Technological progress shapes the world to people’s needs, but it does come with several adverse effects. The global network allows people to travel virtually to any part of the planet in a matter of hours. However, it also created a perfect environment for transmitting infections. A pandemic spreads rapidly through human networks, quickly progressing in high-density populations through touched surfaces, via airborne means, or personal contacts. The virus gets inside through mucous membranes or damaged skin.
Due to the lack of herd immunity, a newly emerging virus has free reign over unprepared masses. Insufficient vaccination of citizens, as well as poor hygiene, speed this process up multiple times (Taylor, 2019). Greater international travel allows the virus to appear in any city on Earth significantly faster and less predictable than ever before. Asymptomatic carriers who travel internationally usually serve as the initial source of pandemics. However, timely response and mass warnings are now also easier to conduct.
Identification and containment of a potential pandemic could prove troublesome in viruses with longer incubation periods with no symptoms. While the World Health Organization members are required to meet International Health Regulations, not all countries succeeded in doing so (Madhav et al., 2017). It is also troublesome for some governments to provide adequate information about the disease in order to properly make citizens ready.
Lack of preparedness in geographic regions with high spark risks due to their lag in health care advancements could increase the rate of spread (Madhav et al., 2017). This factor, combined with the fact that the latest viruses emerge from animal sources, is highly affected by poor sanitation in low- and middle-income countries. These countries are expected to be hit harder than high-income countries and have higher mortality rates.
A pandemic is usually associated with short financial shocks but might lead to a long-term stagnation in global economic growth (Madhav et al., 2017). Despite the ability to predict them, these issues are unavoidable at the moment, as countries put more resources into health infrastructures to increase their capacity. Poorer countries, which are unable to provide financial support and do not have a fully modernized health care system, will suffer the most. It is important to provide said countries with surge capacity by delivering it via foreign aid providers (Madhav et al., 2017). A pandemic will not be stopped if the disease continues to afflict a major portion of the world population. Aside from medical help, increasing social awareness could also prove useful in mitigating the effects of pandemics.
Promoting personal responsibility alone could alleviate the situation to a manageable state. Studies by Ferguson et al. (2020) have shown that social distancing “might reduce peak healthcare demand by 2/3 and deaths by half” (p. 1). The reason behind this preventative measure is that it reduces the number of cases at any given time to lessen the strain on healthcare facilities, although it does not reduce the total number of deaths. Ferguson et al. report that “80% of [virus] transmission occurred in the household” (p. 15). This percentage indicates that proper hygiene is one of the key prevention techniques available to the public.
I think that people should take several actions to prevent the spread by themselves, for example, go into self-isolation or at least minimize their in-person communications. From my observations, many popular public figures are promoting proper behavior during the pandemic. In my opinion, conducting this information through non-governmental sources to which people trust gives the opportunity to reach bigger masses.
A pandemic brings with it a long list of adverse side effects to society. To properly contain a virus, it might be required to place an entire nation under quarantine. As people are unable to fulfill their roles in society, problems will quickly accumulate into a global crisis. Manufacturing rates drop and gross domestic product values fall with them, bank assets are reduced. This hit to economics is further worsened by a panic that usually accompanies pandemics. Rumors spread misinformation, promote prejudice, and create chaos (Taylor, 2019). Immense media attention provides inconsistent evidence and is often conveyed in an overdramatic and sensational tone (Taylor, 2019).
A pandemic could serve as a divider between different socio-economic layers. Poor citizens get infected easier in many countries, primarily due to overcrowding, poor sanitation, lacking hygiene, and shortage of basic health care products. In turn, people with greater economic opportunities have better access to medical care and have the ability to easily flee from infected areas (Taylor, 2019). Fear-stricken citizens create unnecessary panic and put an additional strain on the governmental organizations, impeding its’ attempts to fight off the infection.
As could be seen from these studies, humanity has a vast knowledge of pandemics, their progression has been thoroughly studied during past outbreaks, and the methods of successfully stopping them were developed. Although more recent sources put more stress on social factors of the issue, they all say that highlighting the importance of pandemics slows down the disease and leads to a less painful resolve. Despite the discussed facts, humanity struggles to deal with the growing problem in the face of COVID-19.
This example should serve as a warning to all nations, ushering them to advance the disease control and prevention programs, as well as educate their citizens about proper behavior during pandemics. Viruses will continue to emerge, and humanity made their transmission easier than ever, but with technologies and research, the damage they do could be prevented.
References
Ferguson, N.M., Laydon, D., Nedjati-Gelani, G., Imai, N., Ainslie, K., Baguelin, M., Bhatia, S., Boonyasiri, A., Cucunbá, Z., Cuomo-Dannenburg, G., Dinghe, A., Dorigatti, I., Fu, H., Gaythorpe, K., Green, W., Hamlet, A., Hinsley, W., Okell, L.C., Elsand, S.,… Ghani, A.C. (2020) Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand. Imperial College London. Web.
Madhav, N., Oppenheim, B., Gallivan, M., Mulembakani, P. Rubin, E., & Wolfe, N. (2017). Pandemics: Risks, impacts, and mitigation. In D.T. Jamison et al. (Eds.), Disease control priorities: Improving health and reducing poverty (3rd ed.). The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.
Taylor, S. (2019). The psychology of pandemics: Preparing for the next global outbreak of infectious disease. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.