Towards a post‐COVID world: Challenges and progress of recovery in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Kazakhstan announced the first cases of COVID‐19 in March 2020. Within a span of a few months, the pandemic ravaged all regions affecting vulnerable populations due to limited access to healthcare services and co‐morbidities. To minimize the spread of the pandemic, the government announced the implementation of containment measures such as quarantine, movement restrictions, and lockdowns among others. The collateral effect of the pandemic has disrupted economic and learning activities pushing several people below the poverty line. The pandemic revealed the weakness of healthcare including the acute shortage of essential medicines and lack of hospital beds. This calls for stringent measures to revive the economy and mitigate the reeling effect of the pandemic. As a result, Kazakhstan commenced COVID‐19 vaccination efforts in February 2021. To date, about 47.8% are fully vaccinated pushing Kazakhstan closer to achieving herd immunity at the 60% threshold. However, the country faces challenges such as vaccine hesitancy and uncertainty surrounding vaccine effectiveness against new variants of SARS‐CoV2, among others. This paper aims to explore the health and socioeconomic challenges caused by COVID‐19 in Kazakhstan, control strategies, vaccination campaigns and progress towards herd immunity.

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health in Kazakhstan

“…There is a scarcity of scientific literature on the impact of limited access to healthcare on one's psychological health during the pandemic in Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, the available sources suggest that Kazakhstan had a number of challenges prior to COVID-19 such as shortage in healthcare funding, high prevalence of chronic diseases, and limited access to medical care (Haruna et al, 2022). The One source suggests that the depressed salary among the healthcare staff to be one of the driving reasons for having low numbers of medical personnel in the country (Kumenov, 2021).…”

A cross-sectional study factors associated with resilience among medical staff in radiology departments during COVID-19, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…[31][32][33] In response to the pandemic, healthcare professionals have made a commitment to the service of others despite the impact on their emotional and physical wellbeing due to insecurities, differing work demands and increased work hours. [33][34][35] Moreover, significant amounts of variance in work may indirectly create a considerable amount of anxiety and stress among medical staff. 16 36 However, the pandemic has brought a risk of infection and a high mortality rate as well as psychological and mental trauma to the public and medical personnel.…”

“…56 An international study 57 was conducted among 904 nurses across Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Turkey and the USA. It stated that CD-RISC-10 scores can be categorised as low (0-10), intermediate (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) and high (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Similarly, it was reported that an overall CD-RISC range=35.…”

“…Resilience refers to a positive adjustment or the ability to maintain or regain mental health in the face of adversity 31–33. In response to the pandemic, healthcare professionals have made a commitment to the service of others despite the impact on their emotional and physical well-being due to insecurities, differing work demands and increased work hours 33–35. Moreover, significant amounts of variance in work may indirectly create a considerable amount of anxiety and stress among medical staff 16 36.…”

COVID‐19 vaccine wastage in Africa: A case of Nigeria

“…6 While these vaccines are the cornerstone for COVID-19 pandemic mitigation, a strategy for fair global distribution that reduces vaccine wastage is crucial for maximising the effects of vaccination. 7 Though COVID-19 vaccines have been made available for more than a year, only about 21.2% of the African population have received the recommended doses of the vaccine, with Nigerians accounting for 13.8% as of August 2022 and yet unneeded vaccine wastage is still occurring. 8 Therefore, there is an urgent need for plans in Nigeria to monitor, forecast, and ultimately reduce vaccine wastage.…”