COVID-19’S Long IMPRINT
On Mar 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global crisis. At the time, the disease was spreading rapidly, with around 120, 000 reported situations and over 4, 000 deaths worldwide.
Since then, almost 780 million cases have been recorded, and the death toll has surpassed 7 million. Problems like COVID-19 remain a constant hazard to the life of many areas around the world while COVID remain poorly understood and mostly unaddressed.
Over the past five decades, international health systems have improved, with enhanced security devices, faster response efforts, and better access to medical measures. But, less attention has been devoted to examining social and political comment and planning.
Early on, COVID-19 was touted as” the great equaliser”, suggesting it affected everyone the same. But, in a world with so many pre-existing disparities, the pandemic did certainly level the playing field- it laid bare those differences, enhanced them and created new ones.
Thousands of essential personnel had no choice but to continue working on the forefront, exposing themselves to disease threats, despite remote work offering pleasure to some.
People able to afford digital devices saw kids fall behind in learning, and unemployment soared in lower-income areas. These issues caused cultural divisions to grow and cause distrust in government.
When vaccines were introduced, they were proclaimed to be the magic bullet to stop the epidemic. But the highway to civility proved far from easy. As quickly as the disease, vaccine misinformation unfold. Healthcare professionals faced a lot of attention as they navigated people anticipation and managed expectations while carrying out their main responsibilities, which is to care for patients.
The flood of misinformation exacerbated cultural tensions and sparked heated debates about vaccination. In some cultures, it became politicised, shifting the focus of cultural conversation from technology to philosophy. This not only hampered public health initiatives, but it also hampered confidence between individuals and organizations. Additionally, it might make messaging for public health more challenging in the future.