有事の島しょ医療 ―Ⅲ COVID-19と対峙した東京都島しょの３年間―

The novel coronavirus infection outbreak, which spread globally since the beginning of 2020, continues to significantly affect society up to the present time. We report the new coronavirus infection outbreak that occurred across the Tokyo islands and the measures adopted, such as vaccination, between April 2020 and March 2023. Local medical institutions and government agencies implemented various preventive measures even before the first year of the outbreak and its subsequent spread. Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital, the main hospital on the island, initially accepted all infected patients including those with suspected infection, who were transferred via emergency air transport. Vaccines have been used in clinical practice since 2021, and inoculations have been performed after careful consideration of the location and characteristics of the islands, which has led to high vaccination rates. A remarkable upsurge in cases was observed in 2022; however, the situation did not worsen, and we were able to control the emergency situation. Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital maintained a close collaboration system for each stage of the pandemic, from hospitalizing suspected/infected patients to providing home care. We actively accepted a total of 83 emergency referrals over 3 years, and all patients （excluding a few deaths） were discharged in a good condition. Infectious disease emergencies are one of the natural disasters and have historically most frequently required countermeasures in island medical care. We have continued to add disease-specific emergency measures to our existing medical system that is operational over the years to overcome any unprecedented emergency secondary to the pandemic.