[COVID-19. History repeats itself and we keep stumbling on the same stone]

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Systems Management

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant vulnerabilities in global health systems.
• Many nations lacked established protocols and resources for managing large-scale epidemics.

Observation:

• Health systems worldwide experienced a critical mismatch in capacity and response during the pandemic.
• Pre-existing public health infrastructures were often inadequate to cope with the unprecedented scale of the crisis.

Findings:

• The pandemic highlighted a collective forgetting of essential epidemic response behaviors among countries.
• Resource limitations severely hampered effective management and containment strategies.

Implications:

• There is a critical need to document pandemic experiences for future reference.
• Educational initiatives for the public are essential for effective response.
• Generating new scientific knowledge is crucial for enhancing preparedness against future epidemics.