The first issue of this year (delayed!) is dedicated to Covid related articles. Although we have tried to put all Covid articles in this issue, I am sure that there will be more coming through when we learn the long-term impact. While Covid appeared to have gone, the lingering effect is persisting by means of long Covid. We are still learning a lot from events in the pandemic and must never stop reflecting on what we did, how we did and why we did! At the same time thinking what we will do differently.
This was a natural experiment that no one planned or hoped for! Covid-19 changed lives in many ways, most not so good but some positives. Due to the successful vaccination programme, we are almost back to normal, but this is very different from the previous normal.
Although we have stopped wearing masks in public and stopped having meetings about Covid, research articles on Covid continue to be submitted. We must not think that we don’t need to read these as Covid has gone and we don’t need to know anything more about it. There has been a lot of learnings from the pandemic. How were the treatments stopped and then restarted? What we stopped doing and what does not need to be restarted? Messaging about the vaccine for those trying to conceive and follow up of vaccines taught us a lot about communication which is still creating confusions. This could be applied to day-to-day practice and how we deal with future uncertain situations and hopefully not, but another pandemic! We absolutely must be better prepared for the future. We learn not only from our own speciality but a lot from others especially in this period. Academics and clinicians working together in a way that has never been seen before- let’s build on that rather than going back to the previous normal.
These articles advise us of how we can make our practices more sustainable as Covid did not break the system, it exposed broken systems! By working collaboratively rather than competitively we can achieve a lot more for mankind. There is also a lesson about openness, transparency and sharing of information. Information is power! Don’t forget the key lesson learnt during Covid that no one is safe until everyone is. Therefore, learning from this we will soon be moving to Open access for widening access to everyone. The purpose of the journal is to increase sharing of information, experiences, and better communication so we can give our patients the best information and care possible.
Last but not least, I would like to say a huge thank you to my predecessors Prof Allan Pacey and Prof Henry Leese who have been the face of this journal for years and have put it at a very strong footing. A hard act to follow! While we say Bye and thank you to Bryan Woodward who has been an excellent subeditor, we welcome new Editors Pedro Melo, Jennifer Tamblyn, Mariano Mascarenhas and Charalampos Siristatidis- who will continue to help with the dissemination of information.
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