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Dr. Roman Bayer and Mia Tellmann in Vienna, Austria.
Austria, a comparably small country with a population of 8 million, has assisted other countries in every major crisis since 2003. I was curious how this impressive track record was made possible.
My enquiry to the Austrian Government was kindly answered with an invitation from Dr. Roman Bayer, who I met in Vienna. Dr. Bayer works for the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Government of the Republic of Austria.
Disaster management will be crucial in future pandemics. Picture by Shutterstock
This Wall Street Journal article was written by Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2017. While COVID-19 preoccupies us at the moment, it is crucial to begin thinking about the next inevitable pandemics. Dr. Frieden explains that in the years after COVID-19, it is likely that another infectious disease, possibly a similar pneumonia-like illness, suddenly emerges. Will we be ready?
In this part of my conversation with Prof. Dr. Manfred Wildner and Dr. Herbert Zöllner in Munich, we are discussing biothreat and pandemic preparedness in Germany.
Dr. Herbert Zöllner
Dr. Zöllner worked for the World Health Organization from 1971-2002, in a variety of roles. He was Regional Officer for Health Economics at WHO’s Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen and later member of the executive management team in Strategic Planning and Coordination.
Except for COVID-19, all global pandemics in the last century were caused by influenza viruses. Picture by Shutterstock
As part of my work for NYU’s School of Global Public Health, I have been compiling and comparing key metrics for the most severe global pandemics that occurred in the past 100 years.
I am comparing COVID-19 metrics to seasonal influenza, 1918 Spanish flu, 1957 Asian flu, 1968 Hong Kong flu, and 2009-10 H1N1. There are many similarities and differences that can be observed. Aside from the astonishing speed of vaccine development to combat COVID-19, there are three interesting findings.
Austria’s approach to crisis management is worth studying. It was the first European country to safely open their economy again after the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Picture by Shutterstock
During my internship at New York University’s Department of Public Safety, I had an opportunity to learn about emergency management and preparedness. An interesting fact I came across while looking at how individual countries organize themselves in the field of crisis management, is that Austria, a comparably small country with a population of 8 million, has assisted other countries in every major crisis since 2003. I was curious how this impressive track record was made possible.
My enquiry to the Austrian government was kindly answered with an invitation from Dr. Roman Bayer, who I met in Vienna. Dr. Bayer works for the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Government of the Republic of Austria.
Come join a free, live webinar on the resurgent chemical weapons threat on November 17, from 12:00 – 1:30PM EST, hosted by George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. This event is sponsored by the Biodefense Graduate Program.
Climate change increases the risk of new epidemics. Picture by Shutterstock/ diy13
I originally created this blog as a way to spread awareness of the importance of public health preparedness, as it was an undervalued and underfunded topic. However, times have changed and public health and emergency management are at the forefront of news and public policy today as a result of COVID-19.
Free templates available for COVID-19 disaster plans!
If you are working for a healthcare organization and are looking for a COVID-19 disaster plan, you can now download a template using the link below.
Freely available to any organization, COVID-19 disaster plan templates were created by 30 students from schools across NYU including Medicine, Nursing, Public Service, Social Work and Global Public Health.
Prof. Dr. Manfred Wildner, MD, MPH
The history of public health in Germany is inseparably intertwined with German historic events and public figures. I was able to learn about it from two experts in this field: Prof. Dr. Manfred Wildner and his colleague Dr. Herbert Zöllner, who are both based in Munich, Germany.
COVID-19 reinfections are now documented in several countries. Picture by Shutterstock/ Lightspring
The first documented Coronavirus reinfection was reported in Hong Kong on August 24th, 2020. Experts say this finding was not unexpected, “especially given the millions of people who have been infected worldwide”. While there have been many presumed cases of reinfection, this case was the first to be confirmed.