As much as we don’t want it to be, COVID is still very much with us.
Melbourne:
On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organization classified COVID as a Epidemic, Even after three years the situation remains the same.
As much as we don’t want it to be, and as much as it’s off the front pages, COVID is still very much with us.
But how bad has it really been? And, more importantly, what have we learned that can help us accelerate real and sustained exit?
COVID has hit us hard
there was a slow start The global response was to what we now call SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. This allowed the virus to gain a foothold, contributing to an unexpectedly rapid viral development,
Three years after the pandemic, with most countries lifting almost all mitigation measures, it is clear that the virus has hit the world hard. So farThere have been around 681 million infections and over 6.8 million deaths.
This is perhaps best visualized by its effect on life expectancy. were there sharp decline Seen around the world in 2020 and 2021, 70 years of largely uninterrupted progress have been reversed.
The excess mortality that is driving this decline in life expectancy continues. This includes in Australia, where more than 20,000 people live is projected to be lost in 2022 compared to the historical average.
Not just COVID deaths
The indirect impact on health systems continues to be substantial in rich and poor countries alike. health services have been disrupted increases In stillbirth, maternal mortality, and postpartum depression.
a routine Child Immunization Coverage has decreased. Significant malaria, tuberculosis and HIV programs have been carried out Interrupted,
This week a paper out highlights serious impact Epidemic on mental health globally.
Then there’s the long COVID
Meanwhile, more evidence of COVID prolonging life has emerged around the world. least 65 million people It was projected to experience this debilitating syndrome by the end of 2022.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Estimate 5–10% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 will develop prolonged COVID, with symptoms lasting longer than three months. This is between 550,000 and 1.1 million Australians, based on more than 11 million reported cases So far,
COVID highlights inequalities
The pandemic has also had a huge economic impact, both directly and indirectly.
United States alone spent US$ 4 trillion on its response. Economists have estimated that the pandemic will contribute an average of 0.75% reduction in GDP in 2025 in countries with high infection rates and high productivity.
studies in United Kingdom, We And Australia show that COVID has had adversarial effects – including higher mortality rates – in disadvantaged communities and ethnic minorities.
The reasons range from high exposure to low-wage jobs to inadequate access to health care. And Poor country COVID has done a terrible job on all fronts, including unequal access to vaccines.
there’s no end in sight
We cannot assume that there will be a natural exit for the pandemic, where the virus reaches some benign endemism, a harmless presence in the background.
In fact, there is no indication that anything like this is imminent.
In Australia, since the beginning of January, over 235,000 COVID cases Reportedly, around 2020 and 2021 combined. Since the beginning of January, there have been 2,351 COVID-related deaths, which is more than double the number for the whole of 2020 and almost the same as for the whole of 2021.
What should happen next?
The future response can practically be distilled into three overarching actions.
1. Politicians need to speak up
Our political leaders need to openly communicate with the public that the pandemic is not over. They need to emphasize that we still have an extraordinary problem on our hands with serious illness to worry about in the long run COVID. This important politician acknowledges the victims and the dead. They need to do this while giving the good news that there is no need for a lockdown or mandate to address COVID.
If our politicians did this, the public would be more likely to get their booster vaccines, get tested and treated, and adopt measures like improving indoor ventilation and wearing high-quality masks.
The health system also needs to be greatly strengthened to deal with prolonged COVID.
2. Avoidance of infection is still important
It is still important to suppress the virus. We can still reduce the burden of newly acquired COVID and therefore, reduce COVID in the long run. We have the tools to do this.
We need full recognition that COVID is largely spread through the air. As the article just published in the journal Nature discusses, there are things we can do right now to make sure we all breathe safe air, not only from SARS-CoV-2 but other respiratory viruses as well.
3. Embrace new knowledge and technology
We must focus on science and be ready to rapidly adopt new knowledge and products.
just a few days ago we tested one promise of new approach To treat long covid with diabetes drug metformin.
There is also intriguing research that has identified frequent infections As a possible underlying cause of organ damage and disease in post-COVID and long COVID. This suggests that anti-viral drugs such as Paxlovid may have an important role in reducing the effects of chronic disease.
Several types of new COVID vaccines are being tested, such as version administered by nasal sprayWhich could be a game changer.
virus will not cure itself
As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, we should not leave it to the virus to cure us.
The biggest lesson of the last three years is that there is very little chance of this working, at least not without an unbearably high cost.
Rather, we can voluntarily end the pandemic. we know What to do, But we are not doing that.
Michael TooleAssociate Principal Research Fellow, Burnett Institute And brendon crabbDirector & CEO, Burnett Institute
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons Licence. read the original article,
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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