Introduction: The world was not prepared when the coronavirus pandemic hit. The Integrated Health Monitor COVID-19 studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Dutch population health and well-being since 2021. These results should be taken into account when increasing pandemic preparedness. Methods: The Integrated Health Monitor COVID-19 contains four main study arms: (1) systematic literature reviews, (2) quarterly and (3) bi-annual monitoring through questionnaires in different target groups, and (4) Primary Care patient registration data. All effects since September 2021 were pooled and assessed for possible effect mitigation options and lessons learned for future pandemics. Results: The effects of both COVID-19 infection and containment measures on Dutch population health are still present. Two years after the Omicron lockdown in December 2021, the prevalence of post-COVID-19 syndrome was 3,4% (95% CI: 3,0%-3,8%) among adults (26+ years), and there is hardly any recovery in youth mental health. Some effects can still be mitigated by acknowledging the sorrow from the pandemic and strengthening social networks. Reflecting upon the acute phase of the pandemic shows the focus of the monitoring and advisory activities in the Netherlands on two tracks: (1) infectious disease control and the acute consequences for mental health, and (2) behavior patterns related to COVID-19 countermeasures. Even though some monitoring included mental health aspects (mostly as a predictor of behavior), the pandemic’s effects on well-being were underexposed and therefore underemphasized in COVID-19 policy-making for a long time. Conclusion: Mental health and well-being were negatively affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is assumed to be an effect of the containment measures. Therefore, part of pandemic preparedness should be to start monitoring population health and well-being simultaneously with monitoring infectious disease and behavior. Thereby, these aspects can be proportionally weighed and taken into account in policy decisions during an infectious disease outbreak.
Marra et al. (Sun,) studied this question.