALED BY KATRINA AND COVID-19 Inadequacies in the three principal social determinants of health-physical environments, social environments, and (inadequate) health services and health literacy-result in health disparities that amplify morbidity and