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The world will not be the same after COVID and neither should it!
Reading time: 10 minutes
Introduction
The SARS-COV-2 virus has brought the entire world to a grinding halt. The uncertainty about the future has instilled a sense of fear, despair and anger in people across the globe. The virus has certainly laid bare the weaknesses of our healthcare systems in both rich and poor economies. Decades of pursuit of political, economic and military prowess has under-funded healthcare systems and depleted their reserve capacity to absorb the shock of a pandemic of this size. Not only are we grappling with this existential threat but also failing to learn from it.
Collateral Deaths
While we should certainly focus on dealing with the ‘extra-ordinary’ pandemic, it is imperative to recognise that healthcare systems are having to make hard choices of how to deal with the ‘ordinary’ disease burden (1). Across the world there have been reports that healthcare facilities are trying to increase their capacity to treat COVID but this can come at the cost of other diseases that are still prevalent like tuberculosis (2). This is more likely to happen in the middle-income countries where healthcare infrastructure is sketchy to begin with. Even in the west, concerns are being raised that A&E attendances have dropped drastically within a month owing to fears about the coronavirus. People with life-threatening conditions are being encouraged to utilise health services (3). Diseases with a high prevalence (communicable and non-communicable) are more likely to leave a trail of destruction once the virus ebbs away from the global scene. We should ensure that healthcare continues to remain accessible especially to underprivileged sections of society who are disproportionately affected in times like these.
Governments still being protectionist and lack of collaboration
It is disheartening to note that populist governments across the world are being protectionist even in this hour of reckoning when humanity should have come together as one! Countries seem to be prioritising their own resources, their own self-interests in business franchises, while neglecting the health and well-being of their own citizens. It is however unsurprising, since this is visible even at a community level where a lack of empathy for the loss of life and a threat to one’s own life is laughed away. After all, it is from this population that the political class has risen. The degree to which we as human beings are accustomed to following self-serving goals seems to have no end. Wish we had the humility to evolve as human beings at this hour at least, before it is too late.
Underprivileged populations disadvantaged both healthcare-wise and financially
If there is one thing that this virus has taught us, it is the fact that we are all not equal! The underprivileged sections of our societies are bearing the brunt of this catastrophe. Daily wage labourers in developing economies and the self-employed in the more advanced economies are struggling with the fallout. There have been widespread lay-offs, which has suddenly pushed people towards bankruptcy. This is often the so-called middle and lower class of the society who is unable to work from home. Farmers are unable to harvest their produce or get it into the markets on time before they rot. If the situation persists, starvation could kill more than what the virus can. People in the lower strata of society are also less likely to be able to afford healthcare, which is more evident in the developing world.
Environmental benefits
If there has been one silver lining, it is that the environment has suddenly rejuvenated around us. Pollution levels are dropping (4–6). The last time this happened was the financial crisis in 2008. However, once human activity re-started, there was in fact, acceleration in carbon emissions with a vengeance. News articles claimed that now that the humans are locked in, natural life is tiptoeing back to reclaim its space in the world. It is shocking to realise that we now live in a world where stories go ‘viral’ but turn out to be false. These articles were then found to be ‘fake’ (7). With the advent of artificial intelligence algorithms, the internet has become a place where we confirm what we already believe in; our prejudices, our hopes, our darkness and our light.
The upside of the COVID crisis
Have we not now realised that ‘those’ one hour business meetings do not need a 10 hour flight across the world? With technological advancement, we can certainly work from home in more creative ways than ever. Imagine all that extra office space that will suddenly become available! All those unnecessary road journeys saved with a real drop in carbon emissions.
Our economy equates ‘exchange value’ to ‘use value’ (8). Economies are being run on how much we spend, that in turn drives production. Voyeuristic indulgence in the lives of so-called ‘celebrities’ through which we vicariously live our lives just increases our consumerism, where we attempt to purchase ‘personality’ (9). This pandemic is making us realise that a lot of the well paying jobs are just that, ‘well paying’ but with no benefit to society at large. There was a burgeoning of managers, advertising sector, businessmen who ensured that they made money. Key workers that essentially run the society are now being recognised for who they are. Healthcare workers, delivery drivers, sanitation workers, farmers are some of the few who keep the society ticking, despite the fact that they don’t get paid as well.
It is time to realise that the life of citizens is a valuable resource in itself that needs to be protected. It is time to realise that economy would not exist without people.
Where do we go from here? How can we change the world?
The one and only thing that we now need is an openness to change! Change often wakes up our inner tribal instincts. We fear what we do not understand, who we do not understand. Populist governments reflect this, in finding someone to blame rather than course-correcting to find long-term solutions. In return, we feel better to find our biases validated by those in power (9). Being open to change, will help us break free from this vicious cycle. We can start by trying to understand the viewpoint of the ‘other’.
Our next step is to have a ‘vision’. What kind of a world would we like to live in? Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where we value life, we live in harmony with nature, in a world of abundance? We should set goals that serve as stepping stones to achieve the said vision. We should never lose sight of our vision in the eye of our mind, no matter what hurdles we might face on the way. Do not worry of the how. The how will manifest itself as long as we remain steadfast in our path.
We are all connected in this world. We are but one species in this beautiful canvas of nature. We have to understand that problems in one part of the world are no longer limited to that region alone. Extinction in one species is not limited to it but can be our fate too! The solution is to realise that there is an abundance of resources on earth if only we learn to share. Will this virus teach us this valuable lesson? Or will we continue to draw artificial lines on maps? Will we use this tragedy to emphasise to our governments that we are a valuable resource as ‘citizens’? I’m sure that at least some of us will and we should!
References
- Donnelly L. A&E attendances plunge amid fears people with serious conditions are staying away because of coronavirus [Internet]. [cited 2020 Apr 12]. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/07/ae-attendances-plunge-amid-fears-people-serious-conditions-staying/
- Kumar A. Pandemic spells death sentence for India’s non-virus patients [Internet]. [cited 2020 Apr 12]. Available from: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pandemic-spells-death-sentence-indias-non-virus-patients-041543162.html
- Norris P. Fears people with suspected cancer, stroke or heart attack are avoiding contacting NHS during Covid-19 outbreak – Gloucestershire Live [Internet]. [cited 2020 Apr 12]. Available from: https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/fears-people-suspected-cancer-stroke-4040584
- Ellis-Petersen H, Ratcliffe R, Cowie S, Parkin Daniels J, Kuo L. “It’s positively alpine!”: Disbelief in big cities as air pollution falls | Environment | The Guardian [Internet]. The Guardian. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 19]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/11/positively-alpine-disbelief-air-pollution-falls-lockdown-coronavirus
- McMahon J. New Data Show Air Pollution Drop Around 50 Percent In Some Cities During Coronavirus Lockdown [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 19]. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2020/04/16/air-pollution-drop-surpasses-50-percent-in-some-cities-during-coronavirus-lockdown/#68bf349d557b
- Pathak S. With Coronavirus Lockdown, India’s Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops : Coronavirus Live Updates : NPR [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 19]. Available from: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/10/831592401/with-coronavirus-lockdown-indias-cities-see-clear-blue-skies-as-air-pollution-dr?t=1587330261047
- Daly N. Fake animal news abounds on social media as coronavirus upends life [Internet]. National Geographic. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 19]. Available from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-fake-animal-viral-social-media-posts/
- Mair S. How will coronavirus change the world? – BBC Future [Internet]. BBC. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 19]. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world
- Figueres C, Rivett-Carnac T. The Future We Choose : Surviving the Climate Crisis. 2020. 219 p.
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medbookprof
I'm a Consultant Pulmonologist having experienced medicine first-hand across two continents stretching from the South Indian peninsula to the British Isles, the emerald nation of Ireland, to the Mediterranean climes of Italy and to the happiest country on earth, Denmark. Along the way, I have served as an honorary Associate Clinical Teacher and Royal College Associate tutor at University Hospital of Wales, collected a Masters in Medical Education and a passion for teaching. My enthusiasm is matched only by my thirst for simplifying clinical knowledge for medical students and making it accessible on a global scale.