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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 1 | Page : 176 |
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Change paradigm in the face of COVID-19; From bans to incentives
Alireza Jabbari1, Elaheh Mazaheri2, Marziye Hadian3
1 Department of Health Services Management, Health Management and Economics Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Health Information Technology Research Center, Student Research Committee, School of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of Health Services Management, Student Research Committee of School of Management and Medical Information, Health Management and Economics Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| Date of Submission | 20-Feb-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 03-Jun-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 30-Dec-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Marziye Hadian
Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_83_21
How to cite this article:
Jabbari A, Mazaheri E, Hadian M. Change paradigm in the face of COVID-19; From bans to incentives. Int J Prev Med 2021;12:176 |
In December 2019, the COVID-19 virus appeared in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China.[1],[2] As of February 16, 2021, there were 109,865,149 infected people and 2,423,838 deaths due to COVID-19 disease in the world.[3] According to WHO, COVID-19 disease is a common enemy of humanity and is a public health emergency. This international organization advises governments to stop the virus transmission cycle by considering proper policies.[4]
The following three general approaches include: mitigation approach, based on herd immunity theory,[5] active control or contamination using quarantine, separation, and social distancing[6], and suppression approach combined with mask and personal hygiene principles, such as regular hand washing and no contaminated hand contact with the face, as well as observance of public hygiene principles, such as control of sneezing and coughing and safe extermination of personal protective equipment, has so far been performed to break the transmission chain of COVID-19 disease.[7]
However, the effective use of the mentioned approaches requires adequate knowledge about the disease, its ways of transmission, its mortality rate, its consequences on the health system, the health sector capacity, economic status, public cooperation, integration of countries' political systems, population size, and population density, especially in communicable diseases that can be transmitted via the respiratory system. The world experience has shown that quick action and suppressive approaches are more effective and do not in any way recommend a slowing down or mitigation approach to controlling and inhibiting the novel coronavirus disease. Data show that prior to obtaining an effective vaccine or drug for the disease, the only appropriate strategy is to break the transmission chain, make extensive use of the mask by members of the community, maintain a physical distance in daily activities, and clean hands.[8]
Therefore, there is no choice but to cut or delay the transmission chain of the disease, except to generalize this triple behavior.
So far, the approaches used have been based on a recommendation-mandatory paradigm.
Due to the prolongation of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is practically impossible to continue to use the approaches of rapid action and decisive repression, due to the application of restrictions and prohibitions and its opposition to the natural flow of human life alone. Governments need a paradigm shift from advice and coercion to an incentive-based paradigm to perpetuate the three behaviors in society.
Obviously, in the incentive-based paradigm, governments instead of spending a lot of energy on society to pursue three strategies, it is better to take the society out of passive cooperation in controlling the epidemic by using a diverse range of socio-economic incentives, and turn it into an active community to implement as many preventive and health guidelines as possible.
In this society, members of the society, in addition to making great efforts to prevent their infection, try to manage violators of the protocols. People will also be actively seeking the latest credible information about COVID-19 disease and ways to prevent it to get incentives. The new paradigm seems to be more conformity with COVID-19 disease and its management.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Zu ZY, Jiang MD, Xu PP, Chen W, Ni QQ, Lu GM, et al. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A perspective from China. Radiology 2020;296:E15-25.  |
| 2. | Lupia T, Scabini S, Pinna SM, Di Perri G, De Rosa FG, Corcione S. 2019-novel coronavirus outbreak: A new challenge. J Glob Antimicrob Resist 2020;21:22-7. |
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| 4. | Wei J, Xu H, Xiong J, Shen Q, Fan B, Ye C, et al. 2019 Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia: Serial computed tomography findings. Korean J Radiol 2020;21:501-4. |
| 5. | Anderson RM, Heesterbeek H, Klinkenberg D, Hollingsworth TD. How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic? Lancet 2020;395:931-4. |
| 6. | Leung CC, Lam TH, Cheng KK. Mass masking in the COVID-19 epidemic: People need guidance. Lancet 2020;395:945. |
| 7. | Prompetchara E, Ketloy C, Palaga T. Immune responses in COVID-19 and potential vaccines: Lessons learned from SARS and MERS epidemic. Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol 2020;38:1-9. |
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