Australia underprepared for pandemic, COVID review finds

MANY of the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic are unlikely to be accepted by the Australian public in the event of another epidemic, according to the federal government’s review into the nation’s pandemic response.

The inquiry, set up by the federal government in September last year, was tasked with investigating Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics and to provide recommendations to improve the country’s response measures.

The inquiry’s panel – comprising former NSW Health secretary Robyn Kruk, health economist Dr Angela Jackson and epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett – said that overall Australia should be “proud” of what was achieved during the pandemic, despite the relative immaturity of its response measures, however there were “lessons to be learned” to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

The report features nine guiding recommendations, which have been broken down into 19 immediate actions – to be implemented over the next 12-18 months – and a further seven actions for the medium-term.

These recommendations include finalising the establishment of a dedicated Australian Centre for Disease Control, developing a national strategy to rebuild community trust in vaccines and building a whole-of-government plan to improve the resilience of both domestic and international supply chains.

“What we heard was recognition that Australia was one of the most successful countries in its pandemic response and yet, like other countries, was not adequately prepared for a pandemic,” the report stated.

“There were existing plans, but these were limited. There was no playbook on what actions to take in a pandemic, no regular testing of symptoms and processes to make clear who would lead parts of the response, and no arrangements on sharing resources and data.

The report calls for “structured systems” flexible enough to deal with “whatever risks the next pandemic raises”, including a regularly stress-tested playbook that prioritises the community’s most vulnerable members.

“The goal is to combine a balanced, proportionate and adaptable response to the threat with an approach that protects health and the health system and minimises the risk of harm to Australians and the widening of existing health, social and economic inequities.

It also warned many of the public health professionals and frontline community service and health staff that the Australian community relied upon during the pandemic are no longer in their positions, posing a risk to the nation’s resilience in the face another crisis.

“Trust has also been eroded, and many of the measures taken during COVID-19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again.

“That means there is a job to be done to rebuild trust, and we must plan a response based on the Australia we are today, not the Australia we were before the pandemic.”

Minister for Health Mark Butler said the COVID-19 response inquiry highlighted Australia was not prepared for a pandemic.

“Because of the lack of planning, Australia’s pandemic response to COVID was slow, confused and lacked authority.” he said.

In response to the inquiry, the federal government will put more than $250 million towards the delivery of an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC), an election commitment made in October 2020, to monitor and prepare for future pandemics. It is expected to be operational by January 2026.