COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
Drawing the early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
1. INTRODUCTION
The world continues to grapple with an unprecedented public health crisis, which has taken an unspeakable toll on human life, put societies under enormous strain and sparked one of the most acute global economic challenge in modern history. As vaccination rates continue to go up and infection rates go down in Europe, the EU has put in place a set of measures and coordination to confront the pandemic and ensure that the impact on our societies and economies is alleviated. At the same time, the risks of COVID-19 are still high and daily global infection levels are more than twice what they were this time last year.
This reflects the fact that, despite the progress, the pandemic is not yet over. But it also shows the need and the urgency to continue learning the lessons of this crisis in order to better address the new and emerging threats of this pandemic, while also preparing for new and different health crises in the future. This Communication therefore focuses on some of the early lessons in the field of health that Europe needs to act upon now. It is by design – and by necessity – an interim report and provides a basis on which more lessons will be drawn in the longer term.