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The EU’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout has received intense criticism for failing to keep pace with the vaccination programmes of other countries, notably the UK. Gareth Davies argues that while the UK has undoubtedly managed to vaccinate a greater share of its population than EU states thus far, the facts are more nuanced than the headline ... Continued

At the moment, governments are subsidising wage costs and lending businesses money to enable them to survive the pandemic. To spread the burden more fairly through society, Tsjalle van der Burg (University of Twente) proposes imposing price controls instead.

The need is now, but the solution takes over ten years. The race for speed is on, facilitated by billion-dollar fundraising and sustained investment in public-private partnerships. Accelerating COVID-19 vaccine development to “pandemic speed” has included many simultaneous projects, parallel clinical trials, fast-tracking experimental technology, and committing manufacturing capacity before regulatory approval.

Soon, we will all have convinced ourselves that we knew all along what was going to happen. Hindsight bias is how our brain manages its scarce resources and protects us from losing faith.The reality is that for the time being, both policy makers and business leaders have to keep making some of the biggest decisions of their lives under some of the worst uncertainty of their lives. In a previous article, we talked about how we can use resilience thinking to make better choices. Today, we want to look at another crucial aspect: how can we ensure the legitimacy of our actions, i.e., reflect on how much support we can expect from the general public or our employees for what we are about to ask of them.Megaproject management may not be the first area of expertise you turn to for advice in the current situation. We will explain in a little while why you should. Our interest in megaproject management focuses on the risk management side of things, particularly risks surrounding public support (or opposition) of these rather impactful and wide ranging endeavours. Here is why looking at megaprojects for inspiration in the current situation is interesting: They are very significant investments, they cause changes at societal scale (at least locally), they are unique, with a significant dose of first-of-a-kind actions, and at some point they are over and transition what they build into operations. That does sound a bit familiar these days.While legitimacy is important, there are also other factors. Most notably, legality and feasibility. A common pitfall for managers of megaprojects and business leaders or policymakers alike, is to take action that is legal (or at least: later legalised) and feasible, but not seen as legitimate. That leads into dangerous territory of provoking significant resistance.There are three aspects to the legitimacy of megaprojects that also apply to the legitimacy of the rather drastic actions being taken today by governments and business leaders.

Published online on March 17th, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency, but it also has the potential to impact on many other elements of European societies beyond health services. Jelena Dzankic and Lorenzo Piccoli write on the effect the outbreak is having on the uses and meanings of citizenship. The rapid spread of the coronavirus has wrecked human mobility, and profoundly disrupted the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. Its effects are mirrored in policies such as evacuations from affected areas or spaces, travel restrictions, and confinement in quarantines, but also in social and behavioural practices ranging from panic-shopping to the alteration of greeting customs that entail physical contact. These occurrences show how profoundly the virus has cut into the relationship between citizenship as a guarantee of the state’s responsibility for the well-being of its citizens, on the one hand, and human rights and practices of solidarity, on the other.

Low German wages are often cited as a key contributing factor to imbalances in the Eurozone. Donato Di Carlo and Martin Höpner demonstrate that while nominal unit labour cost growth in Germany consistently undershot that of other Eurozone countries in the first decade of the euro, the country has undergone a ‘silent rebalancing’ following the financial crisis. Unfortunately, this incomplete process is likely to be reversed by the shock from Covid-19.

Countries in Latin America and Europe, despite their substantial differences, are currently wrestling with a similar strategic question: whether they should engage in regional integration or ‘go it alone’. Carlos Cruz Infante and Roland Benedikter present a detailed comparison of Latin America and the EU across six key indexes. Their findings suggest there remain substantial ... Continued

COVID-19 is putting unprecedented pressure on European healthcare systems. Tamara Popic draws together some early lessons, arguing that the crisis should prompt a rethink of the direction of healthcare policies across Europe, and that the principle of solidarity must now move to the forefront as countries seek to mitigate the impact of the outbreak.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) - pandemien har fremskyndet søgningen efter muligheder for at kontrollere miljøfaktorer for at inddæmme eller afbøde spredningen af ”Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)”, der er den virus der er ansvarlig for sygdommen. SARS-CoV-2 overføres normalt fra person til person ved kontakt med store dråber fra åndedrætssystemet, enten direkte eller ved at røre virusinficerede overflader (også betegnet som smittespredende genstande) og derefter røre øjne, næse eller mund. Det understeges, at der er stigende mængder evidens for virusoverførsel via den luftbårne rute, da de store åndedrætsdråber tørrer ud og danner dråbekerner, som kan forblive luftbårne i flere timer. Afhængig af overfladenes art og miljøfaktorer kan smittespredende genstande forblive smitsomme i flere dage (van Doremalen, 2020). Anvendelse af bakteriedræbende UV-stråling er et vigtigt miljømæssigt virkemiddel, der kan reducere både kontaktspredning og luftbåren transmission af smitsomme stoffer (som bakterier og vira). Bakteriedræbende UV-stråling inden for UV-C-området (200 nm – 280 nm), primært 254 nm, er blevet brugt succesfuldt og sikkert i over 70 år. Dog skal bakteriedræbende UV-stråling anvendes med kyndighed og med passende opmærksomhed på dosis og sikkerhed. Uhensigtsmæssig anvendelse af bakteriedræbende UV-stråling kan skabe problemer for menneskers sundhed og sikkerhed og bevirke utilstrækkelig deaktivering af smitsomme stoffer. Anvendelse i hjemmet anbefales ikke, og bakteriedræbende UV-stråling bør aldrig bruges til at desinficere huden, undtagen når det er klinisk berettiget.

Since the spread of the COVID-19 and the strict lockdown measures adopted by countries all over the world, the requirements for facility managers in Denmark and abroad have changed. While many (especially knowledge workers) continue working from home, facility managers play a key role as they prepare for when society will be opened again.