In 2009, a Lancet commission declaring climate change as the “biggest global health threat of the 21st century” [1, p.1693] recommended that the health consequences of climate change should give priority on the agenda of every academic journal, scientific and professional conference, and university curriculum. Even before the pandemic, however, there was scant evidence to suggest that occupational disciplines had risen to this challenge, even though occupation is a well-known social determinant of health, which may be amplified by social and economic inequity, low health literacy, environmental degradation and climate change [2,3]. The current COVID-19 pandemic, is generating many challenges at any levels in our societies. For this reason, a comprehensive strategy (“syndemic approach”) has been indicated to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as it may interact with global inequity, other non-communicable diseases and climate change. Increasing prevention and resilience skills in our healthcare systems and society have been suggested as measures to protect the most vulnerable populations [4]. Millions of people will survive the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and, as a consequence, the number of
individuals suffering from COVID-19 sequelae will dramatically increase over time [5]. Symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection are heterogeneous and may affect different systems such as respiratory (general fatigue, cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, dyspnea), musculoskeletal (myalgias, arthralgias), gastrointestinal (diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting), psychological (post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, burnout syndrome, mood disorders, insomnia and sleep problems), neurocognitive (brain fog, cognitive impairment, dizziness), neurological (headaches,
ageusia, anosmia) and autonomic (chest pain, tachycardia, palpitations). Many survivors of severe
COVID-19 continue to complain of cardiological symptoms for long periods, even after their
discharge from hospital [5–13].