The Unending Journey

 

Those trekking in the Himalayas might know this syndrome. I would call it Fold mountain syndrome. The Himalayas are Fold Mountains. Each force generated by the tectonic plate presses the land and elevates it. It creates folds resulting innermost peak being the tallest while those just outside are shorter and so on. So for a trekker climbing from plains to reach the upper destinations you always face this Fold mountain syndrome. As you climb lower folds you can see the sky and nothing beyond due to the gradient.  You have anticipation that you will reach somewhere at least you will see your destination. You take immense efforts to climb that fold. Oxygen concentration also decreases as you climb up. The task gets more difficult. You reach the top of the fold to see a small plateau and another fold that you need to climb. For a moment it is despairing. But then you make your resolve to climb that fold so you could reach the destination. But then you feel the same despair as seeing another fold after climbing this fold.  A trek in the Himalayas at least has a destination. But humanity has not seen its destination for the last two years. It's an unending journey to return to normalcy in life after a tumultuous COVID 19 journey.

As every time we see a semblance of normalcy there is a new threat of a new variant.  This year around Jan-Feb we in India were complacent. Then we were struck by delta.  Now worldwide as Businesses were planning to open up and the travel was on up on the back of Vaccination. But now this new omicron variant has created panic disrupting these plans.  Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain among patients said that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home. But the world panicked. The news of the new variant emerging from South Africa prompted a swift reaction from several countries, including Britain, which on Friday imposed a travel ban on several southern African countries with immediate effect, a decision South Africa has strongly contested. Many countries have also banned air travel to and from South Africa, including the United States, other European countries, and some Asian nations. Yes, it is prudent to be concerned, take cognizance and improve testing processing across entry points with effective clarified guidelines and have work processes in place to ensure that. Blanket Bans and Knee-jerk announcements without clarity at ground level and lack of machinery to implement the measures will result in panic, chaos, and profiteering as well.

We have to take a cue from the events of the last century. Around the 1920s the influenza pandemic lasted for more than two-three years for the world to raise herd immunity. The world learned to live with influenza. Even today the susceptible people lose their lives to the normal flue. We have influenza running around a year peaking in the Winter Seasons. With advances in genomics, Pharma processes we expected to conquer Corona much quicker than we sort of adjusted to Influenza last century. One important difference between then and now is the role of social media and the internet to create panic and divisive opinion-making.   This epidemic can be fought only and only by science. There is no other tool. External factors like religion or politics should have no role in decision-making. But economics and local/international politics have been added to the mix in the decision-making. It is required by Pharma and healthcare businesses to adapt to the humanitarian angle supported by well-meaning administrations worldwide to facilitate effective prevention and care and still make these businesses viable. Transparency is of utmost importance. It may sound utopian given the international politics and role of big Pharma and big tech which have been always suspicious to those inclined on conspiracy theories and panic mongering.

The resulting economic devastation from a new variant of omicron can hit affluent countries nearly as hard as those in the developing world. One academic study estimated trillions of dollars in economic loss to wealthy countries when residents of poorer countries remain largely unvaccinated. Lack of vaccines then further increases the chance for the virus to mutate and to be more lethal. It’s imperative for the world to get its act together and ensure vaccination across the globe. India as a country suffered due to the Delta variant earlier this year but got its act together through record vaccinations and now is one of the better places to be during the pandemic while Rich countries suffer. India definitely has a role to ensure vaccination. India should also remain vigilant about new variants through testing and feasible regulations.  We should focus on the vaccination of children and the young population especially if we plan to reopen schools and colleges.  Education is the most impacted segment and our future depends on our next generation being skilled and qualified.  Surveys show daily wage earners, housewives are much impacted by pandemic as compared to salaried people and people in the farming sector. These are the most underrepresented segments in society. We really need to conquer the epidemic to avoid a social meltdown.

By now regimes across the world should realize that extended lockdowns are impractical and they impact livelihoods. It is understood that economics matters to people only if people stay alive. But with the impact on their means of livelihood people may not survive as well.  There will be travel so locking borders also is impractical. Vaccination, Testing, and isolation, Social Distancing, Masks, better treatment facilities, and methodologies are the only medicines to help humanity recover from the pandemic. Travel bans and lockdowns are no longer feasible. It’s high time we start living with Corona and its variants to end this unending fold mountain journey. It was around this time two years back. It seems a different world we lived in back then.