Journal-based CME Course: The Combined Effect of Vaccination and Nonpharmaceutical Public Health Interventions—Ending the COVID-19 Pandemic

Activity ID

12376

Expires

June 4, 2024

Format Type

Journal-based

CME Credit

1

Fee

$30

CME Provider: JAMA Network Open

Description of CME Course

Since the emergence of the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in late 2019 and the declaration of a global pandemic in March 2020, the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been substantial. The impact of the pandemic is being felt around the world, and in its early stages, only a few countries were successful in limiting community transmission by early and proactive public health measures aimed at preventing importation and seeding of infection in their jurisdictions. As we collectively learned about this new pathogen and its transmission routes and patterns, most countries relied on public health measures based on previous experience of epidemics of respiratory pathogens with human-to-human transmission to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 infection. These measures included isolation and quarantine, stay-at-home orders, closure of nonessential businesses and schools, physical distancing, limiting social interactions, and enhanced respiratory hygiene, collectively known as nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). These interventions were later supplemented by the recommendation and/or mandate that the public wear nonmedical masks with the aim of reducing transmission at the population level. As unintended consequences and the economic toll of public health restrictions continue to mount, a strategy to end this pandemic logically involves deploying effective and safe vaccines. There are several vaccines, mostly based on messenger RNA and nonreplicating viral vector technologies, now approved for use by regulatory authorities around the world. Because the rollout of vaccination campaigns around the world still depends on vaccine supply and available public health infrastructure, it is only natural to ask when we can roll back public health NPIs.

Disclaimers

1. This activity is accredited by the American Medical Association.
2. This activity is free to AMA members.

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