It’s been five years since the first cases of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) were reported from China. It was a novel virus that was causing pneumonia in Wuhan, China, which eventually led to a global pandemic that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared as Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The previous global pandemic that the world saw was in 2008— of influenza A (H1N1). However, in terms of magnitude and impact, the 2008 pandemic was nothing in comparison to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic entirely changed how epidemics are managed, development of vaccines and disease surveillance, not just in India but also globally.
Looking back, there have been several learnings, challenges, successes, and unresolved mysteries associated with the pandemic.
WHO activated its emergency systems on January 1, 2020, and informed the world about the unidentified virus on January 4. By January 9-12, the WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on January 13, the UN health body brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19.
One of the major learnings from Covid-19 has to be the need to have a robust surveillance system in place. Countries should realise the need to pick up cases early so that they are isolated and put on treatment, if required, in time. For infectious diseases, isolation is the key to cut disease transmission.
To create infrastructure— oxygen supply, ICU beds, ventilators etc.— to manage cases needing hospitalisation was the biggest challenge for countries, especially resource-strapped low-and-middle income ones. However, most countries, rose to the challenge. Talking about India, several companies came forward to manufacture items that were not manufactured within the country before Covid-19 such as personal protection kits, ventilators etc., as part of government’s make-in-India initiative.
And among the success stories, the biggest was to be able to develop anti-Covid vaccines within a year of the start of the outbreak. Vaccine development is a rigorous process that normally could take up to a decade, but the Covid-19 pandemic showed how concerted efforts can reap dividends. Not just the US and the UK vaccine developers, Indian vaccine makers also took the world by surprise by coming up with an Indian vaccine against Covid leading to successful completion of the largest anti-Covid government vaccination programme globally.
The mystery of the origin of the virus, however, remains unsolved to date. According to experts, it is important to know the source to be able to equip themselves better to deal with such outbreaks in future.
In a statement recently, the WHO said, “We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.”
