March 4, 2021

A message from the ESICM President

 

COVID-19: One year later, we are stronger united

 

DEAR COLLEAGUES,

Ten days after the first COVID-19 outbreak in Northern Italy, intensivist colleagues and I reached out to the international medical community. Through an ESICM’s President message, we shared our first impressions and information about this unknown new virus and conveyed a strong message: get ready!

Our letter was dated 4 March 2020. The virus was spreading faster than we thought, and we were not prepared; the world was not prepared.

But we learned along the way, together. Special thanks are owed to the tremendous efforts of health care professionals in dealing with this unprecedented situation. ESICM committed to support them and advance knowledge of this disease by providing up-to-date multimedia resources involving leading experts worldwide. We also collaborated with the EU Commission to develop the C_19 SPACE curriculum to train health professionals not regularly working in ICUs.

In so doing, we wanted to provide the best possible care for our patients. Unfortunately, the pandemic has been so disruptive that many have lost their loved ones. Though our words can do little, our thoughts go to them.

One year on, we are still learning.

The main lesson is that we can better face this crisis if we all stand united, thanks to global scientific collaboration and the help of citizens in the community. In this spirit, we continue to facilitate cooperation and information dissemination to encourage and strengthen the intensive care community worldwide.

Hopefully, with fair access to vaccines for everyone in the World, this crisis will come to an end.

Thank you for all your efforts: what we are doing for our patients and families should make us proud of being part of this global community.

Together we are Intensive Care.

 

Maurizio Cecconi, ESICM President

 

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