MINSK, 12 December (BelTA) - Vladimir Karanik, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences, talked about the conclusions drawn by Belarus from the COVID-19 pandemic in an interview with BelTA.
Having served as Healthcare Minister at the time, Vladimir Karanik played a central role in combating the pandemic. He noted: “The head of state's decisions allowed us to provide an objective assessment of the situation from the outset. We were able to state from the start that a respiratory virus with a long incubation period, capable of transmission before symptom onset, a high rate of asymptomatic carriage, and spread across two hemispheres cannot be stopped by restrictive measures alone. This is fundamental knowledge in medical education. Therefore, lockdown was never considered as a primary solution to the problem. We needed measures that would prevent both a surge in infections and an overload of the healthcare system, while simultaneously keeping the economy going.”
“Different response plans were developed. No doctor had to make a terrible choice of which patient should receive a ventilator and which should not, and I consider this the main achievement of the healthcare system. Even at the peak of the pandemic, we had equipment in reserve,” Vladimir Karanik went on o say. “Life in the country did not come to a halt during the pandemic. One can confidently state that the healthcare system fulfilled its task. The situation was under the personal oversight of the head of state, and this helped a lot. All government bodies understood that this was a problem not only for the healthcare system but for the entire state. Therefore, doctors always felt support.”
According to him, such big challenges require a comprehensive approach, and this is the main lesson from the pandemic period. “We realized that we must have a certain safety margin and reserve capacity in the healthcare system. This work continues now so that when a new pandemic arrives, we will be fully equipped to deal with it. The experience gained is being taken into account in the design of future healthcare facilities, in the development of the biotechnological sector at the National Academy of Sciences and in advancing the biopharmaceutical sector within the system of the Healthcare Ministry. Our task is to ensure the necessary level of biological protection for the population and a high degree of technological sovereignty to independently meet our needs in safeguarding our people,” Vladimir Karanik emphasized.
Having served as Healthcare Minister at the time, Vladimir Karanik played a central role in combating the pandemic. He noted: “The head of state's decisions allowed us to provide an objective assessment of the situation from the outset. We were able to state from the start that a respiratory virus with a long incubation period, capable of transmission before symptom onset, a high rate of asymptomatic carriage, and spread across two hemispheres cannot be stopped by restrictive measures alone. This is fundamental knowledge in medical education. Therefore, lockdown was never considered as a primary solution to the problem. We needed measures that would prevent both a surge in infections and an overload of the healthcare system, while simultaneously keeping the economy going.”
“Different response plans were developed. No doctor had to make a terrible choice of which patient should receive a ventilator and which should not, and I consider this the main achievement of the healthcare system. Even at the peak of the pandemic, we had equipment in reserve,” Vladimir Karanik went on o say. “Life in the country did not come to a halt during the pandemic. One can confidently state that the healthcare system fulfilled its task. The situation was under the personal oversight of the head of state, and this helped a lot. All government bodies understood that this was a problem not only for the healthcare system but for the entire state. Therefore, doctors always felt support.”
According to him, such big challenges require a comprehensive approach, and this is the main lesson from the pandemic period. “We realized that we must have a certain safety margin and reserve capacity in the healthcare system. This work continues now so that when a new pandemic arrives, we will be fully equipped to deal with it. The experience gained is being taken into account in the design of future healthcare facilities, in the development of the biotechnological sector at the National Academy of Sciences and in advancing the biopharmaceutical sector within the system of the Healthcare Ministry. Our task is to ensure the necessary level of biological protection for the population and a high degree of technological sovereignty to independently meet our needs in safeguarding our people,” Vladimir Karanik emphasized.
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