A plea for equitable global access to COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccination and therapy: The NeuroCOVID-19 Task Force of the European Academy of Neurology.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a multi-organ disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to challenge health and care systems around the globe. The pandemic has disrupted acute neurology services and routine patient care and has impacted the clinical course in patients with chronic neurological disease. COVID-19 appears to have exposed inequalities of societies and healthcare systems and had a disproportionate impact on already vulnerable communities. The next challenge will be to set up initiatives to stop disparities in all aspects related to COVID-19. From the medical perspective, there is a need to consider inequalities in prevention, treatment and long-term consequences. Some of the issues of direct relevance to neurologists are summarised. With this appraisal, the European Academy of Neurology NeuroCOVID-19 Task Force intends to raise awareness of the potential impact of COVID-19 on inequalities in healthcare and calls for action to prevent disparity at individual, national and supranational levels.

• Authors: Johann Sellner, Thomas M Jenkins, Tim J von Oertzen, Claudio L Bassetti, Ettore Beghi, Daniel Bereczki, Benedetta Bodini, Francesco Cavallieri, Giovanni Di Liberto, Raimund Helbok, Antonella Macerollo, Luis F Maia, Celia Oreja-Guevara, Serefnur Özturk, Martin Rakusa, Antonio Pisani, Alberto Priori, Anna Sauerbier, Riccardo Soffietti, Pille Taba, Marialuisa Zedde, Michael Crean, Anja Burlica, Alex Twardzik, Elena Moro, EAN NeuroCOVID-19 Task Force
• Journal: European journal of neurology (Eur J Neurol) Vol. 28 Issue 11 Pg. 3849-3855 (11 2021) ISSN: 1468-1331 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33460486 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.

Topics

• COVID-19
• Humans
• Neurology
• Pandemics
• SARS-CoV-2
• Vaccination