COVID-19 turned the world upside down in the span of only a couple months, though responses differed based on country, economic capacity, and individual responsibility. In many cases, the virus has acted as a trigger, bringing previously hidden shortcomings to light in the moments that crucial services were the most needed.
The global shortage of PPE has been largely forgotten in recent months, but the circulation of images of healthcare workers reusing flimsy disposable masks was a major talking point until supply chains eventually readjusted. Perhaps a pandemic of this exact scale was an unexpected event, but reports that various Western governments (notably the UK and the US) ignored expert warnings that stockpiles were insufficient highlights a lack of preparedness that left essential personnel vulnerable through no fault of their own (1). This is an instance where the many members of the wider community came together to support each other, make masks at home, and shame those in charge for their inaction or incompetence.
(2) (image description: medical professionals wearing patient gowns and improvised PPE due to equipment shortages)
Here we see a return to the etymological origin of “crisis”, the Greek “krisis,” where the people themselves act in difficult circumstances to collaboratively make decisions as needed. As McLoughlin points out, we have seen the same occur in various modern social movements, fighting environmental and racial issues, among others (cannot figure out how to cite McLoughlin). We appear to have gone full circle, and perhaps some of that comes down to the same media that shared those stories of nurses and doctors with red marks crossing their faces after long shifts in COVID wards. It is easier to become an activist these days, and as a result it is easier to become involved in change.
However, media is not always a force for good, as has been readily apparent for at least the last half decade at least. While Caduff cites a lack of hard data surrounding fatality rate and transmission pattern as a chief concern in outlining strategy to deal with COVID-19, the opposite is simultaneously true (3). There already exists a wealth of information and research on areas of society that will inevitably feel the effects of the measures put into place, but deliberate misinformation, unfounded accusations, and skewed statistics mixed in with the reputable sources has created ‘alternative’ groups, including those who consider the pandemic to be an elaborate hoax. Perhaps some of it is a manifestation of existing xenophobia or commitment to personal freedom (to an arguably dangerous extent), but in some cases, the sheer volume of information at our fingertips, difficult to parse through even from a professional research standpoint, must be even more daunting to the average person who simply wants to know what is going on.
COVID-19 has served to widen some of the social cracks we already saw appearing, but have also demonstrated new areas that require improvement. The course of action may not be clear, but at least we know where we should be looking.
References
1. BBC. Coronavirus: UK failed to stockpile crucial PPE [Internet]. BBC News. 2020 [cited 25 January 2021]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-52440641
2. O’Kane C. Exhausted doctors and nurses post images of their bruised faces after long shifts wearing protective gear [Internet]. Cbsnews.com. 2020 [cited 25 January 2021]. Available from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-health-care-bruised-faces-masks-ppe-hospitals-doctors-nurses-italy-new-york/
3. Caduff C. What Went Wrong: Corona and the World after the Full Stop [Internet]. Anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. 2020 [cited 25 January 2021]. Available from: https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maq.12599