Will the world be ready for the next pandemic? This is a question we need to start answering and planning for now. We must reflect on key learnings.
The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The scale and impact of the virus caught much of the world by surprise, even as it spread and the number of cases climbed in the weeks and months leading up to that day. To date, we have lost more than 2.65 million people worldwide to COVID-19. The economic devastation and physical and mental health impacts are similarly staggering. The toll COVID-19 has taken demands that we start now to apply the lessons learned from this pandemic. It is the only way to make sure we are prepared for similar events, whether they occur five, 50, or 100 years in the future.
The questions we must ask ourselves range from the practical to the philosophical. For example, more than 50 per cent of COVID-19-related deaths in Ontario have been in long-term care homes. We must take a hard look at how we can better protect our most vulnerable and have plans in place for next time.
Another lesson learned relates to shortages. Early shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and Canada’s lack of capacity to make a COVID-19 vaccine has demonstrated that domestic manufacturing is a national security issue. Should Canada manufacture PPE even if it is cheaper to do so elsewhere? COVID-19’s disruption of the global PPE supply chain suggests government may want to create permanent manufacturing capability in this country.
When it comes to vaccines, the federal government has signalled its intent to create domestic capability. This could support increased medical innovation here at home, while providing a more secure and rapid supply of vaccines in a future emergency. Another significant learning from this pandemic has been the broader need for a life science, biotechnology and domestic pharmaceutical strategy.
I am proud of the OMA’s response to the pandemic, the value that we have provided to members throughout, and the enormous sacrifices Ontario’s doctors have made to save lives and keep patients well. In January 2020, long before the pandemic was declared, the OMA convened a cross-department COVID-19 table to ensure we were prepared to support members.
Thanks to significant reorganization implemented before the pandemic, the OMA was able to quickly pivot the entire organization to work remotely and to focus on supporting members affected by COVID-19. We were able to negotiate special COVID-19 funding, including new billing codes for virtual care. We worked tirelessly to supply physicians with badly needed PPE, so they could keep their clinics open. Through a broad range of channels, we provided reliable information on a wide variety of topics, from infectious disease to financial supports.
In addition to the Association’s work to support members during the pandemic, the OMA also delivered on its core 2020 priorities, including governance transformation, and appointing a strong team for the next round of Physician Services Agreement (PSA) negotiations. Currently, we are focused on ensuring that primary care physicians can deliver a substantial number of vaccine doses to Ontarians. To that end, we have been working with senior levels of government to share our expertise and engage in scenario planning.
The OMA will closely examine what we did well during the pandemic, as well as looking at where we could have been more effective. What we learn will need to become part of our DNA as an organization. Around the world, organizations and governments must undertake similar exercises. We don’t know when the next pandemic will be, or whether it will even occur during our lifetimes. But what we do know is there will be another one, someday. The question then will be, did we apply the lessons learned from this one?
Allan O’Dette
OMA Chief Executive Officer