Applying Goliath vs. David Perspective to COVID-19 Essay

Introduction

On April 8th, Amina J. Mohammed, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, said: “We are facing a humanitarian crisis unlike any we have experienced and our social fabric and cohesion is under stress” (Alessi). This statement reveals that the coronavirus disease of the 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major challenge that will affect all aspects of human life. If people fail to implement evidence-based strategies to deal with it, chances are high that more lives will be lost. COVID-19 remains a mysterious health condition that most of its facts still remain unknown. The healthcare sector has been unable to meet the demands of the population by protecting them against any unknown disease or providing adequate protective measures. These attributes of COVID-19 make that similar or equal to Goliath.

Malcolm Gladwell is a successful Canadian writer, public speaker, and journalist whose works have guided many people to achieve their goals in life. He has succeeded in using most of his publications to combine academic work and social change to influence human thoughts and approaches to the issues they face. In the book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Gladwell offers superior insights that human beings need to take seriously to succeed in both the business world and their personal undertakings. He identifies the David vs. Goliath perspective as a powerful idea whereby the weapon one has does not matter the most. He goes further to describe David as a resolute fighter who focused on the power of speed, precision, and agility. Using Gladwell’s Goliath vs. David perspective, American policymakers, medical professionals, all other key stakeholders need to consider additional ways to control the spread of COVID-19, reduce deaths by providing superior medical services, and move swiftly to find a cure or a vaccine.

Application of Gladwell’s Ideas to COVID-19

The concept of Goliath vs. David is a powerful model that different institutions, citizens, and professionals need to pursue to overcome the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading in different parts of the United States. COVID-19 is a new infectious disease that is affecting the lives and experiences of many people while at the same time exposing the weaknesses and unpreparedness of the American healthcare sector. The causal virus for this condition was discovered in 2019 after Wuhan, China, recorded the first cases of COVID-19 in November the same year (MacKenzie, p. 12). With the disease being transmitted from person A to B rapidly, this condition spread to different parts of the world within less than two months. It has continued to affect the lives and economic outcomes of many citizens in the United States. Around 55,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 have been recorded in this country (Bellware et al.). All organizations, politicians, and individuals can pursue the Goliath vs. David strategy to overcome the current spread of COVID-19. Such stakeholders need to combine their strengths with emerging ideas in order to deal with this challenge and eventually succeed in their key areas. All agencies involved in this pandemic need to consider such Gladwell’s model and eventually collaborate to identify evidence-based strategies to reduce the rate of transmission. Governments, individuals, and institutions should, therefore, apply the perception of agility and speed to control the spread of this Goliath-like disease.

The COVID-19 infections, deaths, and recoveries recorded in the United States within the past month should become powerful guidelines for combing efforts to treat and manage this pandemic using a multifaceted approach. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this country’s number of cases amount to around a third of the global total (MacKenzie 22). This reality means that the United States has been hit the most by this new disease despite the fact that it has one of the most elaborate and advanced medical infrastructures in the world today. The increasing number of infections is a clear indication that the entire sector was ill-prepared for any unknown health condition (Bellware et al.). The relevant institutions, professionals, and researchers need to work together and focus on the most appropriate measures to transform the situation (Shalowitz, p. 41). A coordinated approach that revolves around the Goliath vs. David model will improve the rate at which different agencies are presently responding to COVID-19. New ideas and concepts will emerge that have the potential to change the way health professionals and caregivers are providing medical support to the patients affected by this disease. The government needs to be on the frontline to offer the right resources, medical supplies, and medicines that will maximize the fight against COVID-19 and protect the lives of more people who already have the disease.

All the stakeholders involved in the COVID-19 pandemic should move swiftly to find a cure or a vaccine in order to ensure that this country manages and stop COVID-19 successfully, including federal and local governments, members of the public, medical professionals, and the corporate world. The latest figures and developments associated with this disease explain why there is a need for all agencies and stakeholders to find a cure as soon as possible. This gigantic challenge need to be matched with the story of Goliath. The story of Goliath vs. David perspective appears to present a diverse perspective for analyzing challenges and the best strategy to present superior solutions. The proposed idea of collaboration echoes the concept of agility whereby all people support the strategies that the different stakeholders introduce, including maintaining social distance, washing hands thoroughly with clean water, using alcohol-based sanitizers, and wearing approved masks. The governments need to introduce superior measures and the relevant financial resources and promote the idea of collaboration among successful corporations and key stakeholders (MacKenzie, p. 19). The federal government can go a step further to devise additional ways of improving coordination of the healthcare sector and ensuring that a future pandemic does not affect Americans. Medical professionals should move with speed to apply their competencies and expertise to tackle this hypothetical Goliath by developing a cure or a vaccine (Shalowitz 87). These efforts and approaches will deliver the intended outcomes within the shortest time possible and protect more lives.

Counterargument

Some professionals, leaders, and politicians in this country believe that the American community will not succeed in fighting this new disease within the next few months through the use of the Goliath vs. David perspective due to the ineffectiveness of the measures being put in place and the absence of a coordinated approach. Majority of these stakeholders believe that the United States’ healthcare system has remained unsustainable due to the government’s focus on competing policies and ideas that do not resonate with the people’s experiences and expectations. Some individuals have also acknowledged that the country had numerous disparities in medical support that have contributed significantly to the increasing number of infections. The government also failed to consider evidence-based approaches for monitoring the nature of this disease and introducing superior measures to overcome the potential challenges that could arise. The concept Gladwell describes in his book might sound practical and capable of changing different areas or sectors (Gladwell, p. 49). However, the notion appears relevant when dealing with issues to do with business performance. Despite these viewpoints, the Goliath vs. David perspective still remains an evidence-based model that brings together different elements and implements the suggested solution swiftly and precisely. The success stories recorded in countries that have managed to address COVID-19, such as China and Germany, indicate that desirable results are possible or attainable in the United States (Bellware et al.). The consideration of the outlined suggestions will present a new opportunity for revolutionizing the entire medical sector and ensuring that more American lives are protected in the future.

Conclusion

The above discussion has compared COVID-19 with Goliath because it is an unprecedented medical condition that is presently affecting the lives and experiences of many people in the United States and across the globe. The government and all other relevant agencies need to pursue the Goliath vs. David perspective to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic successful by implementing evidence-based to control the rate at which it is spreading, deliver high-quality care and medical services to all patients, and move swiftly to provide a cure or vaccine to contain it. The proposed concept can become an evidence-based approach for encouraging all partners to collaborate protect more lives. Consequently, more citizens will achieve their economic aims while at the same time being prepared for any similar pandemic.

Works Cited

1. Alessi, Christopher. “‘All Hands Should Be on Deck’ – Key Quotes from Leaders on the Fight against COVID-19.” World Economic Forum, 2020. Web.
2. Bellware, Kim, et al. “WHO Says No Evidence Recovery Prevents Second Infection as Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 200,000 Worldwide.” The Washington Post, 2020. Web.
3. Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Back Bay Books, 2015.
4. MacKenzie, Debora. COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened, and How to Stop the Next One. Little, Brown Book Group, 2020.
5. Shalowitz, Joel I. The U.S. Healthcare System: Origins, Organization and Opportunities. Jossey-Bass, 2019.