ISSN: 2691-5782
Authors: Votta M*, Wójtowicz K, Grzesiak I and Arellano M
Thanks to the initiative organized on 14th November 2023 in the European Parliament by Active Citizenship Network, 26 patient advocacy groups (PAGs) from 13 countries sent a clear message to the EU institutions: even if COVID-19 moves from pandemic to endemic, we must ensure that we remain vigilant and prioritize efforts to minimize its impact. In particular, as the winter season approaches, it is imperative to guarantee high attention to COVID-19. In fact, experts remind us that COVID-19 remains a threat to national health systems as a whole; it is particularly dangerous for patients who are at higher risk, as they may suffer from serious conditions such as chronic, respiratory, cardiovascular, oncological or any other form of disease; respiratory diseases contribute to serious illness and high levels of hospitalization in vulnerable populations each year, particularly in the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. To date, there are several preventive measures (such as vaccines produced with different technologies) and therapeutic strategies (such as monoclonal antibodies and antivirals) available to reduce the impact of COVID-19, which need to be adequately communicated to the public by defining the precise indications for use, particularly for vulnerable patients and their family members/caregivers. With the Recommendations presented at the EU level, civic & patient organizations concretely encourage policymakers and healthcare institutions to increase public awareness and communication about the symptoms and risks of COVID-19 and to strengthen the synergy between General Practitioners, patients and other specialists who treat them. With the European elections only a few months away, we expect that the health of European citizens will remain a top priority on the agenda of European institutions.
Keywords: European Union; Patients’ Rights; Civic Participation; Covid-19; Pandemic; Global Health Treats; European Health Union; State of the Union address; Disaster Preparedness
