Abstract

What lessons from the ‘Spanish' flu pandemic informed our response to COVID-19 - and what lessons can we learn for the next pandemic?

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020 led the WHO Director-General to declare

a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January. Over the next six weeks, all countries -  including New Zealand - were faced with the huge challenge of making decisions to protect their population with limited understanding of the virus and its impact.

Among other inputs into decisions at that time, decision-makers and communities drew on the experience of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and previous infectious disease outbreaks including polio. This historical perspective was an important factor in decision making. A key opportunity now is for Aotearoa New Zealand to learn and embed the lessons from its response to COVID-19, in the knowledge that the next pandemic is more likely in 10 rather than 100 years.

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS 

Sir Ashley Bloomfield has 25 years’ experience in public health, policy and health leadership, including at the WHO in Geneva. He was New Zealand’s Director-General of Health from June 2018 to July 2022 and led the country’s health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was appointed a Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to public health. Dr Bloomfield is now a Professor at the University of Auckland's School of Population Health and Interim Chief Executive at Environmental Science and Research (ESR).