A Year of COVID-19 Pandemic Roller-Coaster: The Malta Experience, Lessons Learnt, and the Future

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a global impact. The study explores the various COVID-19 experiences in Malta over the past year and provides a snapshot of acute and post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, as well as national vaccination roll-out and hesitancy. Data on medical access, lif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2022-05, Vol.17, p.e153-e153, Article e153
Main Authors: Cuschieri, Sarah, Grech, Stephan, Grech, Victor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age groups
Body weight
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 Vaccines
Education
Females
Hospitals
Humans
Learning
Males
Malta - epidemiology
Mortality
Original Research
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Personal hygiene
Risk taking
Social networks
Vaccination
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Summary:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a global impact. The study explores the various COVID-19 experiences in Malta over the past year and provides a snapshot of acute and post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, as well as national vaccination roll-out and hesitancy. Data on medical access, lifestyle habits, acute and post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, and vaccination hesitancy was gathered through a social media survey targeting adults of Malta. COVID-19 data were gathered from the Malta Ministry of Health COVID-19 dashboard. Malta controlled COVID-19 spread exceptionally well initially. Since August 2020, the positivity rate, mortality, and hospital admission rates saw a fluctuating incline. From COVID-19 onset, a decrease in physical activity and an increase in body weight was reported. Most participants acquiring COVID-19 were asymptomatic but nontrivial proportion experienced post-acute symptoms. The majority opted to take the COVID-19 vaccine with only a minority expressing safety concerns. Malta has experienced roller coaster events over a year. The population faced elevated levels of morbidity, mortality, and economic hardship along with negative and positive risk-associated behaviors. Vaccination in combination with population adherence to social distancing, mask wearing, and personal hygiene are expected to be the beacons of hope in the coming months.
ISSN:1935-7893
1938-744X
DOI:10.1017/dmp.2022.100