by Roberto
For many, the horrors lived through the pandemic are now receding memories. From a more objective perspective, we can begin to ponder some key questions. What did each one of us learn from the experience? What should we have known from the start of the pandemic? A recently published interview that is both highly informative and spelled out in clear language describes numerous bits of knowledge regarding the relevant virology, immunology, and epidemiology already in place in early 2020 that could have led to better public health policy.
Fig. 1. Colorized transmission electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2. Source
David Wallace-Wells from The New York Times, interviews Michael Mina, well-known for his early advocacy of using rapid antigen tests to better inform public policy during the pandemic. I realize that The New York Times requires a subscription, but they do allow non-subscribers to access a limited number of articles per month free of charge, here is the link to article again. I strongly recommend reading this interview, there's much to learn from it. Without being overly critical of how scientists informed the public or guided public policy, Michael clearly describes areas where we could have done much better. To me, a key take-home message as to why we got some things so wrong was because "epidemiologists are not immunologists and immunologists are not virologists and virologists are not epidemiologists." The lack of communication among those experts resulted in less-than-optimal reactions. I dare to add ecologists and evolutionists to that string of specialists. We could have greatly benefitted from having had more very broadly trained scientists. Such training is something that I have advocated for before, for example see here and here). As we look to the future, let's hope we keep this in mind as we train the future generation. Broad knowledge and broad thinking will become ever more important to face global challenges in the future.
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