ABSTRACT
As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemics reaches the entire planet, the political responses to dealing with the coronavirus disease Covid-19 have flourished. However, not only has the evidence on decision-making and outcomes - including the side effects - lacked, but also policy analysis has not been able to overcome an overly descriptive nature that brings too little to the theoretical understanding of the political management of Covid-19. Building on the Portuguese case, this essay aims to contribute to fill in such blanks, notably by contributing to the improvement of political responses and consolidation of the theoretical debate about political decision-making in the context of health crises. The reflection expands on the need to clarify the goal of the management of contagions (whether the aim is to eradicate, manage, ignore or if there is an inability to manage the transmission chains), on the quality of monitoring and limits of international comparisons (different methodologies and the importance of mass screening), and on aspects of living with Covid-19 and the pursuit for normality (challenges in the access to vaccination and connections with broader social inequalities). The reflection ends by showing how the Portuguese case resonates on some of the key theories of the analysis of public policies cycles.
KEYWORDS
Coronavirus infections; Communicable diseases, emerging; Policy; Epidemiology