How Swiss Cheese Can Save Our Souls - An Introduction

How Swiss Cheese Can Save Our Souls

No, not ACTUAL Swiss Cheese. We do not need to see a run at your local cheesemonger the way Aisle 12 became a battleground for toilet paper in 2020. 

But, I do want to take a second and talk about Swiss Cheese. Bare with me. Take this block of Swiss Cheese. It’s actually pretty solid. But when you slice it, what do you see? Holes. It’s imperfect. Fenestrated. But it’s those imperfections that make up the iconic look, and who knows perhaps taste of Swiss Cheese. I wouldn’t know. I’m not a cheese monger. 

But it’s this slice of fromage that is the inspiration for this series, and is what is hopefully keeping you protected from COVID-19, and frankly a host of other baddies. 

So.. let’s get in to what this is all about - The Swiss Cheese Model

The Swiss Cheese Model is a thing. In public health. Risk management. Engineering. Aviation and of course, healthcare. 

And when it comes to COVID-19. It is this model that you are seeing being put into action. In this series we are going to focus on the many slices of swiss cheese that it takes to keep you, your family, friend and community safe. 

You can check out versions of this model on-line. They are trending on Twitter thanks to Drs. Ian Mackay and Eric Topol. And popping up everywhere from The NY Times to well, right here.

The Swiss Cheese Model is about having multiple layers of protection. We know that no one thing is the silver bullet for protecting against COVID-19. But, when many small things come together. That is where the magic of public health happens. When COVID-19 Symptom screening, testing, and vaccinations. Come together with mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. You start to move from a slice of protection, with holes in it. To a solid block of protection that can withstand what the world has to throw at you. 

So let's break down what some of these slices are. This isn’t all of them but it’s most. Trust, communication, masking, hand washing and social distancing. Are some things we can all do to stay healthy. COVID-19 Symptom screening, testing and vaccinations will be essential for schools and businesses to reopen. And tracing contacts, exposures and cases. While providing treatment to those who are sick will help save lives and stop the spread. 

In this series we will deep dive into each of these topics, and, any you suggest. So please, wherever you are seeing this follow us to be sure you catch the next episodes. And leave a comment below and let us know what else you want to see. 

And.. like any good Tarantino film… in our next episode we will start in the middle. With the topic of the day…. Vaccinations