global pandemic covid 19 essay

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Elsevier - PMC COVID-19 Collection

Impact of COVID-19 on the social, economic, environmental and energy domains: Lessons learnt from a global pandemic

a School of Information Systems and Modelling, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia

I.M. Rizwanul Fattah

Md asraful alam.

b School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China

A.B.M. Saiful Islam

c Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia

Hwai Chyuan Ong

S.m. ashrafur rahman.

d Biofuel Engine Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

e Tarbiat Modares University, P.O.Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran

f Science and Math Program, Asian University for Women, Chattogram 4000, Bangladesh

Md. Alhaz Uddin

g Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia

T.M.I. Mahlia

COVID-19 has heightened human suffering, undermined the economy, turned the lives of billions of people around the globe upside down, and significantly affected the health, economic, environmental and social domains. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the ecological domain, the energy sector, society and the economy and investigate the global preventive measures taken to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. This analysis unpacks the key responses to COVID-19, the efficacy of current initiatives, and summarises the lessons learnt as an update on the information available to authorities, business and industry. This review found that a 72-hour delay in the collection and disposal of waste from infected households and quarantine facilities is crucial to controlling the spread of the virus. Broad sector by sector plans for socio-economic growth as well as a robust entrepreneurship-friendly economy is needed for the business to be sustainable at the peak of the pandemic. The socio-economic crisis has reshaped investment in energy and affected the energy sector significantly with most investment activity facing disruption due to mobility restrictions. Delays in energy projects are expected to create uncertainty in the years ahead. This report will benefit governments, leaders, energy firms and customers in addressing a pandemic-like situation in the future.

1. Introduction

The newly identified infectious coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was discovered in Wuhan and has spread rapidly since December 2019 within China and to other countries around the globe ( Zhou et al., 2020 ; Kabir et al., 2020 ). The source of SARS-CoV-2 is still unclear ( Gorbalenya et al., 2020 ). Fig. 1 demonstrates the initial timeline of the development of SARS-CoV-2 ( Yan et al., 2020 ). The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to global safety in public health ( Wang et al., 2020 ). On 31 st January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO), due to growing fears about the rapid spread of coronavirus, announced a global epidemic and on 11 th March, the disease was recognised as a pandemic ( Chowdhury et al., 2021 ). COVID-19 clinical trials indicate that almost all patients admitted to hospital have trouble breathing and pneumonia-like symptoms ( Holshue et al., 2020 ). Clinical diagnosis has identified that COVID-19 (disease caused by SARS-CoV-2) patients have similar indications to other coronavirus affected patients, e.g. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) ( Wang and Su, 2020 ). The initial indication of a COVID-19 infection is coughing, fever, and short breath, and in the later stages, it can damage the kidney, cause pneumonia, and unexpected death ( Mofijur et al., 2020 ). The vulnerability of the elderly (>80 years of age) is high, with a fatality rate of ~22% of cases infected by COVID-19 ( Abdullah et al., 2020 ). The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached over 33 million as of 29 th September 2020, with more than 213 countries and regions affected by the pandemic ( Worldometer, 2020 ). Over 1,003,569 people have already passed away ( Worldometer, 2020 ) due to COVID-19. Most countries are currently trying to combat the virus spread by screening for COVID-19 in large numbers and maintaining social distancing policies with an emphasis on the health of human beings.

The initial stage development timeline for COVID-19 ( Yan et al., 2020 ).

Fig. 2 shows infections and replication cycle of the coronavirus. In extreme cases, the lungs are the most severely damaged organ of a SARS-CoV-2 infected person (host). The alveoli are porous cup-formed small cavities located in the structure of the lungs where the gas exchange of the breathing process take place. The most common cells on the alveoli are the type II cells.

Infections and replication cycle of the coronavirus ( Acter et al., 2020 ).

It has been reported that travel restrictions play a significant role in controlling the initial spread of COVID-19 ( Chinazzi et al., 2020 ; Aldila et al., 2020 ; Beck and Hensher, 2020 ; Bruinen de Bruin et al., 2020 ; de Haas et al., 2020 ). It has been reported that staying at home is most useful in controlling both the initial and last phase of infectious diseases ( de Haas et al., 2020 ; Cohen, 2020 , Pirouz et al., 2020 ). However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines, entry bans, as well as other limitations have been implemented for citizens in or recent travellers to several countries in the most affected areas ( Sohrabi et al., 2020 ). Also, most of the industries were shutdown to lower mobility. A potential benefit of these measures is the reduction of pollution by the industrial and transportation sector, improving urban sustainability ( Jiang et al., 2021 ). Fig. 3 shows the global responses to lower the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. There have been negative economic and social implications due to restrictions and decreased travel readiness worldwide ( Leal Filho et al., 2020 ). A fall in the volume of business activity and international events and an increase in online measures could have a long-term impact. The status of global transport and air activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is shown in Fig. 4 ( International Energy Agency (IEA), 2020 ). By March 2020, the average global road haulage activity in regions with lockdowns had declined to almost 50% of the 2019 standard. Air travel has almost completely stopped in certain regions with aviation activity decreasing by over 90% in some European countries. Air activity in China recovered slightly from a low in late February, with lockdown measures somewhat eased. Nevertheless, as lockdowns spread, by the end of Q1 2020, global aviation activity decreased by a staggering 60%.

Initial preventive measures to lower the COVID-19 outbreak ( Bruinen de Bruin et al., 2020 ).

Global transport and aviation activity in the first quarter of the year 2020 ( International Energy Agency (IEA), 2020 ).

The spread of COVID-19 continues to threaten the public health situation severely ( Chinazzi et al., 2020 ) and greatly affect the global economy. Labour displacement, business closures and stock crashes are just some of the impacts of this global lockdown during the pandemic. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the effect of COVID-19 will result in a worldwide economic decline in 2020 and a decline in the economic growth to 3% ( International Monetary Fund (IMF) ). COVID-19 has a detrimental impact on economic growth due to two primary factors. In the beginning, the exponential growth of the global epidemic directly contributed to considerable confusion about instability in the financial and capital markets. Secondly, countries have strictly regulated human movement and transport to monitor the growth of the epidemic and significantly reduced economic activity, putting pressure on both consumer and productive economic activity.

Since the 1970s, the link between economic growth and pollution has been an important global concern. The assessment of energy and financial efficiency is usually connected to environmental pollution research. Green practices at a national level, the inclusion of renewable energy, regulatory pressure and the sustainable use of natural resources are associated with environmental sustainability ( Khan et al., 2020 ). One study has shown that environmental pollution increases with economic growth and vice versa ( Cai et al., 2020 ). The strict control over movement and business activity due to COVID-19 has led to an economic downturn, which is in turn, expected to reduce environmental pollution. This paper systematically assesses how the novel coronavirus has had a global effect on society, the energy sector and the environment. This study presents data compiled from the literature, news sources and reports (from February 2020 to July 2020) on the management steps implemented across the globe to control and reduce the impact of COVID-19. The study will offer guidelines for nations to assess the overall impact of COVID-19 in their countries.

2. Impact of COVID-19 on the environmental domain

2.1. waste generation.

The generation of different types of waste indirectly creates a number of environmental concerns ( Schanes et al., 2018 ). The home isolation and pop-up confinement services in countries that have experienced major impacts of COVID-19 are standard practise, as hospitals are given priority to the most serious cases. In some countries, hotels are being used to isolate travellers for at least two weeks on entry. In several countries, such quarantine measures have resulted in consumers increasing their domestic online shopping activity that has increased domestic waste. In addition, food bought online is packaged, so inorganic waste has also increased. Medical waste has also increased. For instance, Wuhan hospitals produced an average of 240 metric tonnes of medical waste during the outbreak compared to their previous average of fewer than 50 tonnes ( Zambrano-Monserrate et al., 2020 ). This unusual situation poses new and major obstacles in the implementation of waste collection services, thus creating a new challenge for waste collection and recycling groups. With the global adaptation to exponential behavioural and social shifts in the face of COVID-19 challenges, municipal services such as waste collection and management need to alter their operations to play an important role in reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

2.1.1. Lifespan of COVID-19 on different waste media

SARS-CoV-2′s transmission activity has major repercussions for waste services. SARS-CoV-2 attacks host cells with ACE2 proteins directly. ACE2 is a cell membrane-associated enzyme in the lungs, heart and kidneys. When all the resources in the host cell are infected and depleted, the viruses leave the cell in the so-called shedding cycle ( Nghiem et al., 2020 ). Clinical and virological evidence suggests that the elimination of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is most relevant early on, right before and within a couple of days of the onset of the illness ( AEMO, 2020 ). Fomites are known as major vectors for the replication of other infectious viruses during the outbreak ( Park et al., 2015 ). Evidence from SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses show that they remain effective for up to a few days in the atmosphere and on a variety of surfaces ( Fig. 5 ). The survival time of SARS-CoV-2 on hard and plastic surfaces is up to three days indicating that waste materials from COVID-19 patients may contain coronavirus and be a source of infection spread ( Chin et al., 2020 ). During the early stages of this epidemic, updated waste disposal methods to tackle COVID-19 were not implemented on the broader community. The concept of clinical waste essentially also applies to waste from contaminated homes and quarantine facilities. Throughout this pandemic, huge volumes of domestic and hospital waste, particularly plastic waste, has been generated. This has already impeded current efforts to reduce plastic waste and decrease its disposal in the environment. More effort should be made to find alternatives to heavily used plastics.

The lifespan of SARS-CoV-2 on different media ( Chin et al., 2020 ; van Doremalen et al.; 2020 ; Ye et al., 2016 )

2.1.2. Waste recycling service

COVID-19 has already had significant effects on waste recycling. Initially, as the outbreak spread and lockdowns were implemented in several countries, both public authorities and municipal waste management officials had to adjust to the situation quickly. Waste disposal has also been a major environmental problem for all technologically advanced nations, as no clear information was available about the retention time of SARS-CoV-2 ( Liu et al., 2020 ). Recycling is a growing and efficient means of pollution control, saving energy and conserving natural resources ( Ma et al., 2019 ). Recycling projects in various cities have been put on hold due to the pandemic, with officials worried about the possibility of COVID-19 spreading to recycling centres. Waste management has been limited in affected European countries. For example, Italy prohibited the sorting of waste by infected citizens. Extensive waste management during the pandemic is incredibly difficult because of the scattered nature of the cases and the individuals affected. The value of implementing best management practises for waste handling and hygiene to minimise employee exposure to potentially hazardous waste, should be highlighted at this time. Considering the possible role of the environment in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 ( Qu et al., 2020 ), the processing of both household and quarantine facility waste is a crucial point of control. Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management (ACR+) has reported on the provision of separate collection services to COVID-19 contaminated households and quarantine facilities to protect frontline waste workers in Europe, as shown in Fig. 6 . ACR+ also suggests a 72-hour delay in waste disposal (the possible lifespan of COVID-19 in the environment) ( Nghiem et al., 2020 ). Moreover, the collected waste should be immediately transported to waste incinerators or sites without segregation.

Recommended waste management during COVID-19 ( ACR+ 2020 ).

2.2. NO 2 emissions

Without the global pandemic, we had naively anticipated that in 2020 global emissions would rise by around 1% on a five-year basis. Instead, the sharp decline in economic activity in response to the current crisis will most probably lead to a modest drop in global greenhouse emissions. The European Space Agency (ESA), with its head office in Paris, France, is an intergovernmental body made up of 22 European countries committed to exploring the international space. To monitor air pollution in the atmosphere, the ESA uses the Copernicus Sentinel-5P Satellite. In addition to the compound contents measurement, the Copernicus Sentinel-5P troposphere monitor (TROPOMI) and other specified precision equipment measure ozone content, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane. Table 1 shows NO 2 emissions data acquisition by ESA using Sentinel-5P across different regions of Europe ( Financial Times, 2020 ).

NO 2 emissions data acquisition by ESA using Sentinel-5P across different regions of Europe ( Financial Times, 2020 ).

Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, gas and other fuels, is the source of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide ( Munawer, 2018 ). The bulk of the NO 2 in cities, however, comes from emissions from motor vehicles (approximately 80%). Other NO 2 sources include petroleum and metal refining, coal-fired electricity, other manufacturing and food processing industries. Some NO 2 is naturally produced by lightning in the atmosphere and from the soil, water, and plants, which, taken together, constitutes not even 1% of the total NO 2 found in the air of our localities. Due to pollution variations as well as changes in weather conditions, the levels of the NO 2 in our atmosphere differ widely every day. Anthropogenic pollution is estimated to contain around 53 million tonnes of NO 2 annually. Nitrogen dioxide, together with nitrogen oxide (NO), are considered the major components of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) ( M Palash et al., 2013 ; Fattah et al., 2013 ). NO, and NO 2 are susceptible to other chemicals and form acid rain that is toxic to the environment ( Mofijur et al., 2013 ; Ashraful et al., 2014 ), WHO lists NO 2 as one of the six typical air contaminants in the atmosphere. For this reason, the amount of NO 2 in the atmosphere is used as a precise measure for determining whether the COVID-19 outbreak affects environmental pollution.

NO 2 is an irritating reddish-brown gas with an unpleasant smell, and when cooled or compressed, it becomes a yellowish-brown liquid ( Wang and Su, 2020 ). NO 2 inflames the lung linings and can decrease lung infection immunity. High levels of NO 2 in the air we breathe can corrode our body's lung tissues . Nitrogen dioxide is a problematic air pollutant because it leads to brown photochemical smog formation, which can have significant impacts on human health ( Huang et al., 2020 ). Brief exposure to high concentrations of NO 2 can lead to respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, bronchitis, flu, etc., and aggravate respiratory illnesses such as asthma. Increased NO 2 levels can have major effects on individuals with asthma, sometimes leading to frequent and intense attacks ( Munawer, 2018 ). Asthmatic children and older individuals with cardiac illness are most vulnerable in this regard. However, its main drawback is that it produces two of the most harmful air pollutants, ozone and airborne particles. Ozone gas affects our lungs and the crops we eat.

2.2.1. NO₂ emissions across different countries

According to the ESA ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ), average levels of NO 2 declined by 40% between 13 th March 2020 to 13 th April 2020. The reduction was 55% compared to the same period in 2019. Fig. 7 compares the 2019-2020 NO 2 concentration ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ). The displayed satellite image was captured with the TROPOMI by ESA satellite Sentinel-5P. The percentage reductions in average NO 2 emissions in European countries during the COVID-19 outbreak from 1 st April to 30 th April 2020 can be seen in Fig. 8 ( Myllyvirta, 2020 ). Portugal, Spain, Norway, Croatia, France, Italy, and Finland are the countries that experienced the largest decrease in NO 2 levels, with 58%, 48%, 47%, 43% and 41%, respectively.

Comparison of the NO 2 concentration between 2019 and 2020 in Europe ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ).

Changes in average NO 2 emission in different countries ( Myllyvirta, 2020 ).

The average 10-day animation of NO 2 emissions throughout Europe (from 1 st January to 11 th March 2020), demonstrated the environmental impact of Italy's economic downturn, see Fig. 9 ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ). In the recent four weeks (Last week of February 2020 to the third week of March 2020) the average concentration of NO 2 in Milan, Italy, has been at least 24% less than the previous four weeks. In the week of 16 – 22 March, the average concentration was 21% lower than in 2019 for the same week. Over the last four weeks of January 2020, NO 2 emissions in Bergamo city has been gradually declining. During the week of 16–22 March, the average concentration was 47% less than in 2019. In Rome, NO 2 rates were 26–35% lower than average in the last four weeks (third week of January 2020 to the third week of February 2020) than they were during the same week of 2019 ( Atmosphere Monitoring Service, 2020 ).

Changes of NO 2 emission (a) over entire Italy (b) capital city (c) other cities ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ; Atmosphere Monitoring Service, 2020 ).

Fig. 10 shows a comparison of NO 2 volumes in Spain in March 2019 and 2020. As per ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ), Spain's NO 2 pollutants decreased by up to 20–30% due to lockdown, particularly across big cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville. ESA Sentinel-5P captured the satellite image using TROPOMI. Satellite images of the 10 days between 14 th and 25 th March 2020 show that NO 2 tropospheric concentration in the areas of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Murcia ranges from 0–90 mg/m 3 . The NO 2 tropospheric concentration for Seville is almost 0 mg/m 3 for the same time. For March 2019, the average NO 2 tropospheric concentration for the Madrid area was between 90 and 160 mg/m 3 . At the same time, the range of NO 2 tropospheric concentration for Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville area was between 90–140 mg/m 3 , 90-130 mg/m 3 , and 30–50 mg/m 3 , respectively.

Comparison between before and after lockdown NO 2 emissions in Spain ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ).

Fig. 11 shows the reduction in the amount of NO 2 emissions in France in March 2019 and 2020 ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ). In France, levels of NO 2 have been reduced by 20% to 30%. The ESA Sentinel-5P satellite image was captured with the TROPOMI. In Paris and other major cities, the emission levels of NO 2 considerably lowered due to lockdown. The three major areas of France where NO 2 tropospheric concentration was significant are Paris, Lyon, Marseille and their surroundings. Satellite images of the ten days between 14 th and 25 th March 2020 show that NO 2 tropospheric concentration of the Paris, Lyon, Marseille areas ranges 30–90 mg/m 3 , 20–40 mg/m 3 and 40–80 mg/m 3 , respectively. For March 2019, the average NO 2 tropospheric concentration for the same areas was reported as 100–160 mg/m 3 , 30–60 mg/m 3, and 90–140 mg/m 3 , respectively.

Comparison of NO 2 emissions in France before and after lockdown ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ).

Various industries across the UK have been affected by COVID-19, which has influenced air contamination. As shown in Fig. 12 , there were notable drops in the country's NO 2 emissions on the first day of quarantine ( Khoo, 2020 ). Edinburgh showed the most significant reduction. The average NO 2 emissions on 26 th March 2020, were 28 μg/m 3 while on the same day of 2019, this was 74 μg/m 3 ( Khoo, 2020 ). The second biggest reduction was observed in London Westminster where emissions reduced from 58 µg/m 3 to 30 µg/m 3 . Not all cities have seen such a significant decrease, with daily air pollution reducing by 7 μg/m 3 compared to the previous year in Manchester Piccadilly, for example ( Statista, 2020 ).

(a) Changes in NO 2 emissions in the UK during lockdown ( European Space Agency (ESA), 2020 ); (b) comparison of NO 2 emissions in 2019 and 2020 ( Khoo, 2020 ).

2.3. PM emission

The term particulate matter, referred to as PM, is used to identify tiny airborne particles. PM forms in the atmosphere when pollutants chemically react with each other. Particles include pollution, dirt, soot, smoke, and droplets. Pollutants emitted from vehicles, factories, building sites, tilled areas, unpaved roads and the burning of fossil fuels also contribute to PM in the air ( Baensch-Baltruschat et al., 2020 ). Grilling food (by burning leaves or gas grills), smoking cigarettes, and burning wood on a fireplace or stove also contribute to PM. The aerodynamic diameter is considered a simple way to describe PM's particle size as these particles occur in various shapes and densities. Particulates are usually divided into two categories, namely, PM 10 that are inhalable particles with a diameter of 10 μm or less and PM 2.5 which are fine inhalable particle with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less. PM 2.5 exposure causes relatively severe health problems such as non-fatal heart attacks, heartbeat irregularity, increased asthma, reduced lung function, heightened respiratory symptoms, and premature death ( Weitekamp et al., 2020 ).

PM 2.5 also poses a threat to the environment, including lower visibility (haze) in many parts of the globe. Particulates can be transported long distances then settle on the ground or in water sources. In these contexts and as a function of the chemical composition, PM 2.5 may cause acidity in lakes and stream water, alter the nutrient balance in coastal waters and basins, deplete soil nutrients and damage crops on farms, affect the biodiversity in the ecosystem, and contribute to acid rain. This settling of PM, together with acid rain, can also stain and destroy stones and other materials such as statues and monuments, which include valuable cultural artefacts ( Awad et al., 2020 ).

2.3.1. PM emission in different countries

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, PM emission in most countries has been reduced ( Chatterjee et al., 2020 ; Ghahremanloo et al., 2021 ; Gualtieri et al., 2020 ; Sharifi and Khavarian-Garmsir, 2020 ; Srivastava, 2020 ). Fig. 13 shows the impact of COVID19 on PM emission in a number of some countries around the world ( Myllyvirta, 2020 ). The largest reductions in PM pollution took place in Portugal, with 55%, followed by Norway, Sweden, and Poland with reductions of 32%, 30%, and 28%, respectively. Spain, Poland, and Finland recorded PM emission reductions of 19%, 17% and 16%, respectively. Both Romania and Croatia recorded no changes in PM level, with Switzerland and Hungary recording about a 3% increase in PM emission.

Reduction of PM emission in different countries ( Myllyvirta, 2020 ).

PM emissions have been significantly reduced during the epidemic in most regions of Italy. Fig. 14 illustrates the changes in COVID-19 containment emissions before and after a lockdown in major cities in Italy. According to a recent study by Sicard et al. ( Sicard et al., 2020 ), lockdown interventions have had a greater effect on PM emission. They found that confinement measures reduce PM 10 emissions in all major cities by “around 30% to 53%” and “around 35% to 56%”.

Comparison of PM emission in Italy (a) PM 2.5 emission (b) Changes of PM 2.5 emission (c) PM 10 emission (d) Changes of PM 10 emission ( Sicard et al., 2020 ).

2.4. Noise emission

Noise is characterised as an undesirable sound that may be produced from different activities, e.g. transit by engine vehicles and high volume music. Noise can cause health problems and alter the natural condition of ecosystems. It is among the most significant sources of disruption in people and the environment ( Zambrano-Monserrate and Ruano, 2019 ). The European Environment Agency (EEA) states that traffic noise is a serious environmental problem that negatively affects the health and security of millions of citizens in Europe. The consequences of long-term exposure to noise include sleep disorders, adverse effects on the heart and metabolic systems, and cognitive impairment in children. The EEA estimates that noise pollution contributes to 48,000 new cases of heart disease and 12,000 early deaths per year. They also reported chronic high irritation for 22 million people and a chronic high level of sleep disorder for 6.5 million people ( Lillywhite, 2020 ).

Most governments have imposed quarantine measures that require people to spend much more time at home. This has considerably reduced the use of private and public transport. Commercial activities have almost completely stopped. In most cities in the world, these changes have caused a significant decline in noise levels. This was followed by a significant decline in pollution from contaminants and greenhouse gas emissions. Noise pollution from sources like road, rail or air transport has been linked to economic activity. Consequently, we anticipate that the levels of transport noise will decrease significantly due to the decreased demand for mobility in the short term ( Ro, 2020 ).

For example, it was obvious that environmental noise in Italy was reduced after 8 th March 2020 (the lockdown start date) due to a halt in commercial and recreational activities. A seismograph facility in Lombardy city in Italy that was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic indicated how the quarantine measures reduce both traffic and noise emissions. The comparison of the 24-hour seismic noise data before and after the lockdown period indicates a considerable drop in environmental noise in Italy ( Bressan, 2020 ).

3. Impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic domain

COVID-19 has created a global health crisis where countless people are dying, human suffering is spreading, and people's lives are being upended ( Nicola et al., 2020 ). It is not only just a health crisis but also a social and economic crisis, both of which are fundamental to sustainable development ( Pirouz et al., 2020 ). On 11 th March 2020, when WHO declared a global pandemic, 118,000 reported cases spanning 114 countries with over 4,000 fatalities had been reported. It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000, and just four days for the third ( United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2020 ). This has overwhelmed the health systems of even the richest countries with doctors being forced to make the painful decision of who lives and who dies. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world into uncertainty and countries do not have a clear exit strategy in the absence of a vaccine. This pandemic has affected all segments of society. However, it is particularly damaging to vulnerable social groups, including people living in poverty, older persons, persons with disabilities, youths, indigenous people and ethnic minorities. People with no home or shelter such as refugees, migrants, or displaced persons will suffer disproportionately, both during the pandemic and in its aftermath. This might occur in multiple ways, such as experiencing limited movement, fewer employment opportunities, increased xenophobia, etc. The social crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic may also increase inequality, discrimination and medium and long-term unemployment if not properly addressed by appropriate policies.

The protection measures taken to save lives are severely affecting economies all over the world. As discussed previously, the key protection measure adopted universally is the lockdown, which has forced people to work from home wherever possible. Workplace closures have disrupted supply chains and lowered productivity. In many instances, governments have closed borders to contain the spread. Other measures such as travel bans and the prohibition of sporting events and other mass gatherings are also in place. In addition, measures such as discouraging the use of public transport and public spaces, for example, restaurants, shopping centres and public attractions are also in place in many parts of the world. The situation is particularly dire in hospitality-related sectors and the global travel industry, including airlines, cruise companies, casinos and hotels which are facing a reduction in business activity of more than 90% ( Fernandes, 2020 ). The businesses that rely on social interactions like entertainment and tourism are suffering severely, and millions of people have lost their jobs. Layoffs, declines in personal income, and heightened uncertainty have made people spend less, triggering further business closures and job losses ( Ghosh, 2020 ).

A key performance indicator of economic health is Gross Domestic Product (GDP), typically calculated on a quarterly or annual basis. IMF provides a GDP growth estimate per quarter based on global economic developments during the near and medium-term. According to its estimate, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by 3% in 2020, which is much worse than the 2008 global financial crisis ( International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2020 ). The growth forecast was marked down by 6% in the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) compared to that of the October 2019 WEO and January 2020 WEO. Most economies in the advanced economy group are expected to contract in 2020, including the US, Japan, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain by 5.9%, 5.4%, 6.5%, 7.0%, 7.2%, 9.1%, and 8.0% respectively. Fig. 15 a shows the effect of COVID-19 on the GDP of different countries around the globe. On the other hand, economies of emerging market and developing economies, excluding China, are projected to contract by only 1.0% in 2020. The economic recovery in 2021 will depend on the gradual rolling back of containment efforts in the latter part of 2020 that will restore consumer and investor confidence. According to the April 2020 WEO, the level of GDP at the end of 2021 in both advanced and emerging market and developing economies is expected to remain below the pre-virus baseline (January 2020 WEO Update), as shown in Fig. 15 b.

(a) Quarterly World GDP. 2019:Q1 =100, dashed line indicates estimates from January 2020 WEO; (b) GDP fall due to lockdown in selected countries.

A particular example of a country hardest hit by COVID-19 is Italy. During the early days of March, the Italian government imposed quarantine orders in major cities that locked down more than seventeen million people ( Andrews, 2020 ). The mobility index data by Google for Italy shows there has been a significant reduction in mobility (and therefore economic activity) across various facets of life. The reported decline of mobility in retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, transit stations and workplaces were 35%, 11%, 45% and 34% respectively ( Rubino, 2020 ). The Italian economy suffered great financial damage from the pandemic. The tourism, and hospitality sectors were among those most severely affected by foreign countries prohibiting travel to and from Italy, and by the government's national lockdowns in early March ( Brunton, 2020 ). A March 2020 study in Italy showed that about 99% of the companies in the housing and utility sector said the epidemic had affected their industry. In addition, transport and storage was the second most affected sector. Around 83% of companies operating in this sector said that their activities had been affected by the coronavirus ( Statista, 2020 ) pandemic. In April 2020, Italian Minister Roberto Gualtieri estimated a 6% reduction in the GDP for the year 2020 ( Bertacche et al., 2020 ). The government of Italy stopped all unnecessary companies, industries and economic activities on 21 st March 2020. Therefore The Economist estimates a 7% fall in GDP in 2020 ( Horowitz, 2020 ). The Economist predicted that the Italian debt-to-GDP ratio would grow from 130% to 180% by the end of 2020 ( Brunton, 2020 ) and it is also assumed that Italy will have difficulty repaying its debt ( Bertacche et al., 2020 ).

4. Impact of COVID-19 on the energy domain

COVID-19 has not only impacted health, society and the economy but it has also had a strong impact on the energy sector ( Chakraborty and Maity, 2020 ; Abu-Rayash and Dincer, 2020 ). World energy demand fell by 3.8% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 compared with Q1 2019. In Q1 of 2020, the global coal market was heavily impacted by both weather conditions and the downturn in economic activity resulting in an almost 8% fall compared to Q1 2019. The fall was primarily in the electricity sector as a result of substantial declines in demand (-2.5%) and competitive advantages from predominantly low-cost natural gas. The market for global oil has plummeted by almost 5%. Travel bans, border closures, and changes in work routines significantly decreased the demand for the use of personal vehicles and air transport. Thus rising global economic activity slowed down the use of fuel for transportation ( Madurai Elavarasan et al., 2020 ). In Q1 2020, the output from nuclear energy plants decreased worldwide, especially in Europe and the US, as they adjusted for lower levels of demand. Demand for natural gas dropped significantly, by approximately 2% in Q1 2020, with the biggest declines in China, Europe, and the United States. In the Q1 2020, the need for renewable energy grew by around 1.5%, driven in recent years by the increasing output of new wind and solar plants. Renewable energy sources substantially increased in the electricity generation mix, with record hourly renewable energy shares in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and East America. The share of renewable energy sources in the electricity generation mix has increased. Table 2 shows the effect of COVID-19 outbreak on the energy demand around the world.

Impact of COVID-19 on global energy sector ( AEMO, 2020 ; CIS Editorial, 2020 ; Eurelectric, 2020 ; Livemint, 2020 ; Renewable Energy World, 2020 ; S&P Global, 2020 ; Madurai Elavarasan et al., 2020 ).

Different areas have implemented lockdown of various duration. Therefore, regional energy demand depends on when lockdowns were introduced and how lockdowns influence demand in each country. In Korea and Japan, the average impact on demand is reduced to less than 10%, with lower restrictions. In China, where the first COVID-19 confinement measures were introduced, not all regions faced equally stringent constraints. Nevertheless, virus control initiatives have resulted in a decline of up to 15% in weekly energy demand across China. In Europe, moderate to complete lockdowns were more radical. On average, a 17% reduction in weekly demand was experienced during temporary confinement periods. India's complete lockdown has cut energy requirements by approximately 30%, which indicates yearly energy needs are lowered by 0.6% for each incremental lockdown week ( International Energy Agency (IEA) 2020 ).

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted an annual average decline in oil production of 9% in 2020, reflecting a return to 2012 levels. Broadly, as electricity demand has decreased by about 5% throughout the year, coal production may fall by 8%, and the output of coal-fired electricity generation could fall by more than 10%. During the entire year, gas demand may fall far beyond Q1 2020 due to a downward trend in power and industrial applications. Nuclear energy demand will also decrease in response to reduced electricity demand. The demand for renewable energies should grow due to low production costs and the choice of access to many power systems. Khan et al. (2020) reported that international trade is significantly and positively dependent on renewable energy. In addition, sustainable growth can be facilitated through the consumption of renewable energy which improves the environment, enhances national image globally and opens up international trade opportunities with environmentally friendly countries ( Khan et al., 2021 ). As such, policies that promote renewables can result in economic prosperity, create a better environment as well as meet critical goals for sustainable development ( Khan et al., 2020 ).

5. Preventive measures to control COVID-19 outbreak

COVID-19 is a major crisis needing an international response. Governments will ensure reliable information is provided to assist the public in combating this pandemic. Community health and infection control measures are urgently needed to reduce the damage done by COVID-19 and minimise the overall spread of the virus. Self-defence techniques include robust overall personal hygiene, face washing, refraining from touching the eyes, nose or mouth, maintaining physical distance and avoiding travel. In addition, different countries have already taken preventive measures, including the implementation of social distancing, medicine, forestation and a worldwide ban on wildlife trade. A significant aim of the community health system is to avoid SARS-CoV-2 transmission by limiting large gatherings. COVID-19 is transmitted by direct communication from individual to individual. Therefore, the key preventive technique is to limit mass gatherings. Table 3 shows the impact of lockdown measures on the recovery rate of COVID-19 infections. The baseline data for this table is the median value, for the corresponding day of the week, during the 5-week period 3 rd January to 6 th February 2020.

Mobility index report of different countries ( Ghosh, 2020 ; Johns Hopkins University (JHU), 2020 ; Worldometer, 2020 ).

As of today, no COVID-19 vaccine is available. Worldwide scientists are racing against time to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, and WHO is now monitoring more than 140 vaccine candidates. As of 29 th September 2020, about 122 candidates have been pre-clinically checked, i.e. determining whether an immune response is caused when administering the vaccine to animals ( Biorender, 2020 ). About 45 candidates are in stage I where tests on a small number of people are conducted to decide whether it is effective ( Biorender, 2020 ). About 29 candidates are in Phase II where hundreds of people are tested to assess additional health issues and doses ( Biorender, 2020 ). Only 14 candidates are currently in Phase III, where thousands of participants are taking a vaccine to assess any final safety concerns, especially with regard to side effects ( Biorender, 2020 ). 3 candidates are in Phase IV, where long-term effects of the vaccines on a larger population is observed ( Biorender, 2020 ). The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to gain approval by the end of 2020 or in early 2021 ( Peiris and Leung, 2020 ). It is anticipated that these vaccines will provide immunity to the population. These vaccines can also reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and lead to a resumption of a pre-COVID-19 normal. Table 4 shows the list of vaccines that have been passed in the pre-clinical stage. In addition, according to the COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics tracker, there are 398 therapeutic drugs in development. Of these, 83 are in the pre-clinical phase, 100 in Phase I, 224 in Phase II, 119 in Phase III and 46 in Phase IV ( Biorender, 2020 ).

List of vaccines that have passed the pre-clinical stage ( Biorender, 2020 ).

In addition to the above, forestation and a worldwide ban on wildlife trade can also play a significant role in reducing the spread of different viruses. More than 30% of the ground area is covered with forests. The imminent increase in population contributes to deforestation in agriculture or grazing for food, industries and property. The rise in ambient temperature, sea levels and extreme weather events affects not only the land and environment but also public health ( Ruscio et al., 2015 ; Arora and Mishra, 2020 ). Huge investment has been made into treatments, rehabilitation and medications to avoid the impact of this epidemic. However, it is important to focus on basic measures, e.g. forestation and wildlife protection. The COVID-19 infection was initially spread from the Seafood Market, Wuhan, China. Therefore, China temporarily banned wildlife markets in which animals are kept alive in small cages. It has been reported that 60% of transmittable diseases are animal-borne, 70% of which are estimated to have been borne by wild animals ( Chakraborty and Maity, 2020 ). Deforestation is also related to various kinds of diseases caused by birds, bats, etc. ( Afelt et al., 2018 ). For example, COVID-19 is a bat-borne disease that is transmitted to humans. Therefore, several scientists have advised various countries to ban wildlife trade indefinitely so that humans can be protected from new viruses and global pandemics like COVID-19.

6. Conclusion

In this article, comprehensive analyses of energy, environmental pollution, and socio-economic impacts in the context of health emergency events and the global responses to mitigate the effects of these events have been provided. COVID-19 is a worldwide pandemic that puts a stop to economic activity and poses a severe risk to overall wellbeing. The global socio-economic impact of COVID-19 includes higher unemployment and poverty rates, lower oil prices, altered education sectors, changes in the nature of work, lower GDPs and heightened risks to health care workers. Thus, social preparedness, as a collaboration between leaders, health care workers and researchers to foster meaningful partnerships and devise strategies to achieve socio-economic prosperity, is required to tackle future pandemic-like situations. The impact on the energy sector includes increased residential energy demand due to a reduction in mobility and a change in the nature of work. Lockdowns across the globe have restricted movement and have placed people primarily at home, which has, in turn, decreased industrial and commercial energy demand as well as waste generation. This reduction in demand has resulted in substantial decreases in NO 2, PM, and environmental noise emissions and as a consequence, a significant reduction in environmental pollution. Sustainable urban management that takes into account the positive benefits of ecological balance is vital to the decrease of viral infections and other diseases. Policies that promote sustainable development, ensuring cities can enforce recommended measures like social distancing and self-isolation will bring an overall benefit very quickly. The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to gain approval by the end of 2020 or in early 2021, which will provide immunity to the population. It is necessary to establish preventive epidemiological models to detect the occurrence of viruses like COVID-19 in advance. In addition, governments, policymakers, and stakeholders around the world need to take necessary steps, such as ensuring healthcare services for all citizens, supporting those who are working in frontline services and suffering significant financial impacts, ensuring social distancing, and focussing on building a sustainable future. It is also recommended that more investment is required in research and development to overcome this pandemic and prevent any similar crisis in the future.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Editor: Dr. Syed Abdul Rehman Khan

• Abdullah S., et al. Air quality status during 2020 Malaysia movement control order (MCO) due to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 729 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Abu-Rayash A., Dincer I. Analysis of the electricity demand trends amidst the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 2020; 68 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• ACR+, Municipal waste management and COVID-19. URL: https://www.acrplus.org/en/municipal-waste-management-covid-19 . Date accessed: 22nd September, 2020. 2020.
• Acter T., et al. Evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: a global health emergency. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 730 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• AEMO, COVID-19 demand impact in Australia. https://aemo.com.au/en/news/demand-impact-australia-covid19 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Afelt A., Frutos R., Devaux C. Bats, coronaviruses, and deforestation: toward the emergence of novel infectious diseases? Front. Microbiol. 2018; 9 702-702. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Aldila D., et al. A mathematical study on the spread of COVID-19 considering social distancing and rapid assessment: the case of Jakarta, Indonesia. Chaos Solitons Fractals. 2020; 139 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Andrews, F., Before and after: Italy's tourist attractions left deserted amid coronavirus lockdown. https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/before-and-after-italy-s-tourist-attractions-left-deserted-amid-coronavirus-lockdown-1.991274 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in The National. 2020: Abu Dhabi.
• Arora N.K., Mishra J. COVID-19 and importance of environmental sustainability. Environ. Sustain. 2020; 3 (2):117–119. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ashraful A.M., et al. Production and comparison of fuel properties, engine performance, and emission characteristics of biodiesel from various non-edible vegetable oils: a review. Energy Convers. Manage. 2014; 80 :202–228. [ Google Scholar ]
• Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Air quality information confirms reduced activity levels due to lockdown in Italy. https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/air-quality-information-confirms-reduced-activity-levels-due-lockdown-italy . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Awad O.I., et al. Particulate emissions from gasoline direct injection engines: a review of how current emission regulations are being met by automobile manufacturers. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 718 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Baensch-Baltruschat B., et al. Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) - a review of generation, properties, emissions, human health risk, ecotoxicity, and fate in the environment. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 733 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Beck M.J., Hensher D.A. Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel and activities in Australia – the early days under restrictions. Transp. Policy. 2020; 96 :76–93. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bertacche, M., Orihuela, R., and Colten, J., Italy struck by deadliest day as virus prompts industry shutdown. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-21/germany-plans-extra-spending-of-eu150-billion-scholz-says . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in Bloomberg. 2020.
• Biorender, COVID-19 vaccine & therapeutics tracker. URL: https://biorender.com/covid-vaccine-tracker . Date accessed: 28th September, 2020. 2020.
• Bressan, D., Coronavirus lockdowns cause worldwide decrease in man-made seismic noise. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2020/04/04/coronavirus-lockdowns-cause-worldwide-decrease-in-man-made-seismic-noise/#1643453464da . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in Forbes. 2020.
• Bruinen de Bruin Y., et al. Initial impacts of global risk mitigation measures taken during the combatting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Saf. Sci. 2020; 128 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Brunton, J., Nothing less than a catastrophe': Venice left high and dry by coronavirus. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/17/nothing-less-than-a-catastrophe-venice-left-high-and-dry-by-coronavirus . date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in The Guardian. 2020.
• Cai C., et al. Temperature-responsive deep eutectic solvents as green and recyclable media for the efficient extraction of polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum. J. Cleaner Prod. 2020; 274 [ Google Scholar ]
• Chakraborty I., Maity P. COVID-19 outbreak: migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 728 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chatterjee A., et al. High rise in carbonaceous aerosols under very low anthropogenic emissions over eastern Himalaya, India: impact of lockdown for COVID-19 outbreak. Atmos. Environ. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chin A.W.H., et al. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions. Lancet Microbe. 2020; 1 (1):e10. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chinazzi M., et al. The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Science. 2020; 368 (6489):395–400. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• CIS Editorial, Coronavirus impact on energy markets. URL: https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2020/04/08/10482507/topic-page-coronavirus-impact-on-energy-markets . Date accessed: 2nd September, 2020. 2020.
• Cohen M.J. Does the COVID-19 outbreak mark the onset of a sustainable consumption transition? Sustainability. 2020; 16 (1):1–3. [ Google Scholar ]
• Chowdhury, M. A., M. B. A. Shuvho, M. A. Shahid, A. K. M. M. Haque, M. A. Kashem, S. S. Lam, H. C. Ong, M. A. Uddin and M. Mofijur (2021). "Prospect of biobased antiviral face mask to limit the coronavirus outbreak." Environmental Research 192: 110294. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ]
• de Haas M., Faber R., Hamersma M. How COVID-19 and the Dutch ‘intelligent lockdown’ change activities, work and travel behaviour: evidence from longitudinal data in the Netherlands. Transp. Res. Interdiscip. Perspect. 2020; 6 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Eurelectric, Impact of COVID 19 on customers and society. URL: https://cdn.eurelectric.org/media/4313/impact_of_covid_19_on_customers_and_society-2020-030-0216-01-e-h-584D2757.pdf . Date accessed: 28th Spetember, 2020. 2020.
• European Space Agency (ESA). Sentinel-5P. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Fattah I.M.R., et al. Impact of various biodiesel fuels obtained from edible and non-edible oils on engine exhaust gas and noise emissions. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2013; 18 :552–567. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fernandes, N., Economic effects of coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) on the world economy. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3557504 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Financial Times, Coronavirus: is Europe losing Italy? https://www.ft.com/content/f21cf708-759e-11ea-ad98-044200cb277f . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in Financial Times. 2020.
• Ghahremanloo M., et al. Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on air pollution levels in East Asia. Sci. Total Environ. 2021; 754 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ghosh, I. The road to recovery: which economies are reopening? URL: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-road-to-recovery-which-economies-are-reopening-covid-19/ . Date accessed: 22nd September, 2020. 2020 [cited 2020 25th July, 2020]; Available from: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-road-to-recovery-which-economies-are-reopening-covid-19/.
• Gorbalenya A.E., et al. The species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat. Microbiol. 2020; 5 (4):536–544. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gualtieri G., et al. Quantifying road traffic impact on air quality in urban areas: a Covid19-induced lockdown analysis in Italy. Environ. Pollut. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Holshue M.L., et al. First case of 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020; 382 (10):929–936. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Horowitz, J., Italy locks down much of the country's north over the coronavirus. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/world/europe/coronavirus-italy.html . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in The New York Times. 2020.
• Huang, Y., W.-c. Mok, Y.-s. Yam, J. L. Zhou, N. C. Surawski, B. Organ, E. F. C. Chan, M. Mofijur, T. M. I. Mahlia and H. C. Ong (2020). Evaluating in-use vehicle emissions using air quality monitoring stations and on-road remote sensing systems. Science of The Total Environment 740: 139868. [ PubMed ]
• International Energy Agency (IEA) IEA; Paris: 2020. Global Energy Review. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2020 Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020. [ Google Scholar ]
• International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook, April 2020: The Great Lockdown. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020 . Date accessed: 22nd September, 2020. 2020.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF), World economic outlook, April 2020: The Great Lockdown. URL: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Jiang P., et al. Spatial-temporal potential exposure risk analytics and urban sustainability impacts related to COVID-19 mitigation: a perspective from car mobility behaviour. J. Cleaner Prod. 2021; 279 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Johns Hopkins University (JHU). COVID-19 dashboard by the center for systems science and engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html . Date accessed: 25th July, 2020. 2020.
• Kabir M.T., et al. nCOVID-19 pandemic: from molecular pathogenesis to potential investigational therapeutics. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 2020; 8 616-616. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan S.A.R., et al. Measuring the impact of renewable energy, public health expenditure, logistics, and environmental performance on sustainable economic growth. Sustain. Dev. 2020; 28 (4):833–843. [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan S.A.R., et al. Investigating the effects of renewable energy on international trade and environmental quality. J. Environ. Manage. 2020; 272 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan S.A.R., et al. Determinants of economic growth and environmental sustainability in South Asian association for regional cooperation: evidence from panel ARDL. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2020 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan S.A.R., et al. A state-of-the-art review and meta-analysis on sustainable supply chain management: future research directions. J. Cleaner Prod. 2021; 278 [ Google Scholar ]
• Khoo, A., Coronavirus lockdown sees air pollution plummet across UK. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-52202974 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in BBC News. 2020.
• Leal Filho W., et al. COVID-19 and the UN sustainable development goals: threat to solidarity or an opportunity? Sustainability. 2020; 12 (13):5343. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lillywhite, R., Air quality and wellbeing during COVID-19 lockdown. https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus/air-quality-and-wellbeing-during-covid-19-lockdown/?article_id=730455 . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in Newswise. 2020: USA.
• Liu M., et al. Waste paper recycling decision system based on material flow analysis and life cycle assessment: a case study of waste paper recycling from China. J. Environ. Manage. 2020; 255 [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Livemint. India's energy demand falls by 30% due to COVID-19 lockdown. URL: https://www.livemint.com/news/world/lockdown-cuts-india-s-energy-demand-by-30-says-iea-11588235067694.html . Date accessed: 28th September, 2020. 2020.
• M Palash S., et al. Impacts of biodiesel combustion on NOx emissions and their reduction approaches. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 2013; 23 (0):473–490. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ma B., et al. Recycle more, waste more? When recycling efforts increase resource consumption. J. Cleaner Prod. 2019; 206 :870–877. [ Google Scholar ]
• Madurai Elavarasan R., et al. COVID-19: impact analysis and recommendations for power sector operation. Appl. Energy. 2020; 279 115739-115739. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Madurai Elavarasan R., et al. COVID-19: impact analysis and recommendations for power sector operation. Appl. Energy. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mofijur M., et al. A study on the effects of promising edible and non-edible biodiesel feedstocks on engine performance and emissions production: a comparative evaluation. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2013; 23 (0):391–404. [ Google Scholar ]
• Munawer M.E. Human health and environmental impacts of coal combustion and post-combustion wastes. J. Sustain. Min. 2018; 17 (2):87–96. [ Google Scholar ]
• Myllyvirta, L., 11,000 air pollution-related deaths avoided in Europe as coal, oil consumption plummet. https://energyandcleanair.org/air-pollution-deaths-avoided-in-europe-as-coal-oil-plummet/ . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Mofijur, M., I. M. Rizwanul Fattah, A. B. M. Saiful Islam, M. N. Uddin, S. M. Ashrafur Rahman, M. A. Chowdhury, M. A. Alam and M. A. Uddin (2020). "Relationship between Weather Variables and New Daily COVID-19 Cases in Dhaka, Bangladesh." Sustainability 12(20): 8319.
• Nghiem L.D., et al. The COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for the waste and wastewater services sector. Case Stud. Chem. Environ. Eng. 2020; 1 [ Google Scholar ]
• Nicola M., et al. The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): a review. Int. J. Surg. 2020; 78 :185–193. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Park G.W., et al. Evaluation of a new environmental sampling protocol for detection of human norovirus on inanimate surfaces. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2015; 81 (17):5987–5992. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Peiris M., Leung G.M. What can we expect from first-generation COVID-19 vaccines? Lancet North Am. Ed. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pirouz B., et al. Investigating a serious challenge in the sustainable development process: analysis of confirmed cases of COVID-19 (new type of coronavirus) through a binary classification using artificial intelligence and regression analysis. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (6):2427. [ Google Scholar ]
• Qu G., et al. An imperative need for research on the role of environmental factors in transmission of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020; 54 (7):3730–3732. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Renewable Energy World, Renewables achieve clean energy record as COVID-19 hits demand. URL: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/04/06/renewables-achieve-clean-energy-record-as-covid-19-hits-demand/ . Date accessed: 28th September, 2020. 2020.
• Ro, C., Is coronavirus reducing noise pollution? https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2020/04/19/is-coronavirus-reducing-noise-pollution/#2fe787d5766f . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in Forbes. 2020.
• Rubino, d.M., Coronavirus, il decreto del governo: tutte le misure per la zona arancione e quelle per il resto d'Italia. URL: https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/03/08/news/coronavirus_i_decreti_del_governo-250617415/ . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020, in la Repubblica. 2020.
• Ruscio B.A., et al. One health - a strategy for resilience in a changing arctic. Int. J. Circumpolar Health. 2015; 74 :27913. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• S&P Global, Japan, Singapore lockdowns to stifle Asian gas, power demand further. https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/040720-japan-singapore-lockdowns-to-stifle-asian-gas-power-demand-further . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Schanes K., Dobernig K., Gözet B. Food waste matters - a systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications. J. Cleaner Prod. 2018; 182 :978–991. [ Google Scholar ]
• Sharifi A., Khavarian-Garmsir A.R. The COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on cities and major lessons for urban planning, design, and management. Sci. Total Environ. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sicard P., et al. Amplified ozone pollution in cities during the COVID-19 lockdown. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 735 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sohrabi C., et al. World Health Organization declares global emergency: a review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Int. J. Surg. 2020; 76 :71–76. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Srivastava A. COVID-19 and air pollution and meteorology-an intricate relationship: a review. Chemosphere. 2020 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Statista, Perceived impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) among Italian companies in March 2020, by macro sector. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103017/perceived-impact-of-coronavirus-covid-19-among-italian-companies-by-sector/ . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• Statista, COVID-19 lockdown affect on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions in UK cities in March 2020 compared with March 2019. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111519/no2-emissions-decrease-due-to-lockdown-united-kingdom/ . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The social and economic impact of COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific region. https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/crisis-prevention-and-recovery/the-social-and-economic-impact-of-covid-19-in-asia-pacific.html . Date accessed: 21st September, 2020. 2020.
• van Doremalen N., et al. Aerosol and Surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020; 382 (16):1564–1567. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang D., et al. Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus–infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020; 323 (11):1061–1069. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang Q., Su M. A preliminary assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on environment – a case study of China. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 728 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Weitekamp C.A., et al. Health effects from freshly emitted versus oxidatively or photochemically aged air pollutants. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 704 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Worldometer, Reported cases and deaths by country, territory, or conveyance. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ . Date accessed: 25th July, 2020. 2020.
• Worldometer, Reported cases and deaths by country, territory, or conveyance. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ . Date accessed: 22nd September, 2020. 2020.
• Yan Y., et al. The first 75 days of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak: recent advances, prevention, and treatment. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020; 17 (7):2323. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ye Y., et al. Survivability, partitioning, and recovery of enveloped viruses in untreated municipal wastewater. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016; 50 (10):5077–5085. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zambrano-Monserrate M.A., Ruano M.A. Does environmental noise affect housing rental prices in developing countries? Evidence from Ecuador. Land Use Policy. 2019; 87 [ Google Scholar ]
• Zambrano-Monserrate M.A., Ruano M.A., Sanchez-Alcalde L. Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment. Sci. Total Environ. 2020; 728 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhou P., et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020; 579 (7798):270–273. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Students can share how they navigated life during the coronavirus pandemic in a full-length essay or an optional supplement.

Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays

Getty Images

Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many – a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

"I can't help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more," says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students' lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it's the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year," says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. "Maybe that's a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it's OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?"

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

"In general, I don't think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application," Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

"Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student's individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19," Miller says.

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

"If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it," Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn't be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it's common, noting that "topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it."

Above all, she urges honesty.

"If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself," Pippen says. "If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have."

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. "There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic."

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them – and write about it.

That doesn't mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

"That's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer," Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there's likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

"This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student's family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties," Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, "could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant."

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it's the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

"My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic – and that is, don't write what you think we want to read or hear," Alexander says. "Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell."

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, "What's the sentence that only I can write?" He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that's the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

"Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability," Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

"It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all," Pippen says. "They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

10 Ways to Discover College Essay Ideas

Tags: students , colleges , college admissions , college applications , college search , Coronavirus

2024 Best Colleges

Search for your perfect fit with the U.S. News rankings of colleges and universities.

College Admissions: Get a Step Ahead!

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

Ask an Alum: Making the Most Out of College

You May Also Like

How to decide if an mba is worth it.

Sarah Wood March 27, 2024

What to Wear to a Graduation

LaMont Jones, Jr. March 27, 2024

FAFSA Delays Alarm Families, Colleges

Sarah Wood March 25, 2024

Help Your Teen With the College Decision

Anayat Durrani March 25, 2024

Toward Semiconductor Gender Equity

Alexis McKittrick March 22, 2024

March Madness in the Classroom

Cole Claybourn March 21, 2024

20 Lower-Cost Online Private Colleges

Sarah Wood March 21, 2024

How to Choose a Microcredential

Sarah Wood March 20, 2024

Basic Components of an Online Course

Cole Claybourn March 19, 2024

Can You Double Minor in College?

Sarah Wood March 15, 2024

Log in using your username and password

• Search More Search for this keyword Advanced search
• Latest content
• Supplements
• BMJ Journals More You are viewing from: Google Indexer

You are here

• Volume 5, Issue 7
• The COVID-19 pandemic: diverse contexts; different epidemics—how and why?
• Article Text
• Article info
• Citation Tools
• Rapid Responses
• Article metrics

• Wim Van Damme 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4773-5341 Ritwik Dahake 2 ,
• Alexandre Delamou 3 ,
• Brecht Ingelbeen 1 ,
• Edwin Wouters 4 , 5 ,
• Guido Vanham 6 , 7 ,
• Remco van de Pas 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1681-2604 Jean-Paul Dossou 1 , 8 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1294-3850 Seye Abimbola 10 , 11 ,
• Stefaan Van der Borght 12 ,
• Devadasan Narayanan 13 ,
• Gerald Bloom 14 ,
• Ian Van Engelgem 15 ,
• Mohamed Ali Ag Ahmed 16 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7000-3712 Joël Arthur Kiendrébéogo 1 , 17 , 18 ,
• Kristien Verdonck 1 ,
• Vincent De Brouwere 1 ,
• Kéfilath Bello 8 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5867-971X Helmut Kloos 19 ,
• Peter Aaby 20 ,
• Andreas Kalk 21 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2761-3566 Sameh Al-Awlaqi 22 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0968-0826 NS Prashanth 23 ,
• Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum 24 ,
• Placide Mbala 24 ,
• Steve Ahuka-Mundeke 24 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2393-1492 Yibeltal Assefa 25
• 1 Department of Public Health , Institute of Tropical Medicine , Antwerpen , Belgium
• 2 Independent Researcher , Bengaluru , India
• 3 Africa Centre of Excellence for Prevention and Control of Transmissible Diseases , Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry , Conakry , Guinea
• 4 Department of Sociology and Centre for Population , University of Antwerp , Antwerpen , Belgium
• 5 Centre for Health Systems Research and Development , University of the Free State—Bloemfontein Campus , Bloemfontein , Free State , South Africa
• 6 Biomedical Department , Institute of Tropical Medicine , Antwerpen , Belgium
• 7 Biomedical Department , University of Antwerp , Antwerpen , Belgium
• 8 Public Health , Centre de recherche en Reproduction Humaine et en Démographie , Cotonou , Benin
• 9 National Institute of Public Health , Phnom Penh , Cambodia
• 10 School of Public Health , University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia
• 11 The George Institute for Global Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia
• 12 Board Member , Institute of Tropical Medicine , Antwerpen , Belgium
• 13 Health Systems Transformation Platform , New Delhi , India
• 14 Health and Nutrition Cluster , Institute of Development Studies , Brighton , UK
• 15 European Commission Directorate General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations , Kinshasa , Democratic Republic of Congo
• 16 University of Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada
• 17 Public Health , University of Ouagadougou Health Sciences Training and Research Unit , Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso
• 18 Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital , Heidelberg University , Heidelberg , Germany
• 19 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics , University of California San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA
• 20 INDEPTH Network , Bandim Health Project , Bissau , Guinea-Bissau
• 21 Bureau GIZ à Kinshasa , Kinshasa , Democratic Republic of Congo
• 22 Center for International Health Protection , Robert Koch Institute , Berlin , Germany
• 23 Health Equity Cluster , Institute of Public Health , Bengaluru , India
• 24 Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale , Kinshasa , Democratic Republic of Congo
• 25 School of Public Health , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Queensland , Australia
• Correspondence to Professor Wim Van Damme; wvdamme{at}itg.be

It is very exceptional that a new disease becomes a true pandemic. Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread to nearly all countries of the world in only a few months. However, in different countries, the COVID-19 epidemic takes variable shapes and forms in how it affects communities. Until now, the insights gained on COVID-19 have been largely dominated by the COVID-19 epidemics and the lockdowns in China, Europe and the USA. But this variety of global trajectories is little described, analysed or understood. In only a few months, an enormous amount of scientific evidence on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has been uncovered (knowns). But important knowledge gaps remain (unknowns). Learning from the variety of ways the COVID-19 epidemic is unfolding across the globe can potentially contribute to solving the COVID-19 puzzle. This paper tries to make sense of this variability—by exploring the important role that context plays in these different COVID-19 epidemics; by comparing COVID-19 epidemics with other respiratory diseases, including other coronaviruses that circulate continuously; and by highlighting the critical unknowns and uncertainties that remain. These unknowns and uncertainties require a deeper understanding of the variable trajectories of COVID-19. Unravelling them will be important for discerning potential future scenarios, such as the first wave in virgin territories still untouched by COVID-19 and for future waves elsewhere.

• public health

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003098

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request permissions.

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Summary box

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread to nearly all countries of the world in only a few months. It is unique that an emerging respiratory virus becomes a pandemic, and can continue human-to-human transmission unabated, probably permanently.

Depending on the context, the trajectory and the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic vary widely across affected countries. This is in fact the case with most infectious diseases.

Despite limited initial knowledge on COVID-19, most societies have deployed draconian measures, including lockdowns, to contain the virus and mitigate its impact. This had variable success, but invariably with profound socioeconomic collateral effects.

Through research and rapid sharing of its findings, progressively more insights on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 have been uncovered (knowns), mainly based on evidence from China, Europe and the USA; however, important knowledge gaps remain (unknowns).

The different COVID-19 epidemics and the responses unfolding in the Global South are little described, analysed or understood. Insights from these less researched contexts are important for discerning potential future scenarios, not only for the first wave in virgin territories still untouched by COVID-19, but also for future waves.

More understanding of lived experiences of people in a variety of contexts is necessary to get a full global picture and allow learning from this variety.

BMJ Global Health and Emerging Voices for Global Health have launched a call for such on-the-ground narratives and analyses on the epidemics of, and responses to, COVID-19.

Introduction

Late in 2019, a cluster of acute respiratory disease in Wuhan, China, was attributed to a new coronavirus, 1–3 later named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). 4 It was soon discovered that the virus is easily transmitted, can cause severe disease and can be quite lethal especially in the elderly and those with comorbidities. 5–8 The new human disease is called COVID-19. 9 Soon it became clear that its global spread was unstoppable. Even with draconian containment measures, such as strict movement restrictions, the so-called lockdown, it spread, and within a few months reached almost all countries and was declared a pandemic by the WHO. 10 Table 1 summarises key events in the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic, from December 2019 to May 2020.

• View inline

Key events in the COVID-19 pandemic, December 2019–May 2020

This progression is quite unique. New human pathogens emerge frequently from an animal host, but most cause only a local outbreak. Human-to-human transmission stops at some point, and the virus can only re-emerge as a human pathogen from its animal host. Only very rarely does an emerging pathogen become a pandemic. Over the past decades, a totally new pathogen emerged, caused serious disease, and spread around the globe continuously only once before: the HIV. It seems increasingly likely that SARS-CoV-2 transmission will be continuing. All countries are now facing their own ‘COVID-19 epidemic’.

In only a few months, the scientific community has started to learn the virus’s characteristics and its manifestations in different contexts. 11 But we fail to understand fully why the virus spreads at different speeds and affects populations differently. Our main objective is to make sense of those different expressions of the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand why COVID-19 follows variable trajectories in ways that are often quite different from the collective image created by the mediatisation of the dramatic COVID-19 epidemics in densely populated areas.

We start by exploring the role of context, followed by a brief summary of what is already known at the time of writing about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. We then compare these knowns with what is known of some other viral respiratory pathogens and identify the critical unknowns. We also discuss the coping strategies and collective strategies implemented to contain and mitigate the effect of the epidemic. We finally look ahead to potential future scenarios.

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: importance of context

Initially, human-to-human transmission was documented in family/friends clusters. 12–17 Progressively, it became clear that superspreading events, typically during social gatherings such as parties, religious services, weddings, sports events and carnival celebrations, have played an important role. 18–21 Dense transmission has also been documented in hospitals 22 and nursing homes possibly through aerosols. 23 24

SARS-CoV-2 has spread around the world through international travellers. The timing of the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 has largely depended on the intensity of connections with locations with ongoing COVID-19 epidemics; thus, it reached big urban centres first and, within these, often the most affluent groups. From there, the virus has spread at variable speeds to other population groups. 25 26

As of May 2020, the most explosive COVID-19 epidemics observed have been in densely populated areas in temperate climates in relatively affluent countries. 27 The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns have been covered intensively in the media and have shaped our collective image of the COVID-19 epidemic, both in the general public and in the scientific community.

The COVID-19 epidemic has spread more slowly and less intensively in rural areas, in Africa and the Indian subcontinent, and the rural areas of low and lower-middle income countries (LICs/LMICs). Not only the media but also the scientific community has paid much less attention to these realities, emerging later and spreading more slowly.

The dominant thinking has been that it is only a question of time before dramatic epidemics occur everywhere. This thinking, spread globally by international public health networks, has been substantiated by predictive mathematical models based largely on data from the epidemics of the Global North. However, what has been observed elsewhere is quite different although not necessarily less consequential. 28

The effects of the COVID-19 epidemic manifest in peculiar ways in each context. In the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the virus first affected the urban elites with international connections. From there, it was seeded to other sections of the society more slowly. In contrast, the collateral effects of a lockdown, even partial in many cases, are mostly felt by the urban poor, as ‘stay home’ orders abruptly intensify hardship for those earning their daily living in the informal urban economy. Governments of LICs/LMICs lack the budgetary space to grant generous benefit packages to counter the socioeconomic consequences. International agencies are very thinly spread, as the pandemic has been concurrent everywhere. Donor countries have focused mainly on their own COVID-19 epidemics.

The epidemic is thus playing out differently in different contexts. Many factors might explain SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics. Climate, population structure, social practices, pre-existing immunity and many other variables that have been explored are summarised in table 2 .

Contextual variables potentially influencing transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Although all these variables probably play some role, many uncertainties remain. It is difficult to assess how much these variables influence transmission in different contexts. It is even more difficult to assess how they interact and change over time and influence transmission among different social groups, resulting in the peculiar COVID-19 epidemic in any particular context.

Insights from other viruses

We do not attempt to give a complete overview of viruses but select only those viruses that emerged recently and caused epidemics such as Ebola, that have obvious similarities in transmission patterns such as influenza and measles, or that are closely related such as other coronaviruses.

Emerging viral respiratory pathogens

Respiratory viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and avian influenza A and also Ebola have originated from animal hosts and caused human diseases ( table 3 ). These viruses do not continuously circulate from human to human. They create an outbreak only when there is interspecies cross-over transmission, most frequently from bats to another animal host.

Examples of emerging human respiratory viral diseases without sustained human-to-human transmission

The first human case of a disease from an emerging viral pathogen, the ‘index case’ or ‘patient zero’, is invariably someone in close contact with the originating animal host or an intermediary animal host. If this contact occurs in a remote rural community, the spread is usually slow, at low intensity, and could fade out before the pathogen gets a chance to spread to another community. The spread can suddenly intensify if seeded in a densely populated community, frequently in a particular context such as a hospital or during a social event, often referred to as a superspreading event. When the spread reaches a city, it can become a major outbreak, from where it can spread further; this happened with SARS-CoV in Hong Kong in 2003 and with Ebola in Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia in 2014–2016. 29 30 But at some stage human-to-human transmission is interrupted and the outbreak stops.

Only very exceptionally can a new viral pathogen sustain continuous human-to-human transmission. Other viral diseases such as measles and influenza are ‘old’ diseases; they have been studied in great depth. What can we learn from them?

Measles and influenza: the importance of context

It is thought that measles emerged thousands of years ago in the Middle East. It is assumed that a cross-over occurred from the rinderpest virus, 31 to become the human measles virus. Measles has since spread around the globe in continuous human-to-human transmission. When measles, along with other viruses such as smallpox and influenza, was introduced in the Americas by European conquerors, it contributed to a massive die-off of up to 90% of the original population. 32

The transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 can be compared with influenza. Influenza typically causes yearly epidemics in temperate climates during winter with less seasonal patterns in tropical or subtropical regions. 33 34 In hotter climates, such as in sub-Saharan Africa 33 or South and Southeast Asia, 34 it is transmitted year round, often not identified as influenza. Such different epidemic patterns of influenza are still incompletely understood but thought to be associated with temperature and humidity and human behavioural factors such as indoor crowding. 35

But, in contrast to SARS-CoV-2, the influenza virus is not new. Influenza is a very old disease, certainly circulating for several centuries. It has infected most human beings living on the planet already, many of them several times, leaving some immunity but no durable protection. The virus also mutates, giving rise to a new dominant strain every influenza season. Influenza is every year a slightly different virus (due to antigenic drift as a result of progressive mutations) with major differences every few decades (antigenic shift as a result of recombination with novel strains).

One such antigenic shift resulted in the 1918 H1N1 ‘Spanish’ Influenza pandemic, which had an estimated case fatality rate (CFR) of 2%–3%, killing millions. 36 Box 1 summarises some key facts about H1N1, including factors thought to be associated with its high CFR.

Pandemic H1N1 influenza, 1918–2009

The 1918 H1N1 virus probably infected one-third of the world’s population at that time (or ~500 million people). 84

The pandemic had three waves in quick succession; the second wave, in 1919, was worse than the first wave. 84

High mortality, especially in younger persons (5–15 years; ~25% of total deaths) in the 1918 pandemic, may have been due to antibody-dependent enhancement and ‘cytokine storms’. 84 Another possible explanation is that older persons had some protective cross-immunity from previous influenza outbreaks while younger persons did not.

H1N1 continued to circulate along with seasonal influenza viruses, often recombining to produce more severe local outbreaks, including other pandemics between 1918 and 2009, giving it the nickname ‘mother of all pandemics’.

The original 1918 H1N1 strain was replaced by A(H1N1)pdm09 virus that resulted from an antigenic shift and caused the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

The 2009 H1N1 virus originated in pigs in central Mexico in March 2009 and was responsible for an estimated 284 000 deaths worldwide with an estimated CFR<0.1%. 85 86

During the 2009 pandemic, mortality was much lower than in the 1918 pandemic. Higher mortality in persons younger than 65 years was related to cytokine storms. 87 A role of protective cross-immunity from previous influenza strains in older persons has been suggested.

After August 2010, the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus appeared to have integrated with circulating strains of influenza and continues to cause localised seasonal influenza outbreaks worldwide. 88

A major difference between COVID-19 and influenza is that SARS-CoV-2 is a new pathogen and influenza is not. At the time of writing (May 2020), SARS-CoV-2 has triggered an immune response in over 5 million confirmed infections (and probably in many more), definitely too few to create anything close to herd immunity. Calculations using an estimated reproductive number (R0) for SARS-CoV-2 suggest that herd immunity would require at least 60% of the population to have protective immunity (see box 2 ). 37

On the use of mathematical models during epidemics

 A dominant way of studying the transmission dynamics of an infectious disease such as COVID-19, and predicting the amplitude and peak of the epidemic in a population (city, province, country) and analysing the effect of control measures is using mathematical models. Based on available data and several assumptions, a model attempts to predict the course of the epidemic, the expected number of infections, clinical cases and deaths over time. Critical is the effective reproductive number (Rt). When Rt >1, the number of cases in a population increases; when Rt <1, the number of cases decreases. A relatively simple and widely used model is the susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model, as used in the two papers recently published in BMJ Global Health on COVID-19 in Africa. 67 89 There are many more types of models, with varying degrees of complexity.

 The use of such models has strengths and limitations. Building a mathematical model implies trade-offs between accuracy, transparency, flexibility and timeliness. A difficulty, in general, is that the parameters on which the model is based, the so-called assumptions are frequently uncertain ( table 7 ) and predictions can vary widely if any of the parameters are modestly different. This uncertainty is captured in a sensitivity analysis, leading to various possible quantitative outcomes, usually expressed as a range of plausible possibilities, between ‘worst-case’ and ‘best-case’ scenarios.

 With a new disease such as COVID-19, certainly at the start of the outbreak, the parameters had to be based on very limited data from a particular context. However, many variables can widely differ across communities as they critically depend on contextual factors ( table 2 ). In mathematical models, all such uncertainties and unknowns are somehow hidden in the complex formulae of the model, as a quasi ‘black box’. Few people have the knowledge and skill to ‘open up the black box’.

 As uncertainties in COVID-19 are large, the range of possibilities produced by a model is wide, with the worst-case scenario typically predicting catastrophic numbers of cases and deaths. Such predictions are often misunderstood by journalists, practitioners and policy-makers, with worst-case estimates getting the most attention, 68 not specifying the huge uncertainties.

Knowns, uncertainties and unknowns about COVID-19, as of May 2020

Like COVID-19, measles and influenza have different epidemic patterns in different contexts. This also is the case for cholera, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and most infectious diseases. The difference in patterns is most pronounced and so is easily understood with vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Epidemic patterns are also different for air-borne infections, although they are less easily understood. Transmission of respiratory viruses is influenced by factors related to the virus and the human host but also by factors related to the natural and human environment ( table 4 ).

Factors related to transmission patterns and severity of respiratory viruses

However, we are quite unable to explain fully which factor has which influence, how these factors vary among different social groups and how interdependent or isolated they are. We are certainly unable to fully model all these variables mathematically to explain the epidemic pattern across a variety of different contexts. Too many variables and their interrelations are difficult to quantify, and when all these factors change over time while the pathogen continues to spread in diverse societies, the complexity becomes daunting.

Understanding transmission dynamics is a bit less daunting for measles, as several variables are well known and rather constant across individuals and contexts. The natural transmission pattern of measles, before the introduction of vaccines, has been well described. Measles is mostly a childhood disease, but this is not the case in very remote communities, where measles transmission had been interrupted for extended periods (such as the Faroe Islands). 38 39 Measles affected all age groups when reaching new territories, causing dramatic first-wave epidemics, a phenomenon called ‘virgin soil epidemic’. 40 41 The latest stages of the global dissemination of measles have been well documented, including in Australia, the Fiji islands and the Arctic countries, where such virgin soil epidemics occurred in the 19th and the mid-20th centuries. 32 42 Fortunately, measles infection creates robust protective immunity and after a first wave becomes a typical childhood disease, affecting only those without any prior immunity. 43 Human-to-human transmission of measles virus in a community stops when the virus cannot find new susceptible human hosts and the so-called herd immunity is reached. 44 45 But transmission of measles continues elsewhere on the planet from where it can be reintroduced a few years later when the population without protective immunity has grown large enough to allow human-to-human transmission again.

The epidemic patterns of measles are easily understood as measles is highly infectious, creates disease in almost every infected person and leaves lifelong natural immunity. Measles circulation, prior to vaccination, was continuous only in large urban areas with high birth rates. Everywhere else reintroduction occurred typically every 3–5 years but sometimes only after 10 or 15 years in isolated rural communities (such as among nomadic groups in the Sahel), causing epidemics among all those without acquired immunity and having lost maternal antibodies. 46 These diverse patterns of measles epidemics have been fundamentally changed by variable coverage of measles vaccination. They can still help us make sense of the diversity of COVID-19 epidemics being observed in 2020.

Measles illustrates convincingly that the transmission pattern of a respiratory virus is strongly influenced by the demographic composition, density and mixing pattern of the population and the connectedness to big urban centres. Measles transmission is continuous only in some large urban areas. It presents in short epidemics everywhere else with variable periodicity. This transmission pattern may well be a bit similar for COVID-19. But it took thousands of years for measles to reach all human communities while SARS-CoV-2 spread to all countries in only a few months, despite measles being much more transmissible than SARS-CoV-2. Factors such as increased air travel and more dense community structures play bigger roles for SARS-CoV-2 than they did for measles.

Comparison with other pathogenic coronaviruses

SARS-CoV-2 has many close relatives. Six other human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are known to infect humans. SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV (causing SARS and MERS, respectively) are very rare and do not continuously circulate among humans. The other four (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1 and HCoV-NL63) cause the common cold or diarrhoea and continuously circulate and mutate frequently. 47 48 They can cause disease in the same person repeatedly. The typical coronavirus remains localised to the epithelium of the upper respiratory tract, causes mild disease and elicits a poor immune response, hence the high rate of reinfection (in contrast to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which go deeper into the lungs and hence are relatively less contagious). There is no cross-immunity between HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43, and new strains arise continually by mutation selection. 49

Coping strategies and collective strategies

How a virus spreads and its disease progresses depend not only on the variables described above ( table 4 ) but also on the human reactions deployed when people are confronted with a disease outbreak or the threat of an outbreak. All these variables combined result in what unfolds as ‘the epidemic’ and the diverse ways it affects communities.

What a population experiences during an epidemic is not fully characterised by the numbers of known infections and deaths at the scale of a country. Such numbers hide regional and local differences, especially in large and diverse countries. The epidemic reaches the different geographical areas of a country at different moments and with different intensities. It affects different communities in variable ways, influencing how these communities perceive it and react to it. What constitutes a local COVID-19 epidemic is thus also characterised by the perceptions and the reactions it triggers in the different sections of the society.

Even before the virus reaches a community, the threat of an epidemic already causes fear, stress and anxiety. Consequently, the threat or arrival of the epidemic also triggers responses, early or late, with various degrees of intensity and effectiveness. The response to an epidemic can be divided into individual and household actions (coping strategies), and collectively organised strategies (collective strategies). Coping strategies are the actions people and families take when disease threatens and sickness occurs, including the ways they try to protect themselves from contagion. Collective strategies are voluntary or mandated measures deployed by organised communities and public authorities in response to an epidemic. These include, among others, isolation of the sick or the healthy, implementation of hygiene practices and physical distancing measures. They can also include mobility restrictions such as quarantine and cordon sanitaire . Coping strategies and collective strategies also include treatment of the sick, which critically depends on the availability and effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic tools, and performance of the health system. Collective strategies also include research being deployed to further scientific insight and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools, potentially including a vaccine.

Implementation of these measures depends not only on resources available but also on the understanding and interpretation of the disease by both the scientific community and the community at large, influenced by the information people receive from scientists, public authorities and the media. This information is interpreted within belief systems and influenced by rumours, increasingly so over social media, including waves of fake news, recently labelled ‘infodemics’. 50

Coping strategies and collective strategies start immediately, while there are still many unknowns and uncertainties. Progressively, as the pandemic unfolds and scientists interpret observations in the laboratory, in the clinic, and in society, more insights are gained and inform the response.

Table 5 lists measures recommended by the WHO for preventing transmission and slowing down the COVID-19 epidemic. 51–53 ‘Lockdown’ first employed in early 2020 in Wuhan, China, is the label often given to the bundle of containment and mitigation measures promoted or imposed by public authorities, although the specific measures may vary greatly between countries. In China, lockdown was very strictly applied and enforced. It clearly had an impact, resulting in total interruption of transmission locally. 54 55

Measures recommended by the WHO for preventing transmission and slowing down the COVID-19 epidemic, 2020

This list or catalogue of measures is quite comprehensive; it includes all measures that at first sight seem to reduce transmission opportunities for a respiratory virus. However, knowledge is lacking about the effectiveness of each measure in different contexts. As a global health agency, the WHO recommends a ‘generic catalogue’ of measures from which all countries can select an appropriate mix at any one time depending on the phase of the epidemic, categorised in four transmission scenarios (no cases, first cases, first clusters, and community transmission). 52 However, under pressure to act and with little time to consider variable options, public authorities often adopted as ‘blueprint’ with limited consideration for the socioeconomic context. 53 56

The initial lockdown in China thus much inspired the collective strategies elsewhere. This has been referred to as ‘global mimicry’, 57 : the response is somehow partly ‘copy/paste’ from measures observed previously (strong path dependency).

Some epidemiologists in Northern Europe (including the UK, 58 Sweden 59 and the Netherlands 60 ) pleaded against strict containment measures and proposed that building up herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2 might be wiser. Towards early April 2020, it became increasingly clear that reaching herd immunity in the short term was illusive. Most countries thus backed off from the herd immunity approach to combating COVID-19 and implemented lockdowns. 61 The intensity of the lockdowns has been variable, ranging from very strict (‘Chinese, Wuhan style’), over intermediary (‘French/Italian/New York City style’ and ‘Hong Kong style’), to relaxed (‘Swedish style’), or piecemeal.

The effectiveness of lockdowns largely depends on at what stage of the epidemic they are started, and how intensively they are applied. This is quite variable across countries, depending on the understanding and motivation of the population and their perceived risk (‘willingness to adhere’), on the trust they have in government advice (‘willingness to comply’), and on the degree of enforcement by public authorities. The feasibility for different population groups to follow these measures depends largely on their socioeconomic and living conditions. It is obviously more difficult for people living in crowded shacks in urban slums to practise physical distancing measures and strict hand hygiene when water is scarce than for people living in wealthier parts of a city.

Collateral effects of the response

Every intervention against the COVID-19 epidemic has a certain degree of effect and comes at a cost with collateral effects. Each collective strategy (1) has intended and unintended consequences (some are more or less desirable); (2) is more or less feasible and/or acceptable in a given context and for certain subgroups in that society; (3) has a cost, not only in financial terms but in many other ways, such as restrictions on movement and behaviour, stress, uncertainty and others. These costs are more or less acceptable, depending on the perception of the risk and many societal factors; (4) can be implemented with more or less intensity; and (5) can be enforced more or less vigorously.

The balance between benefit and cost is crucial in judging whether measures are appropriate, which is very context specific. Furthermore, benefits and costs are also related to the positionality from which they are analysed: benefits for whom and costs borne by whom? More wealthy societies with strong social safety nets can afford increased temporary unemployment. This is much more consequential in poorer countries, where large proportions of the population live precarious lives and where public authorities cannot implement generous mitigation measures at scale.

The adherence to hygiene and distancing measures depends not only on living conditions but also on risk perception and cultural norms. Mass masking has been readily accepted in some Asian countries, where it was already broadly practised even before the COVID-19 epidemic. It remains more controversial in Western societies, some of which even have legal bans on veiling in public places.

Lockdowns are unprecedented and have triggered intensive public debate. Not surprisingly, the impact of lighter lockdowns on the transmission is much less impressive; they decrease transmission but do not stop it. Quite rapidly, the justification for lockdowns shifted from stopping transmission to ‘flattening the curve’. Also, once a lockdown is started, rationalised, explained and enforced, it is difficult to decide when to stop it. Exit scenarios, usually some form of progressive relaxation, are implemented with the knowledge that transmission will be facilitated again. 62

Knowns and unknowns about SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

What we already know.

The available information on SARS-CoV-2 and the spectrum of COVID-19 disease is summarised in tables 6 and 7 . It is increasingly becoming clear that most transmission happens indoors and that superspreading events trigger intensive dissemination.

Knowns, uncertainties and unknowns about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as of May 2020

Relationship between the dose of the initial infectious inoculum, transmission dynamics and severity of the COVID-19 disease

Hypothesis:

The dose of the virus in the initial inoculum may be a missing link between the variation observed in the transmission dynamics and the spectrum of the COVID-19 disease. It is plausible that:

Viral dose in inoculum is related to severity of disease.

Severity of disease is related to viral shedding and transmission potential.

This hypothesis plays out potentially at three levels:

At individual level: a person infected with a small dose of viral inoculum will on average develop milder disease than a person infected with a high viral inoculum and vice versa.

At cluster level: a person with asymptomatic infection or mild disease will on average spread lower doses of virus in droplets and aerosols and is less likely to transmit disease; when the person transmits, the newly infected person is more likely to have milder disease than if infected by a severely ill person, who spreads on an average higher doses of virus. This causes clusters and chains of milder cases or of more severe cases.

At community level: in certain contexts, such as dense urban centres in moderate climates during the season when people live mostly indoors, the potential for intensive transmission and explosive outbreaks is high, especially during indoor superspreading events. In other contexts, such as in rural areas or in regions with hot and humid climate where people live mostly outdoors, intensive transmission and explosive outbreaks are less likely.

The virology and immunology of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 are being studied intensively. This is critical not only to understand what will potentially happen in future waves but also for the development of a vaccine. Some scientists and companies are very upbeat about the possibility of producing a vaccine in record time. Having a vaccine is one thing, but how effective it is, is quite another. As acquired immunity after a natural infection is probably not very robust ( table 6 ), it will also be challenging to trigger robust immunity with a vaccine, but perhaps it is not impossible. Many questions remain, some of which are summarised in table 8 .

Questions and considerations in case a COVID-19 vaccine is developed

Regarding the severity of COVID-19, initial fears of very high mortality have also lessened. It has progressively become clear that many infections remain asymptomatic, that severe disease is rare in children and young adults, and that mortality is heavily concentrated in the very old and those with comorbidities. Table 7 summarises a fuller overview of the present state of knowledge regarding COVID-19.

With COVID-19 epidemics unfolding rapidly, several of the variables in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the disease spectrum of COVID-19 could be quantified. This allows for mathematical modelling. Several models have been quickly developed, leading to predictions of the speed of transmission and the burden of COVID-19 ( box 2 ). Predictive models developed by the Imperial College 63 ; the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and Johns Hopkins University 28 ; the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation 64 ; Harvard University 65 ; and the WHO, 66 including an ‘African model’, 67 are a few that are influencing containment strategies around the world.

Critical unknowns and uncertainties

Although the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented research efforts globally, with over 30 000 scientific papers published between January and April 2020, there are still critical unknowns and many uncertainties.

Tables 6 and 7 summarise many of the knowns, but their relative importance or weight is not clear. For instance, the virus can spread via droplets, hands, aerosols, fomites and possibly through the environment. However, the relative importance of these in various contexts is much less clear. These factors undoubtedly vary between settings, whether in hospitals, in elderly homes, or at mass events. The weight of the variables also probably differs between the seeding and initial spread in a community and the spread when it suddenly amplifies and intensifies. The importance of each variable probably also depends on climatic conditions, not only outdoors, but also on microclimates indoors, influenced by ventilation and air conditioning and built environments.

We summarise the critical unknowns in table 9 along some elements to consider in addressing the unknowns and thoughts on their importance.

Some critical unknowns in SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Uncertainty remains, leading to controversy and directly influencing the choice of containment measures. Controversy continues regarding when and where lockdown or more selective measures are equally effective with lower societal effects.

New evidence is being discovered rapidly. Some evidence comes from field observations and ecological studies; other evidence results from scientific experiments or observations in the laboratory and the clinic. Sense-making by combining insights from different observations and through the lens of various disciplines can lead to hypotheses that can be tested and verified or refuted. One such hypothesis is that there is a relationship between the dose of virus in the infectious inoculum and the severity of COVID-19 disease. Several intriguing observations in the current pandemic could be (partially) explained by such a relationship. We develop this hypothesis in box 3 , as an example of possible further research, to create new insight which may influence control strategies.

This viral inoculum theory is consistent with many observations from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is not easy to test scientifically.

Potential future scenarios of COVID-19

As COVID-19 is a new disease, we should make a distinction between (1) the current 2019–2020 ‘virgin soil pandemic’ caused by SARS-CoV-2, specifically in how it will further spread around the globe in the first wave, and (2) the potential future transmission in subsequent waves. In some countries, transmission will continue at lower levels. In other countries, such as China, the virus may have been eliminated but can be reintroduced in identical or mutated form.

For the current first wave, using influenza and the common cold as reasonable comparisons, it is possible that the major epidemics, as witnessed in Wuhan, northern Italy, or New York, will typically occur in temperate climates in the winter season. Some predict that such epidemics will last between 8 and 10 weeks (but this is just a plausible and reasonable comparison in analogy with seasonal influenza). It is possible that in hotter climates the transmission may become continuous, year round at lower levels. It is increasingly clear that hot climate does not exclude superspreading events as observed in Guayaquil, Ecuador and in various cities in Brazil. Ventilation, air-conditioning and crowded places may still create favourable environments for intensive transmission. It is also quite possible that the more difficult spread of SARS-CoV-2 in such climates may, in certain communities, be compensated for by human factors such as higher population density, closer human contacts and lesser hygiene (as, for instance, exist in urban slums in mega cities in low income countries). How all this plays out in sub-Saharan Africa, in its slums and remote areas, is still largely unknown. With SARS-CoV-2, transmission scenarios are mainly based on mathematical models despite their serious limitations ( box 2 ).

As the virus continues to circulate, it will progressively be less of a ‘new disease’ during subsequent waves. The immunity caused by the first epidemic will influence how the virus spreads and causes disease. Whether later waves will become progressively milder or worse, as observed in the 1918–19 Spanish influenza, is a matter of intense speculation. Both views seem plausible and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Indeed, immunity should be defined on two levels: individual immunity and herd immunity. Individual immunity will dictate how mild or severe the disease will be in subsequent infections. Herd immunity could be defined in different communities/regions/countries that, in theory, could be fenced off, allowing only limited interaction with other areas, impacting the spread of the virus to more vulnerable populations.

The future is unknown, but we can think of likely futures and critical elements therein.

Some obvious critical elements are:

Will there be an effective vaccine? How soon? How effective? How available at scale? How acceptable?

Will there be an effective treatment? How soon? How effective? How available at scale?

The current first wave is unfolding in the absence of effective biomedical tools (no vaccine, no effective antiviral or immune-modulating medicine, only supportive treatment such as oxygen therapy). This comes close to what can be called a ‘natural evolution’ of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly modified by the containment measures deployed ( table 5 ) and the effect of supportive treatment.

Progressively, we can learn more about the direct health effects of COVID-19 (morbidity and mortality), about appropriate individual and collective measures, 68 the various degrees of societal disruption and the collateral effects on other essential health services (eg, reluctance to use health services for other health problems, because of ‘corona fear’). Our growing knowledge may enable us to progressively improve our response.

Learning from the variety of ways the COVID-19 epidemic is unfolding across the globe provides important ‘ecological evidence’ and creates insights into its epidemiology and impacts. Until now, the insights gained on COVID-19 have been largely dominated by the COVID-19 epidemics in the Global North. More understanding of lived experiences of people in a variety of contexts, where the epidemic is spreading more slowly and with different impacts, is necessary to get a full global picture and allow learning from this variety. This is an important missing piece of the COVID-19 puzzle.

BMJ Global Health and Emerging Voices for Global Health have launched a call ( https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjgh/2020/05/26/from-models-to-narratives-and-back-a-call-for-on-the-ground-analyses-of-covid-19-spread-and-response-in-africa/ ) for such on-the-ground narratives and analyses of the spread of and response to COVID-19, local narratives and analyses that will hopefully help to further enrich our understanding of how and why the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold in multiple local epidemics along diverse trajectories around the globe.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Johan Leeuwenburg, Piet Kager, and Luc Bonneux for useful comments on a previous draft, the teams of the Riposte corona, INRB, Kinshasa and the Belgian Embassy in Kinshasa for welcoming and hosting WVD during his unscheduled extended stay in Kinshasa during the lockdown, March–June 2020. We are thankful to Mrs. Ann Byers for editing the manuscript at short notice.

• Stratton CW ,
• Tang Yi‐Wei
• Wang W , et al
• Coronaviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
• Wang Y , et al
• Fan Y , et al
• Hu C , et al
• Wu P , et al
• World Health Organization
• Ko W-C , et al
• Wang Y-J , et al
• Ma AHY , et al
• Epaulard O ,
• Bénet T , et al
• Böhmer MM ,
• Buchholz U ,
• Corman VM , et al
• Chan JF-W ,
• Kok K-H , et al
• Capron I , et al
• Kucharski AJ , et al
• Kupferschmidt K
• The Guardian
• Wang M , et al
• Li Y , et al
• Chen Y , et al
• Wilson ME ,
• ourworldindata.org
• The Center For Disease Dynamics Economics & Policy
• Coltart CEM ,
• Lindsey B ,
• Ghinai I , et al
• Newman LP ,
• Paget J , et al
• Leclerc QJ ,
• Fuller NM ,
• Knight LE , et al
• Taubenberger JK
• Altmann DM ,
• Rhodes CJ ,
• Anderson RM
• FRANCIS JE ,
• Gajdusek DC
• Aaby P , et al
• Krugman S ,
• Friedman H , et al
• van den Driessche P ,
• Yuen K-S , et al
• Shi W , et al
• Burrell C ,
• Zarocostas J
• Ruktanonchai NW ,
• Zhou L , et al
• Kucharski AJ ,
• Russell TW ,
• Diamond C , et al
• Bedford J ,
• Giesecke J , et al
• Pancevski B
• National Geographic
• Gutiérrez P ,
• Ferguson NM ,
• Nedjati-Gilani G , et al
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
• Kissler SM ,
• Tedijanto C ,
• Goldstein E , et al
• Cabore JW ,
• Karamagi HC ,
• Kipruto H , et al
• Van Damme W ,
• Van Lerberghe W
• Fischetti M ,
• Krzywinski M
• Deslandes A ,
• Tandjaoui-Lambotte Y , et al
• Kumar H , et al
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Taubenberger JK ,
• Trifonov V ,
• Khiabanian H ,
• Dawood FS ,
• Iuliano AD ,
• Reed C , et al
• Writing Committee of the WHO Consultation on Clinical Aspects of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza ,
• Bautista E ,
• Chotpitayasunondh T , et al
• Pougué Biyong C , et al
• Dorigatti I , et al
• Epidemiology Working Group for NCIP Epidemic Response - Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• McGoogan JM
• Mizumoto K ,
• Zarebski A , et al
• National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID)
• Nishiura H ,
• Kobayashi T ,
• Miyama T , et al
• Heneghan C ,
• Brassey J ,
• Jefferson T , Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
• Redfield RR
• Hellewell J ,
• Jarvis CI , et al
• Streeck H ,
• Hartmann G ,
• Exner M , et al
• Docherty AB ,
• Harrison EM ,
• Green CA , et al
• Banerjee A ,
• Harris S , et al
• Khafaie MA ,
• Cyranoski D
• Wexler AS ,
• Cappa CD , et al
• Chiew CJ , et al
• van Doremalen N ,
• Bushmaker T ,
• Morris DH , et al
• Zhu B , et al
• Heijnen L ,
• Elsinga G , et al
• Edson J , et al
• de Roda Husman AM
• Cheng H-Y ,
• Liu D-P , et al
• Ferretti L ,
• Kendall M , et al
• Araujo MB ,
• Sajadi MM ,
• Habibzadeh P ,
• Vintzileos A , et al
• Majumder MS ,
• Liu D , et al
• Martelletti L ,
• Martelletti P
• Yang S , et al
• Gao H , et al
• Liang Y , et al
• Ye G , et al
• Bobrovitz N ,
• Yan T , et al
• Müller MA ,
• Li W , et al
• Vitale JN , et al
• Wheeler S , et al
• Britton T ,
• Trapman P ,
• Gomes MGM ,
• Corder RM ,
• King JG , et al
• Wei WI , et al
• Bar-On YM ,
• Flamholz A ,
• Phillips R , et al
• Chen Z , et al
• Achenbach J
• Nextstrain.com
• Larremore DB ,
• Ludvigsson JF
• Mytton OT ,
• Bonell C , et al
• Wei T , et al
• Sothmann P , et al

Twitter @Ingelbeen, @jdossou80, @seyeabimbola, @jarthurk, @@vdbrouwere, @SamehAlawlaqi, @prashanthns

Contributors WVD, RD, EW and YA conceived and designed the study. RD, GV, YA and WVD searched the literature and screened for new emerging evidence. WVD, RD and YA drafted successive versions of the manuscript and coordinated inputs from all coauthors. YA, SA, KV, BI, RvdP and HK contributed to writing the manuscript. AD, J-PD, PI, SVdB, DN, GB, IVE, MAAA, JAK, VDB, KB, PA, AK, SA-A, NSP, J-JM-T, PM and SA-M reviewed successive versions of the manuscript and oriented it, with a field-based and local gaze from Guinea, Benin, Cambodia, Belgium, India, the UK, Mali, Canada, Burkina Faso, Germany, the USA, Guinea-Bissau, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen and Australia. All authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript and approved the final version. WVD attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Patient consent for publication Not required.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Data availability statement No additional data are available.

Read the full text or download the PDF:

EDITORIAL article

Editorial: coronavirus disease (covid-19): the impact and role of mass media during the pandemic.

• 1 Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon, CIS-IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
• 2 Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden
• 3 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Editorial on the Research Topic Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): The Impact and Role of Mass Media During the Pandemic

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis that had a deep impact on the way we perceive our world and our everyday lives. Not only has the rate of contagion and patterns of transmission threatened our sense of agency, but the safety measures to contain the spread of the virus also required social and physical distancing, preventing us from finding solace in the company of others. Within this context, we launched our Research Topic on March 27th, 2020, and invited researchers to address the Impact and Role of Mass Media During the Pandemic on our lives at individual and social levels.

Despite all the hardships, disruption, and uncertainty brought by the pandemic, we received diverse and insightful manuscript proposals. Frontiers in Psychology published 15 articles, involving 61 authors from 8 countries, which were included in distinct specialized sections, including Health Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology, Emotion Science, and Organizational Psychology. Despite the diversity of this collective endeavor, the contributions fall into four areas of research: (1) the use of media in public health communication; (2) the diffusion of false information; (3) the compliance with the health recommendations; and (4) how media use relates to mental health and well-being.

A first line of research includes contributions examining the use of media in public health communication. Drawing on media messages used in previous health crises, such as Ebola and Zika, Hauer and Sood describe how health organizations use media. They offer a set of recommendations for COVID-19 related media messages, including the importance of message framing, interactive public forums with up-to-date information, and an honest communication about what is known and unknown about the pandemic and the virus. Following a content analysis approach, Parvin et al. studied the representations of COVID-19 in the opinion section of five Asian e-newspapers. The authors identified eight main issues (health and drugs, preparedness and awareness, social welfare and humanity, governance and institutions, the environment and wildlife, politics, innovation and technology, and the economy) and examined how e-newspapers from these countries attributed different weights to these issues and how this relates to the countries' cultural specificity. Raccanello et al. show how the internet can be a platform to disseminate a public campaign devised to inform adults about coping strategies that could help children and teenagers deal with the challenges of the pandemic. The authors examined the dissemination of the program through the analysis of website traffic, showing that in the 40 days following publication, the website reached 6,090 visits.

A second related line of research that drew the concern of researchers was the diffusion of false information about COVID-19 through the media. Lobato et al. examined the role of distinct individual differences (political orientation, social dominance orientation, traditionalism, conspiracy ideation, attitudes about science) on the willingness to share misinformation about COVID-19 over social media. The misinformation topics varied between the severity and spread of COVID-19, treatment and prevention, conspiracy theories, and miscellaneous unverifiable claims. Their results from 296 adult participants (Mage = 36.23; 117 women) suggest two different profiles. One indicating that those reporting more liberal positions and lower social dominance were less willing to share conspiracy misinformation. The other profile indicated that participants scoring high on social dominance and low in traditionalism were more willing to share both conspiracy and other miscellaneous claims, but less willing to share misinformation about the severity and spread of COVID-19. Their findings can have relevant contributions for the identification of specific individual profiles related to the widespread of distinct types of misinformation. Dhanani and Franz examined a sample of 1,141 adults (Mage = 44.66; 46.9% female, 74.7% White ethnic identity) living in the United States in March 2020. The authors examined how media consumption and information source were related to knowledge about COVID-19, the endorsement of misinformation about COVID-19, and prejudice toward Asian Americans. Higher levels of trust in informational sources such as public health organizations (e.g., Center for Disease Control) was associated with greater knowledge, lower endorsement of misinformation, and less prejudice toward Asian Americans. Media source was associated with distinct levels of knowledge, willingness to endorsement misinformation and prejudice toward American Asians, with social media use (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) being related with a lower knowledge about COVID-19, higher endorsement of misinformation, and stronger prejudice toward Asian Americans.

A third line of research addressed the factors that could contribute to compliance with the health recommendations to avoid the spread of the disease. Vai et al. studied early pre-lockdown risk perceptions about COVID-19 and the trust in media sources among 2,223 Italians (Mage = 36.4, 69.2% female). They found that the perceived usefulness of the containment measures (e.g., social distancing) was related to threat perception and efficacy beliefs. Lower threat perception was associated with less perception of utility of the containment measures. Although most participants considered themselves and others capable of taking preventive measures, they saw the measures as generally ineffective. Participants acknowledged using the internet as their main source of information and considered health organizations' websites as the most trustworthy source. Albeit frequently used, social media was in general considered an unreliable source of information. Tomczyk et al. studied knowledge about preventive behaviors, risk perception, stigmatizing attitudes (support for discrimination and blame), and sociodemographic data (e.g., age, gender, country of origin, education level, region, persons per household) as predictors of compliance with the behavioral recommendations among 157 Germans, (age range: 18–77 years, 80% female). Low compliance was associated with male gender, younger age, and lower public stigma. Regarding stigmatizing attitudes, the authors only found a relation between support for discrimination (i.e., support for compulsory measures) and higher intention to comply with recommendations. Mahmood et al. studied the relation between social media use, risk perception, preventive behaviors, and self-efficacy in a sample of 310 Pakistani adults (54.2% female). The authors found social media use to be positively related to self-efficacy and perceived threat, which were both positively related to preventive behaviors (e.g., hand hygiene, social distancing). Information credibility was also related to compliance with health recommendations. Lep et al. examined the relationship between information source perceived credibility and trust, and participants' levels of self-protective behavior among 1,718 Slovenians (age range: 18–81 years, 81.7% female). The authors found that scientists, general practitioners (family doctors), and the National Institute of Public Health were perceived as the more credible source of information, while social media and government officials received the lowest ratings. Perceived information credibility was found to be associated with lower levels of negative emotional responses (e.g., nervousness, helplessness) and a higher level of observance of self-protective measures (e.g., hand washing). Siebenhaar et al. also studied the link between compliance, distress by information, and information avoidance. They examined the online survey responses of 1,059 adults living in Germany (Mage = 39.53, 79.4% female). Their results suggested that distress by information could lead to higher compliance with preventive measures. Distress by information was also associated with higher information avoidance, which in turn is related to less compliance. Gantiva et al. studied the effectiveness of different messages regarding the intentions toward self-care behaviors, perceived efficacy to motivate self-care behaviors in others, perceived risk, and perceived message strength, in a sample of 319 Colombians (age range: 18–60 years, 69.9% female). Their experiment included the manipulation of message framing (gain vs. loss) and message content (economy vs. health). Participants judged gain-frame health related messages to be stronger and more effective in changing self-behavior, whereas loss-framed health messages resulted in increased perceived risk. Rahn et al. offer a comparative view of compliance and risk perception, examining three hazard types: COVID-19 pandemic, violent acts, and severe weather. With a sample of 403 Germans (age range: 18–89 years, 72% female), they studied how age, gender, previous hazard experience and different components of risk appraisal (perceived severity, anticipated negative emotions, anticipatory worry, and risk perception) were related to the intention to comply with behavioral recommendations. They found that higher age predicted compliance with health recommendations to prevent COVID-19, anticipatory worry predicted compliance with warning messages regarding violent acts, and women complied more often with severe weather recommendations than men.

A fourth line of research examined media use, mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gabbiadini et al. addressed the use of digital technology (e.g., voice/video calls, online games, watching movies in party mode) to stay connected with others during lockdown. Participants, 465 Italians (age range: 18–73 years, 348 female), reported more perceived social support associated with the use of these digital technologies, which in turn was associated with fewer feelings of loneliness, boredom, anger, and higher sense of belongingness. Muñiz-Velázquez et al. compared the media habits of 249 Spanish adults (Mage = 42.06, 53.8% female) before and during confinement. They compared the type of media consumed (e.g., watching TV series, listening to radio, watching news) and found the increased consumption of TV and social networking sites during confinement to be negatively associated with reported level of happiness. People who reported higher levels of well-being also reported watching less TV and less use of social networking sites. Majeed et al. , on the other hand, examined the relation between problematic social media use, fear of COVID-19, depression, and mindfulness. Their study, involving 267 Pakistani adults (90 female), suggested trait mindfulness had a buffer effect, reducing the impact of problematic media use and fear of COVID-19 on depression.

Taken together, these findings highlight how using different frames for mass media gives a more expansive view of its positive and negative roles, but also showcase the major concerns in the context of a pandemic crisis. As limitations we highlight the use of cross-sectional designs in most studies, not allowing to establish true inferences of causal relationships. The outcome of some studies may also be limited by the unbalanced number of female and male participants, by the non-probability sampling method used, and by the restricted time frame in which the research occurred. Nevertheless, we are confident that all the selected studies in our Research Topic bring important and enduring contributions to the understanding of how media, individual differences, and social factors intertwine to shape our lives, which can also be useful to guide public policies during these challenging times.

Author Contributions

PA: conceptualization, writing the original draft, funding acquisition, writing—review, and editing. FE: conceptualization, writing—review, and editing. MP: writing—review and editing. NP: conceptualization, writing the original draft, writing—review, and editing. All authors approved the submitted version.

PA and NP received partial support to work on this Research Topic through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) with reference to the project PTDC/CCI-INF/29234/2017. MP contribution was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, PA847/22-1 and PA847/25-1). The authors are independent of the funders.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to all the authors who proposed their work, all the researchers who reviewed the submissions to this Research Topic, and to Rob Richards for proofreading the Editorial manuscript.

Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus disease, mass media, health communication, prevention, intervention, social behavioral changes

Citation: Arriaga P, Esteves F, Pavlova MA and Piçarra N (2021) Editorial: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): The Impact and Role of Mass Media During the Pandemic. Front. Psychol. 12:729238. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729238

Received: 22 June 2021; Accepted: 30 July 2021; Published: 23 August 2021.

Edited and reviewed by: Eduard Brandstätter , Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria

Copyright © 2021 Arriaga, Esteves, Pavlova and Piçarra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Patrícia Arriaga, patricia.arriaga@iscte-iul.pt

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Student Opinion

How Did the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect You, Your Family and Your Community?

This week is the fourth anniversary of the pandemic. What are your most lasting memories? How did it reshape your life — and the world?

By Jeremy Engle

It has been four years since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The New York Times writes of the anniversary:

Four years ago today, society began to shut down. Shortly after noon Eastern on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid — or “the coronavirus,” then the more popular term — to be a global pandemic. Stocks plummeted in the afternoon. In the span of a single hour that night, President Donald Trump delivered an Oval Office address about Covid, Tom Hanks posted on Instagram that he had the virus and the N.B.A. announced it had canceled the rest of its season. It was a Wednesday, and thousands of schools would shut by the end of the week. Workplaces closed, too. People washed their hands frequently and touched elbows instead of shaking hands (although the C.D.C. continued to discourage widespread mask wearing for several more weeks). The worst pandemic in a century had begun.

For some people, the earliest days of the pandemic may feel like a lifetime ago; for others, it may feel like just yesterday. But for all of us Covid has indelibly changed our lives and the world. What do you remember about the earliest days of the pandemic? When did it first hit home for you? How did it affect you, your family and your community? What lessons did you learn about yourself and the world?

In “ Four Years On, Covid Has Reshaped Life for Many Americans ,” Julie Bosman writes that while the threat of severe illness and death has faded for many people, the pandemic’s effects still linger:

Jessie Thompson, a 36-year-old mother of two in Chicago, is reminded of the Covid-19 pandemic every day. Sometimes it happens when she picks up her children from day care and then lets them romp around at a neighborhood park on the way home. Other times, it’s when she gets out the shower at 7 a.m. after a weekday workout. “I always think: In my past life, I’d have to be on the train in 15 minutes,” said Ms. Thompson, a manager at United Airlines. A hybrid work schedule has replaced her daily commute to the company headquarters in downtown Chicago, giving Ms. Thompson more time with her children and a deeper connection to her neighbors. “The pandemic is such a negative memory,” she said. “But I have this bright spot of goodness from it.” For much of the United States, the pandemic is now firmly in the past, four years to the day that the Trump administration declared a national emergency as the virus spread uncontrollably. But for many Americans, the pandemic’s effects are still a prominent part of their daily lives. In interviews, some people said that the changes are subtle but unmistakable: Their world feels a little smaller, with less socializing and fewer crowds. Parents who began to home-school their children never stopped. Many people are continuing to mourn relatives and spouses who died of Covid or of complications from the coronavirus. The World Health Organization dropped its global health emergency designation in May 2023, but millions of people who survived the virus are suffering from long Covid, a mysterious and frequently debilitating condition that causes fatigue, muscle pain and cognitive decline . One common sentiment has emerged. The changes brought on by the pandemic now feel lasting, a shift that may have permanently reshaped American life.

As part of our coverage of the pandemic’s anniversary, The Times asked readers how Covid has changed their attitudes toward life. Here is what they said:

“I’m a much more grateful person. Life is precious, and I see the beauty in all the little miracles that happen all around me. I’m a humbled human being now. I have more empathy and compassion towards everyone.” — Gil Gallegos, 59, Las Vegas, N.M. “The pandemic has completely changed my approach to educating my child. My spouse and I had never seriously considered home-schooling until March 2020. Now, we wouldn’t have it any other way.” — Kim Harper, 47, Clinton, Md. “I had contamination O.C.D. before the pandemic began. The last four years have been a steady string of my worst fears coming true. I never feel safe anymore. I know very well now that my body can betray me at any time.” — Adelia Brown, 23, Madison, Wis. “I don’t take for granted the pleasure of being around people. Going to a show, a road trip, a restaurant, people watching at the opera. I love it.” — Philip Gunnels, 66, Sugar Land, Texas “My remaining years are limited. On the one hand, I feel cheated out of many experiences I was looking forward to; on the other hand, I do not want to live my remaining years with long Covid. It’s hard.” — Sandra Wulach, 77, Edison, N.J.

Students, read one or both of the articles and then tell us:

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect you, your family and your community? How did it reshape your life and the world? What are your most lasting memories of this difficult period? What do you want to remember most? What do you want to forget?

How did you change during this time? What did you learn about yourself and about life? What do you wish you knew then that you know now?

Ms. Bosman writes that some of the people she interviewed revealed that four years after the global pandemic began, “Their world feels a little smaller, with less socializing and fewer crowds.” However, Gil Gallegos told The Times: “I’m a much more grateful person. Life is precious, and I see the beauty in all the little miracles that happen all around me. I’m a humbled human being now. I have more empathy and compassion towards everyone.” Which of the experiences shared in the two articles reminded you the most of your own during and after the pandemic and why? How did Covid change your overall outlook on life?

“The last normal day of school.” “The nursing home shut its doors.” “The bride wore Lululemon.” These are just a few quotes from “ When the Pandemic Hit Home ,” an article in which The Times asked readers to share their memories of the world shutting down. Read the article and then tell us about a time when the pandemic hit home for you.

In the last four years, scientists have unraveled some of the biggest mysteries about Covid. In another article , The Times explores many remaining questions about the coronavirus: Are superdodgers real? Is Covid seasonal? And what’s behind its strangest symptoms? Read the article and then tell us what questions you still have about the virus and its effects.

How do you think history books will tell the story of the pandemic? If you were to put together a time capsule of artifacts from this era to show people 100 years from now, what would you include and why? What will you tell your grandchildren about what it was like to live during this time?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

Search the United Nations

• Policy and Funding
• Recover Better
• Disability Inclusion
• Secretary-General
• Financing for Development
• ACT-Accelerator
• Member States
• Health and Wellbeing
• Policy and Guidance
• Vaccination
• COVID-19 Medevac
• i-Seek (requires login)
• Awake at Night podcast

COVID-19 photo essay: We’re all in this together

About the author, department of global communications.

The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) promotes global awareness and understanding of the work of the United Nations.

23 June 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic has  demonstrated the interconnected nature of our world – and that no one is safe until everyone is safe.  Only by acting in solidarity can communities save lives and overcome the devastating socio-economic impacts of the virus.  In partnership with the United Nations, people around the world are showing acts of humanity, inspiring hope for a better future. 

Everyone can do something    

Rauf Salem, a volunteer, instructs children on the right way to wash their hands, in Sana'a, Yemen.  Simple measures, such as maintaining physical distance, washing hands frequently and wearing a mask are imperative if the fight against COVID-19 is to be won.  Photo: UNICEF/UNI341697

Creating hope

Venezuelan refugee Juan Batista Ramos, 69, plays guitar in front of a mural he painted at the Tancredo Neves temporary shelter in Boa Vista, Brazil to help lift COVID-19 quarantine blues.  “Now, everywhere you look you will see a landscape to remind us that there is beauty in the world,” he says.  Ramos is among the many artists around the world using the power of culture to inspire hope and solidarity during the pandemic.  Photo: UNHCR/Allana Ferreira

Inclusive solutions

Wendy Schellemans, an education assistant at the Royal Woluwe Institute in Brussels, models a transparent face mask designed to help the hard of hearing.  The United Nations and partners are working to ensure that responses to COVID-19 leave no one behind.  Photo courtesy of Royal Woluwe Institute

Humanity at its best

Maryna, a community worker at the Arts Centre for Children and Youth in Chasiv Yar village, Ukraine, makes face masks on a sewing machine donated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and civil society partner, Proliska.  She is among the many people around the world who are voluntarily addressing the shortage of masks on the market. Photo: UNHCR/Artem Hetman

Keep future leaders learning

A mother helps her daughter Ange, 8, take classes on television at home in Man, Côte d'Ivoire.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, caregivers and educators have responded in stride and have been instrumental in finding ways to keep children learning.  In Côte d'Ivoire, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) partnered with the Ministry of Education on a ‘school at home’ initiative, which includes taping lessons to be aired on national TV and radio.  Ange says: “I like to study at home.  My mum is a teacher and helps me a lot.  Of course, I miss my friends, but I can sleep a bit longer in the morning.  Later I want to become a lawyer or judge."  Photo: UNICEF/UNI320749

Global solidarity

People in Nigeria’s Lagos State simulate sneezing into their elbows during a coronavirus prevention campaign.  Many African countries do not have strong health care systems.  “Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative – now and for recovering better,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.  “Ending the pandemic in Africa is essential for ending it across the world.” Photo: UNICEF Nigeria/2020/Ojo

A new way of working

Henri Abued Manzano, a tour guide at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna, speaks from his apartment.  COVID-19 upended the way people work, but they can be creative while in quarantine.  “We quickly decided that if visitors can’t come to us, we will have to come to them,” says Johanna Kleinert, Chief of the UNIS Visitors Service in Vienna.  Photo courtesy of Kevin Kühn

Life goes on

Hundreds of millions of babies are expected to be born during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Fionn, son of Chloe O'Doherty and her husband Patrick, is among them.  The couple says: “It's all over.  We did it.  Brought life into the world at a time when everything is so uncertain.  The relief and love are palpable.  Nothing else matters.”  Photo: UNICEF/UNI321984/Bopape

Putting meals on the table

Sudanese refugee Halima, in Tripoli, Libya, says food assistance is making her life better.  COVID-19 is exacerbating the existing hunger crisis.  Globally, 6 million more people could be pushed into extreme poverty unless the international community acts now.  United Nations aid agencies are appealing for more funding to reach vulnerable populations.  Photo: UNHCR

Supporting the frontlines

The United Nations Air Service, run by the World Food Programme (WFP), distributes protective gear donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Group, in Somalia. The United Nations is using its supply chain capacity to rapidly move badly needed personal protective equipment, such as medical masks, gloves, gowns and face-shields to the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Photo: WFP/Jama Hassan  

S7-Episode 2: Bringing Health to the World

“You see, we're not doing this work to make ourselves feel better. That sort of conventional notion of what a do-gooder is. We're doing this work because we are totally convinced that it's not necessary in today's wealthy world for so many people to be experiencing discomfort, for so many people to be experiencing hardship, for so many people to have their lives and their livelihoods imperiled.”

Dr. David Nabarro has dedicated his life to global health. After a long career that’s taken him from the horrors of war torn Iraq, to the devastating aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he is still spurred to action by the tremendous inequalities in global access to medical care.

“The thing that keeps me awake most at night is the rampant inequities in our world…We see an awful lot of needless suffering.”

:: David Nabarro interviewed by Melissa Fleming

Brazilian ballet pirouettes during pandemic

Ballet Manguinhos, named for its favela in Rio de Janeiro, returns to the stage after a long absence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It counts 250 children and teenagers from the favela as its performers. The ballet group provides social support in a community where poverty, hunger and teen pregnancy are constant issues.

Radio journalist gives the facts on COVID-19 in Uzbekistan

The pandemic has put many people to the test, and journalists are no exception. Coronavirus has waged war not only against people's lives and well-being but has also spawned countless hoaxes and scientific falsehoods.

Essay on COVID-19 Pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, daily life has been negatively affected, impacting the worldwide economy. Thousands of individuals have been sickened or died as a result of the outbreak of this disease. When you have the flu or a viral infection, the most common symptoms include fever, cold, coughing up bone fragments, and difficulty breathing, which may progress to pneumonia. It’s important to take major steps like keeping a strict cleaning routine, keeping social distance, and wearing masks, among other things. This virus’s geographic spread is accelerating (Daniel Pg 93). Governments restricted public meetings during the start of the pandemic to prevent the disease from spreading and breaking the exponential distribution curve. In order to avoid the damage caused by this extremely contagious disease, several countries quarantined their citizens. However, this scenario had drastically altered with the discovery of the vaccinations. The research aims to investigate the effect of the Covid-19 epidemic and its impact on the population’s well-being.

There is growing interest in the relationship between social determinants of health and health outcomes. Still, many health care providers and academics have been hesitant to recognize racism as a contributing factor to racial health disparities. Only a few research have examined the health effects of institutional racism, with the majority focusing on interpersonal racial and ethnic prejudice Ciotti et al., Pg 370. The latter comprises historically and culturally connected institutions that are interconnected. Prejudice is being practiced in a variety of contexts as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. In some ways, the outbreak has exposed pre-existing bias and inequity.

Thousands of businesses are in danger of failure. Around 2.3 billion of the world’s 3.3 billion employees are out of work. These workers are especially susceptible since they lack access to social security and adequate health care, and they’ve also given up ownership of productive assets, which makes them highly vulnerable. Many individuals lose their employment as a result of lockdowns, leaving them unable to support their families. People strapped for cash are often forced to reduce their caloric intake while also eating less nutritiously (Fraser et al, Pg 3). The epidemic has had an impact on the whole food chain, revealing vulnerabilities that were previously hidden. Border closures, trade restrictions, and confinement measures have limited farmer access to markets, while agricultural workers have not gathered crops. As a result, the local and global food supply chain has been disrupted, and people now have less access to healthy foods. As a consequence of the epidemic, many individuals have lost their employment, and millions more are now in danger. When breadwinners lose their jobs, become sick, or die, the food and nutrition of millions of people are endangered. Particularly severely hit are the world’s poorest small farmers and indigenous peoples.

Infectious illness outbreaks and epidemics have become worldwide threats due to globalization, urbanization, and environmental change. In developed countries like Europe and North America, surveillance and health systems monitor and manage the spread of infectious illnesses in real-time. Both low- and high-income countries need to improve their public health capacities (Omer et al., Pg 1767). These improvements should be financed using a mix of national and foreign donor money. In order to speed up research and reaction for new illnesses with pandemic potential, a global collaborative effort including governments and commercial companies has been proposed. When working on a vaccine-like COVID-19, cooperation is critical.

The epidemic has had an impact on the whole food chain, revealing vulnerabilities that were previously hidden. Border closures, trade restrictions, and confinement measures have limited farmer access to markets, while agricultural workers have been unable to gather crops. As a result, the local and global food supply chain has been disrupted, and people now have less access to healthy foods (Daniel et al.,Pg 95) . As a consequence of the epidemic, many individuals have lost their employment, and millions more are now in danger. When breadwinners lose their jobs, the food and nutrition of millions of people are endangered. Particularly severely hit are the world’s poorest small farmers and indigenous peoples.

While helping to feed the world’s population, millions of paid and unpaid agricultural laborers suffer from high levels of poverty, hunger, and bad health, as well as a lack of safety and labor safeguards, as well as other kinds of abuse at work. Poor people, who have no recourse to social assistance, must work longer and harder, sometimes in hazardous occupations, endangering their families in the process (Daniel Pg 96). When faced with a lack of income, people may turn to hazardous financial activities, including asset liquidation, predatory lending, or child labor, to make ends meet. Because of the dangers they encounter while traveling, working, and living abroad; migrant agricultural laborers are especially vulnerable. They also have a difficult time taking advantage of government assistance programs.

The pandemic also has a significant impact on education. Although many educational institutions across the globe have already made the switch to online learning, the extent to which technology is utilized to improve the quality of distance or online learning varies. This level is dependent on several variables, including the different parties engaged in the execution of this learning format and the incorporation of technology into educational institutions before the time of school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For many years, researchers from all around the globe have worked to determine what variables contribute to effective technology integration in the classroom Ciotti et al., Pg 371. The amount of technology usage and the quality of learning when moving from a classroom to a distant or online format are presumed to be influenced by the same set of variables. Findings from previous research, which sought to determine what affects educational systems ability to integrate technology into teaching, suggest understanding how teachers, students, and technology interact positively in order to achieve positive results in the integration of teaching technology (Honey et al., 2000). Teachers’ views on teaching may affect the chances of successfully incorporating technology into the classroom and making it a part of the learning process.

In conclusion, indeed, Covid 19 pandemic have affected the well being of the people in a significant manner. The economy operation across the globe have been destabilized as most of the people have been rendered jobless while the job operation has been stopped. As most of the people have been rendered jobless the living conditions of the people have also been significantly affected. Besides, the education sector has also been affected as most of the learning institutions prefer the use of online learning which is not effective as compared to the traditional method. With the invention of the vaccines, most of the developed countries have been noted to stabilize slowly, while the developing countries have not been able to vaccinate most of its citizens. However, despite the challenge caused by the pandemic, organizations have been able to adapt the new mode of online trading to be promoted.

Ciotti, Marco, et al. “The COVID-19 pandemic.”  Critical reviews in clinical laboratory sciences  57.6 (2020): 365-388.

Daniel, John. “Education and the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Prospects  49.1 (2020): 91-96.

Fraser, Nicholas, et al. “Preprinting the COVID-19 pandemic.”  BioRxiv  (2021): 2020-05.

Omer, Saad B., Preeti Malani, and Carlos Del Rio. “The COVID-19 pandemic in the US: a clinical update.”  Jama  323.18 (2020): 1767-1768.

Cite this page

Similar essay samples.

• Essay on Human Resource Management Practices
• Essay on Self-Funded Health Plans
• Memento Mori and Exactitude of Gesture in Poussin’s Second Et in Arc...
• Essay on DIMEFIL Program To Counter Iran WDM Program
• Essay on Critically Evaluate the Nature of a Residential Experience fo...
• Essay on Serulnikov-Revolution in the Andes

Persuasive Essay Guide

Persuasive Essay About Covid19

How to Write a Persuasive Essay About Covid19 | Examples & Tips

11 min read

People also read

A Comprehensive Guide to Writing an Effective Persuasive Essay

200+ Persuasive Essay Topics to Help You Out

Learn How to Create a Persuasive Essay Outline

30+ Free Persuasive Essay Examples To Get You Started

Read Excellent Examples of Persuasive Essay About Gun Control

Crafting a Convincing Persuasive Essay About Abortion

Learn to Write Persuasive Essay About Business With Examples and Tips

Check Out 12 Persuasive Essay About Online Education Examples

Persuasive Essay About Smoking - Making a Powerful Argument with Examples

Are you looking to write a persuasive essay about the Covid-19 pandemic?

Writing a compelling and informative essay about this global crisis can be challenging. It requires researching the latest information, understanding the facts, and presenting your argument persuasively.

But don’t worry! with some guidance from experts, you’ll be able to write an effective and persuasive essay about Covid-19.

In this blog post, we’ll outline the basics of writing a persuasive essay . We’ll provide clear examples, helpful tips, and essential information for crafting your own persuasive piece on Covid-19.

Read on to get started on your essay.

• 1. Steps to Write a Persuasive Essay About Covid-19
• 2. Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid19
• 3. Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 Vaccine
• 4. Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 Integration
• 5. Examples of Argumentative Essay About Covid 19
• 6. Examples of Persuasive Speeches About Covid-19
• 7. Tips to Write a Persuasive Essay About Covid-19
• 8. Common Topics for a Persuasive Essay on COVID-19 

Steps to Write a Persuasive Essay About Covid-19

Here are the steps to help you write a persuasive essay on this topic, along with an example essay:

Step 1: Choose a Specific Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should clearly state your position on a specific aspect of COVID-19. It should be debatable and clear. For example:

Step 2: Research and Gather Information

Collect reliable and up-to-date information from reputable sources to support your thesis statement. This may include statistics, expert opinions, and scientific studies. For instance:

• COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness data
• Information on vaccine mandates in different countries
• Expert statements from health organizations like the WHO or CDC

Step 3: Outline Your Essay

Create a clear and organized outline to structure your essay. A persuasive essay typically follows this structure:

• Introduction
• Background Information
• Body Paragraphs (with supporting evidence)
• Counterarguments (addressing opposing views)

Step 4: Write the Introduction

In the introduction, grab your reader's attention and present your thesis statement. For example:

Step 5: Provide Background Information

Offer context and background information to help your readers understand the issue better. For instance:

Step 6: Develop Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph should present a single point or piece of evidence that supports your thesis statement. Use clear topic sentences, evidence, and analysis. Here's an example:

Step 7: Address Counterarguments

Acknowledge opposing viewpoints and refute them with strong counterarguments. This demonstrates that you've considered different perspectives. For example:

Step 8: Write the Conclusion

Summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement in the conclusion. End with a strong call to action or thought-provoking statement. For instance:

Step 9: Revise and Proofread

Edit your essay for clarity, coherence, grammar, and spelling errors. Ensure that your argument flows logically.

Step 10: Cite Your Sources

Include proper citations and a bibliography page to give credit to your sources.

Remember to adjust your approach and arguments based on your target audience and the specific angle you want to take in your persuasive essay about COVID-19.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid19

When writing a persuasive essay about the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s important to consider how you want to present your argument. To help you get started, here are some example essays for you to read:

Check out some more PDF examples below:

Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 Pandemic

Sample Of Persuasive Essay About Covid-19

Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 In The Philippines - Example

If you're in search of a compelling persuasive essay on business, don't miss out on our “ persuasive essay about business ” blog!

Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 Vaccine

Covid19 vaccines are one of the ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but they have been a source of controversy. Different sides argue about the benefits or dangers of the new vaccines. Whatever your point of view is, writing a persuasive essay about it is a good way of organizing your thoughts and persuading others.

A persuasive essay about the Covid-19 vaccine could consider the benefits of getting vaccinated as well as the potential side effects.

Below are some examples of persuasive essays on getting vaccinated for Covid-19.

Covid19 Vaccine Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay on Covid Vaccines

Interested in thought-provoking discussions on abortion? Read our persuasive essay about abortion blog to eplore arguments!

Examples of Persuasive Essay About Covid-19 Integration

Covid19 has drastically changed the way people interact in schools, markets, and workplaces. In short, it has affected all aspects of life. However, people have started to learn to live with Covid19.

Writing a persuasive essay about it shouldn't be stressful. Read the sample essay below to get idea for your own essay about Covid19 integration.

Persuasive Essay About Working From Home During Covid19

Searching for the topic of Online Education? Our persuasive essay about online education is a must-read.

Examples of Argumentative Essay About Covid 19

Covid-19 has been an ever-evolving issue, with new developments and discoveries being made on a daily basis.

Writing an argumentative essay about such an issue is both interesting and challenging. It allows you to evaluate different aspects of the pandemic, as well as consider potential solutions.

Here are some examples of argumentative essays on Covid19.

Argumentative Essay About Covid19 Sample

Argumentative Essay About Covid19 With Introduction Body and Conclusion

Looking for a persuasive take on the topic of smoking? You'll find it all related arguments in out Persuasive Essay About Smoking blog!

Examples of Persuasive Speeches About Covid-19

Do you need to prepare a speech about Covid19 and need examples? We have them for you!

Persuasive speeches about Covid-19 can provide the audience with valuable insights on how to best handle the pandemic. They can be used to advocate for specific changes in policies or simply raise awareness about the virus.

Check out some examples of persuasive speeches on Covid-19:

Persuasive Speech About Covid-19 Example

Persuasive Speech About Vaccine For Covid-19

You can also read persuasive essay examples on other topics to master your persuasive techniques!

Tips to Write a Persuasive Essay About Covid-19

Writing a persuasive essay about COVID-19 requires a thoughtful approach to present your arguments effectively. 

Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling persuasive essay on this topic:

Choose a Specific Angle

Start by narrowing down your focus. COVID-19 is a broad topic, so selecting a specific aspect or issue related to it will make your essay more persuasive and manageable. For example, you could focus on vaccination, public health measures, the economic impact, or misinformation.

Provide Credible Sources 

Support your arguments with credible sources such as scientific studies, government reports, and reputable news outlets. Reliable sources enhance the credibility of your essay.

Use Persuasive Language

Employ persuasive techniques, such as ethos (establishing credibility), pathos (appealing to emotions), and logos (using logic and evidence). Use vivid examples and anecdotes to make your points relatable.

Organize Your Essay

Structure your essay involves creating a persuasive essay outline and establishing a logical flow from one point to the next. Each paragraph should focus on a single point, and transitions between paragraphs should be smooth and logical.

Emphasize Benefits

Highlight the benefits of your proposed actions or viewpoints. Explain how your suggestions can improve public health, safety, or well-being. Make it clear why your audience should support your position.

Use Visuals -H3

Incorporate graphs, charts, and statistics when applicable. Visual aids can reinforce your arguments and make complex data more accessible to your readers.

Call to Action

End your essay with a strong call to action. Encourage your readers to take a specific step or consider your viewpoint. Make it clear what you want them to do or think after reading your essay.

Revise and Edit

Proofread your essay for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Make sure your arguments are well-structured and that your writing flows smoothly.

Seek Feedback 

Have someone else read your essay to get feedback. They may offer valuable insights and help you identify areas where your persuasive techniques can be improved.

Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!

Common Topics for a Persuasive Essay on COVID-19 

Here are some persuasive essay topics on COVID-19:

• The Importance of Vaccination Mandates for COVID-19 Control
• Balancing Public Health and Personal Freedom During a Pandemic
• The Economic Impact of Lockdowns vs. Public Health Benefits
• The Role of Misinformation in Fueling Vaccine Hesitancy
• Remote Learning vs. In-Person Education: What's Best for Students?
• The Ethics of Vaccine Distribution: Prioritizing Vulnerable Populations
• The Mental Health Crisis Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
• The Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Healthcare Systems
• Global Cooperation vs. Vaccine Nationalism in Fighting the Pandemic
• The Future of Telemedicine: Expanding Healthcare Access Post-COVID-19

In search of more inspiring topics for your next persuasive essay? Our persuasive essay topics blog has plenty of ideas!

To sum it up,

You have read good sample essays and got some helpful tips. You now have the tools you needed to write a persuasive essay about Covid-19. So don't let the doubts stop you, start writing!

If you need professional writing help, don't worry! We've got that for you as well.

MyPerfectWords.com is a professional essay writing service that can help you craft an excellent persuasive essay on Covid-19. Our experienced essay writer will create a well-structured, insightful paper in no time!

So don't hesitate and get in touch with our persuasive essay writing service today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any ethical considerations when writing a persuasive essay about covid-19.

Yes, there are ethical considerations when writing a persuasive essay about COVID-19. It's essential to ensure the information is accurate, not contribute to misinformation, and be sensitive to the pandemic's impact on individuals and communities. Additionally, respecting diverse viewpoints and emphasizing public health benefits can promote ethical communication.

What impact does COVID-19 have on society?

The impact of COVID-19 on society is far-reaching. It has led to job and economic losses, an increase in stress and mental health disorders, and changes in education systems. It has also had a negative effect on social interactions, as people have been asked to limit their contact with others.

Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!

Caleb S. has been providing writing services for over five years and has a Masters degree from Oxford University. He is an expert in his craft and takes great pride in helping students achieve their academic goals. Caleb is a dedicated professional who always puts his clients first.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

10 COVID-19 lessons that will change the post-pandemic future

COVID-19 lessons: What happens next? Image:  Michael Marais/Unsplash

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Simon Atkinson

.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} COVID-19 is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, davos agenda.

Listen to the article

• We have reached the end of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with more problems on the horizon.
• Covid-19 lessons can be drawn from the previous two years about how to handle future and long-standing challenges.
• Early assumptions about future trends should be made with caution as uncertainty and unpredictability are still present.
• Leadership has proven important across the board.

Whatever happens next in this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we have reached the “end of the beginning.” We paused to reflect on Ipsos’ experience over the last couple of years, with the thought that it might provide lessons for the future, addressing long-standing challenges like ageing populations, a fragile planet and growing inequalities.

So, what are these lessons?

COVID-19 Lesson #1: People proved adaptable

By the end of March 2020, more than 100 countries were in a full or partial lockdown. Two years on, life has continued, but often in an altered state. The resilience and optimistic economic performance seen in many countries come with limits, though, as many admitted to picking and choosing post-lockdown rules to follow . There were also hot takes on what the “new normal” would look like. Commentators predicted that some behaviour would stick, such as accelerated online shopping, even though there were more reports of increased difficulties making online purchases than a year ago, suggesting the path to the new normal is likely more incremental than suggested.

COVID-19 Lesson #2: Mental health is as important as physical health

Through one global public health crisis, another was revealed, as many say their personal health situation worsened, experiencing mental health challenges for the first time. Levels of reported anxiety are higher than ever, with women hit hardest and young people more likely to “ languish .” Now, 79% of people worldwide say their mental health is as important as their physical health . As investment in mental health services is only a fraction of overall health spending, a more serious conversation to address this crisis is due.

COVID-19 Lesson #3: Consumer desires are unpredictable

After initial panic buying, observers noted that the void caused by social restrictions was being filled with premium brand experiences. Enduring consumer habits are yet to become clearer, but for now, there is still uncertainty and inequality: unemployment and inflation among people’s top priorities. If we are about to go through a period of restricted purchasing power, brands may need to adjust and consider that consumer behaviour changes during a crisis, with some of those changes only later becoming permanent.

COVID-19 Lesson #4: Inequalities are widening

The pandemic, rather than erasing old problems, added new ones and exacerbated existing inequalities across age, gender, ethnicities and geography. One survey indicated that people believe the pandemic has been worse for older people than for younger people and research shows that the burden of childcare is falling on women disproportionately, consequently widening other aspects of the gender gap. More positively, there has been a narrowing of the “digital divide,” with older people’s increasing technology adoption to keep in touch with friends and family. Such digital acceleration and increasing home working acceptance will likely have lasting implications, including a potential reorientation of how our cities, suburbs and surrounding areas all interact.

COVID-19 Lesson #5: The “empty planet” scenario is now more likely

The pandemic has modified birth rates but not with the tongue-in-cheek expectation of a boom. Instead, looming uncertainty caused many to delay having children, accelerating pre-existing population decline. The empty planet scenario , or 'population bust,' expected by 2050, may come sooner. Brands and governments will need more nuanced approaches to older generations who simultaneously have more spending power and rely more on public services. Companies may also need to restructure their workforce to plug gaps created by ageing and non-replenishing manpower.

COVID-19 Lesson #6: We're getting more insular

Previous surveys have continuously shown huge disparities in outlook by country, including close neighbours, pointing to cultural considerations, differing legal systems and government points of view combining and varying people’s experiences. There is also evidence of “ de-globalisation ,” with many retreating to familiar territories and less dependence on foreign countries sought for goods and materials. Borders have become less porous during the pandemic, and there is apparent reluctance for their reopening.

Have you read?

Majority of consumers willing to pay more for goods which use scarce natural resources - ipsos survey, ending hunger and poverty are the top priorities for global public: forum, ipsos poll, confidence in covid-19 vaccines continues to rise, ipsos-forum poll shows, covid-19 lesson #7: maintaining public trust is difficult.

Doctors have become the world’s most trusted profession , while scientists took second place. Politicians and advertising executives, however, remain at the bottom of the league table in terms of public trust. “Behaving responsibly” is the key driver of such sentiment, with a greater tendency to challenge authority than before. During the pandemic, governments had a special challenge, as they've needed to quickly make decisions that impacted thousands of lives and livelihoods with limited, shifting data. The ability to set new rules and guidelines requires the trust of the public which can wear thin over the course of a multi-year crisis.

COVID-19 Lesson #8: Expectations of the state have changed

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, people turned to governments to protect the economy and society and mobilise a healthcare response, including vaccine rollout. While they demonstrated their power, their limitations also became apparent, needing the help of international pharmaceutical companies, which have since enjoyed a boost to their image. There is some evidence for support of further strengthening of state intervention but whether that will continue once the pandemic ends or will carry to other crises like climate change is yet to be seen.

COVID-19 Lesson #9: Fear and risk are being redefined

Concerns about personal health and safety and financial and health worries created a crisis where people felt a loss of control with perceptions that governing institutions also did not have a good grasp on the pandemic. Fear and inconvenience still present serious hurdles in different areas of life, international travel being a prime example. This feeling extends across borders with more than two in three people in the US, Russia, Brazil and Germany stating : “I feel things in my country are out of control right now.” As the pandemic has moved and changed, people around the world have needed to adapt to constantly shifting contexts and weigh what risks they are and are not comfortable taking on.

COVID-19 Lesson #10: A sustainable future requires leadership

Despite initial lower emissions at the start of the pandemic, climate concern has not diminished and there is near-consensus an environmental disaster is likely without drastic changes. The same leadership sought from the pandemic is sought in the fight against climate change, giving governments and businesses a clear mandate to act . However, according to the research, people are far from aware of how their lifestyles should adapt to save the planet, which could mean this environmental feat is the biggest leadership challenge to come.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:

The agenda .chakra .wef-n7bacu{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-weight:400;} weekly.

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

.chakra .wef-1dtnjt5{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;} More on Davos Agenda .chakra .wef-nr1rr4{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;white-space:normal;vertical-align:middle;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:0.75rem;border-radius:0.25rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;line-height:1.2;-webkit-letter-spacing:1.25px;-moz-letter-spacing:1.25px;-ms-letter-spacing:1.25px;letter-spacing:1.25px;background:none;padding:0px;color:#B3B3B3;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;}@media screen and (min-width:37.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:0.875rem;}}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-nr1rr4{font-size:1rem;}} See all

Building trust amid uncertainty – 3 risk experts on the state of the world in 2024

Andrea Willige

March 27, 2024

Why obesity is rising and how we can live healthy lives

Shyam Bishen

March 20, 2024

Global cooperation is stalling – but new trade pacts show collaboration is still possible. Here are 6 to know about

Simon Torkington

March 15, 2024

How messages of hope, diversity and representation are being used to inspire changemakers to act

Miranda Barker

March 7, 2024

AI, leadership, and the art of persuasion – Forum  podcasts you should hear this month

Robin Pomeroy

March 1, 2024

This is how AI is impacting – and shaping – the creative industries, according to experts at Davos

Kate Whiting

February 28, 2024

• CBSE Class 10th
• CBSE Class 12th
• UP Board 10th
• UP Board 12th
• Bihar Board 10th
• Bihar Board 12th
• Top Schools in India
• Top Schools in Delhi
• Top Schools in Mumbai
• Top Schools in Chennai
• Top Schools in Hyderabad
• Top Schools in Kolkata
• Top Schools in Pune
• Top Schools in Bangalore

Products & Resources

• JEE Main Knockout April
• Free Sample Papers
• Free Ebooks
• NCERT Notes
• NCERT Syllabus
• NCERT Books
• RD Sharma Solutions
• Navodaya Vidyalaya Admission 2024-25
• NCERT Solutions
• NCERT Solutions for Class 12
• NCERT Solutions for Class 11
• NCERT solutions for Class 10
• NCERT solutions for Class 9
• NCERT solutions for Class 8
• NCERT Solutions for Class 7
• JEE Main 2024
• JEE Advanced 2024
• BITSAT 2024
• View All Engineering Exams
• Colleges Accepting B.Tech Applications
• Top Engineering Colleges in India
• Engineering Colleges in India
• Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• Engineering Colleges Accepting JEE Main
• Top IITs in India
• Top NITs in India
• Top IIITs in India
• JEE Main College Predictor
• JEE Main Rank Predictor
• MHT CET College Predictor
• AP EAMCET College Predictor
• GATE College Predictor
• KCET College Predictor
• JEE Advanced College Predictor
• View All College Predictors
• JEE Main Question Paper
• JEE Main Mock Test
• JEE Main Registration
• JEE Main Syllabus
• Download E-Books and Sample Papers
• Compare Colleges
• B.Tech College Applications
• GATE 2024 Result
• MAH MBA CET Exam
• View All Management Exams

Colleges & Courses

• MBA College Admissions
• MBA Colleges in India
• Top IIMs Colleges in India
• Top Online MBA Colleges in India
• MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Score
• BBA Colleges in India
• XAT College Predictor 2024
• SNAP College Predictor
• NMAT College Predictor
• MAT College Predictor 2024
• CMAT College Predictor 2024
• CAT Percentile Predictor 2023
• CAT 2023 College Predictor
• CMAT 2024 Registration
• TS ICET 2024 Registration
• CMAT Exam Date 2024
• MAH MBA CET Cutoff 2024
• Download Helpful Ebooks
• List of Popular Branches
• QnA - Get answers to your doubts
• IIM Fees Structure
• AIIMS Nursing
• Top Medical Colleges in India
• Top Medical Colleges in India accepting NEET Score
• Medical Colleges accepting NEET
• List of Medical Colleges in India
• List of AIIMS Colleges In India
• Medical Colleges in Maharashtra
• Medical Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG
• NEET College Predictor
• NEET PG College Predictor
• NEET MDS College Predictor
• DNB CET College Predictor
• DNB PDCET College Predictor
• NEET Application Form 2024
• NEET PG Application Form 2024
• NEET Cut off
• NEET Online Preparation
• Download Helpful E-books
• LSAT India 2024
• Colleges Accepting Admissions
• Top Law Colleges in India
• Law College Accepting CLAT Score
• List of Law Colleges in India
• Top Law Colleges in Delhi
• Top Law Collages in Indore
• Top Law Colleges in Chandigarh
• Top Law Collages in Lucknow

Predictors & E-Books

• CLAT College Predictor
• MHCET Law ( 5 Year L.L.B) College Predictor
• AILET College Predictor
• Sample Papers
• Compare Law Collages
• Careers360 Youtube Channel
• CLAT Syllabus 2025
• CLAT Previous Year Question Paper
• AIBE 18 Result 2023
• NID DAT Exam
• Pearl Academy Exam

Animation Courses

• Animation Courses in India
• Animation Courses in Bangalore
• Animation Courses in Mumbai
• Animation Courses in Pune
• Animation Courses in Chennai
• Animation Courses in Hyderabad
• Design Colleges in India
• Fashion Design Colleges in Bangalore
• Fashion Design Colleges in Mumbai
• Fashion Design Colleges in Pune
• Fashion Design Colleges in Delhi
• Fashion Design Colleges in Hyderabad
• Fashion Design Colleges in India
• Top Design Colleges in India
• Free Design E-books
• List of Branches
• Careers360 Youtube channel
• NIFT College Predictor
• UCEED College Predictor
• NID DAT College Predictor
• IPU CET BJMC
• JMI Mass Communication Entrance Exam
• IIMC Entrance Exam
• Media & Journalism colleges in Delhi
• Media & Journalism colleges in Bangalore
• Media & Journalism colleges in Mumbai
• List of Media & Journalism Colleges in India
• CA Intermediate
• CA Foundation
• CS Executive
• CS Professional
• Difference between CA and CS
• Difference between CA and CMA
• CA Full form
• CMA Full form
• CS Full form
• CA Salary In India

Top Courses & Careers

• Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
• Master of Commerce (M.Com)
• Company Secretary
• Cost Accountant
• Charted Accountant
• Credit Manager
• Financial Advisor
• Top Commerce Colleges in India
• Top Government Commerce Colleges in India
• Top Private Commerce Colleges in India
• Top M.Com Colleges in Mumbai
• Top B.Com Colleges in India
• IT Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• IT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
• MCA Colleges in India
• BCA Colleges in India

Quick Links

• Information Technology Courses
• Programming Courses
• Web Development Courses
• Data Analytics Courses
• Big Data Analytics Courses
• RUHS Pharmacy Admission Test
• Top Pharmacy Colleges in India
• Pharmacy Colleges in Pune
• Pharmacy Colleges in Mumbai
• Colleges Accepting GPAT Score
• Pharmacy Colleges in Lucknow
• List of Pharmacy Colleges in Nagpur
• GPAT Result
• GPAT 2024 Admit Card
• GPAT Question Papers
• NCHMCT JEE 2024
• Mah BHMCT CET
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Delhi
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Hyderabad
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Mumbai
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Maharashtra
• B.Sc Hotel Management
• Hotel Management
• Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology

Diploma Colleges

• Top Diploma Colleges in Maharashtra
• UPSC IAS 2024
• SSC CGL 2024
• IBPS RRB 2024
• Previous Year Sample Papers
• Free Competition E-books
• Sarkari Result
• QnA- Get your doubts answered
• UPSC Previous Year Sample Papers
• CTET Previous Year Sample Papers
• SBI Clerk Previous Year Sample Papers
• NDA Previous Year Sample Papers

Upcoming Events

• NDA Application Form 2024
• UPSC IAS Application Form 2024
• CDS Application Form 2024
• CTET Admit card 2024
• HP TET Result 2023
• SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2024
• UPTET Notification 2024
• SBI Clerk Result 2024

Other Exams

• SSC CHSL 2024
• UP PCS 2024
• UGC NET 2024
• RRB NTPC 2024
• IBPS PO 2024
• IBPS Clerk 2024
• IBPS SO 2024
• Top University in USA
• Top University in Canada
• Top University in Ireland
• Top Universities in UK
• Top Universities in Australia
• Best MBA Colleges in Abroad
• Business Management Studies Colleges

Top Countries

• Study in USA
• Study in UK
• Study in Canada
• Study in Australia
• Study in Ireland
• Study in Germany
• Study in China
• Study in Europe

Student Visas

• Student Visa Canada
• Student Visa UK
• Student Visa USA
• Student Visa Australia
• Student Visa Germany
• Student Visa New Zealand
• Student Visa Ireland
• CUET PG 2024
• IGNOU B.Ed Admission 2024
• DU Admission
• UP B.Ed JEE 2024
• DDU Entrance Exam
• IIT JAM 2024
• IGNOU Online Admission 2024
• Universities in India
• Top Universities in India 2024
• Top Colleges in India
• Top Universities in Uttar Pradesh 2024
• Top Universities in Bihar
• Top Universities in Madhya Pradesh 2024
• Top Universities in Tamil Nadu 2024
• Central Universities in India
• CUET PG Admit Card 2024
• IGNOU Date Sheet
• CUET Mock Test 2024
• CUET Application Form 2024
• CUET PG Syllabus 2024
• CUET Participating Universities 2024
• CUET Previous Year Question Paper
• CUET Syllabus 2024 for Science Students
• E-Books and Sample Papers
• CUET Exam Pattern 2024
• CUET Exam Date 2024
• CUET Syllabus 2024
• IGNOU Exam Form 2024
• IGNOU Result
• CUET PG Courses 2024

Engineering Preparation

• Knockout JEE Main 2024
• Test Series JEE Main 2024
• JEE Main 2024 Rank Booster

Medical Preparation

• Knockout NEET 2024
• Test Series NEET 2024
• Rank Booster NEET 2024

Online Courses

• JEE Main One Month Course
• NEET One Month Course
• IBSAT Free Mock Tests
• IIT JEE Foundation Course
• Knockout BITSAT 2024
• Career Guidance Tool

Top Streams

• IT & Software Certification Courses
• Engineering and Architecture Certification Courses
• Programming And Development Certification Courses
• Business and Management Certification Courses
• Marketing Certification Courses
• Health and Fitness Certification Courses
• Design Certification Courses

Specializations

• Digital Marketing Certification Courses
• Cyber Security Certification Courses
• Artificial Intelligence Certification Courses
• Business Analytics Certification Courses
• Data Science Certification Courses
• Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Machine Learning Certification Courses
• View All Certification Courses
• UG Degree Courses
• PG Degree Courses
• Short Term Courses
• Free Courses
• Online Degrees and Diplomas
• Compare Courses

Top Providers

• Coursera Courses
• Udemy Courses
• Edx Courses
• Swayam Courses
• upGrad Courses
• Simplilearn Courses
• Great Learning Courses

Access premium articles, webinars, resources to make the best decisions for career, course, exams, scholarships, study abroad and much more with

Plan, Prepare & Make the Best Career Choices

Covid 19 Essay in English

Essay on Covid -19: In a very short amount of time, coronavirus has spread globally. It has had an enormous impact on people's lives, economy, and societies all around the world, affecting every country. Governments have had to take severe measures to try and contain the pandemic. The virus has altered our way of life in many ways, including its effects on our health and our economy. Here are a few sample essays on ‘CoronaVirus’.

100 Words Essay on Covid 19

200 words essay on covid 19, 500 words essay on covid 19.

COVID-19 or Corona Virus is a novel coronavirus that was first identified in 2019. It is similar to other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, but it is more contagious and has caused more severe respiratory illness in people who have been infected. The novel coronavirus became a global pandemic in a very short period of time. It has affected lives, economies and societies across the world, leaving no country untouched. The virus has caused governments to take drastic measures to try and contain it. From health implications to economic and social ramifications, COVID-19 impacted every part of our lives. It has been more than 2 years since the pandemic hit and the world is still recovering from its effects.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world has been impacted in a number of ways. For one, the global economy has taken a hit as businesses have been forced to close their doors. This has led to widespread job losses and an increase in poverty levels around the world. Additionally, countries have had to impose strict travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the virus, which has resulted in a decrease in tourism and international trade. Furthermore, the pandemic has put immense pressure on healthcare systems globally, as hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients suffering from the virus. Lastly, the outbreak has led to a general feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, as people are fearful of contracting the disease.

My Experience of COVID-19

I still remember how abruptly colleges and schools shut down in March 2020. I was a college student at that time and I was under the impression that everything would go back to normal in a few weeks. I could not have been more wrong. The situation only got worse every week and the government had to impose a lockdown. There were so many restrictions in place. For example, we had to wear face masks whenever we left the house, and we could only go out for essential errands. Restaurants and shops were only allowed to operate at take-out capacity, and many businesses were shut down.

In the current scenario, coronavirus is dominating all aspects of our lives. The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc upon people’s lives, altering the way we live and work in a very short amount of time. It has revolutionised how we think about health care, education, and even social interaction. This virus has had long-term implications on our society, including its impact on mental health, economic stability, and global politics. But we as individuals can help to mitigate these effects by taking personal responsibility to protect themselves and those around them from infection.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Education

The outbreak of coronavirus has had a significant impact on education systems around the world. In China, where the virus originated, all schools and universities were closed for several weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the disease. Many other countries have followed suit, either closing schools altogether or suspending classes for a period of time.

This has resulted in a major disruption to the education of millions of students. Some have been able to continue their studies online, but many have not had access to the internet or have not been able to afford the costs associated with it. This has led to a widening of the digital divide between those who can afford to continue their education online and those who cannot.

The closure of schools has also had a negative impact on the mental health of many students. With no face-to-face contact with friends and teachers, some students have felt isolated and anxious. This has been compounded by the worry and uncertainty surrounding the virus itself.

The situation with coronavirus has improved and schools have been reopened but students are still catching up with the gap of 2 years that the pandemic created. In the meantime, governments and educational institutions are working together to find ways to support students and ensure that they are able to continue their education despite these difficult circumstances.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Economy

The outbreak of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the global economy. The virus, which originated in China, has spread to over two hundred countries, resulting in widespread panic and a decrease in global trade. As a result of the outbreak, many businesses have been forced to close their doors, leading to a rise in unemployment. In addition, the stock market has taken a severe hit.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Health

The effects that coronavirus has on one's health are still being studied and researched as the virus continues to spread throughout the world. However, some of the potential effects on health that have been observed thus far include respiratory problems, fever, and coughing. In severe cases, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death can occur. It is important for people who think they may have been exposed to the virus to seek medical attention immediately so that they can be treated properly and avoid any serious complications. There is no specific cure or treatment for coronavirus at this time, but there are ways to help ease symptoms and prevent the virus from spreading.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

• Construction
• Entertainment
• Manufacturing
• Information Technology

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Geotechnical engineer

The role of geotechnical engineer starts with reviewing the projects needed to define the required material properties. The work responsibilities are followed by a site investigation of rock, soil, fault distribution and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest. The investigation is aimed to improve the ground engineering design and determine their engineering properties that include how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. 

The role of geotechnical engineer in mining includes designing and determining the type of foundations, earthworks, and or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be made. Geotechnical engineering jobs are involved in earthen and concrete dam construction projects, working under a range of normal and extreme loading conditions. 

Cartographer

How fascinating it is to represent the whole world on just a piece of paper or a sphere. With the help of maps, we are able to represent the real world on a much smaller scale. Individuals who opt for a career as a cartographer are those who make maps. But, cartography is not just limited to maps, it is about a mixture of art , science , and technology. As a cartographer, not only you will create maps but use various geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems to measure, analyse, and create different maps for political, cultural or educational purposes.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Operations manager.

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Investment director.

An investment director is a person who helps corporations and individuals manage their finances. They can help them develop a strategy to achieve their goals, including paying off debts and investing in the future. In addition, he or she can help individuals make informed decisions.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

An expert in plumbing is aware of building regulations and safety standards and works to make sure these standards are upheld. Testing pipes for leakage using air pressure and other gauges, and also the ability to construct new pipe systems by cutting, fitting, measuring and threading pipes are some of the other more involved aspects of plumbing. Individuals in the plumber career path are self-employed or work for a small business employing less than ten people, though some might find working for larger entities or the government more desirable.

Construction Manager

Individuals who opt for a career as construction managers have a senior-level management role offered in construction firms. Responsibilities in the construction management career path are assigning tasks to workers, inspecting their work, and coordinating with other professionals including architects, subcontractors, and building services engineers.

Urban Planner

Urban Planning careers revolve around the idea of developing a plan to use the land optimally, without affecting the environment. Urban planning jobs are offered to those candidates who are skilled in making the right use of land to distribute the growing population, to create various communities. 

Urban planning careers come with the opportunity to make changes to the existing cities and towns. They identify various community needs and make short and long-term plans accordingly.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Naval Architect

A Naval Architect is a professional who designs, produces and repairs safe and sea-worthy surfaces or underwater structures. A Naval Architect stays involved in creating and designing ships, ferries, submarines and yachts with implementation of various principles such as gravity, ideal hull form, buoyancy and stability. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Veterinary Doctor

Pathologist.

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Hospital Administrator

The hospital Administrator is in charge of organising and supervising the daily operations of medical services and facilities. This organising includes managing of organisation’s staff and its members in service, budgets, service reports, departmental reporting and taking reminders of patient care and services.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Linguistic meaning is related to language or Linguistics which is the study of languages. A career as a linguistic meaning, a profession that is based on the scientific study of language, and it's a very broad field with many specialities. Famous linguists work in academia, researching and teaching different areas of language, such as phonetics (sounds), syntax (word order) and semantics (meaning). 

Other researchers focus on specialities like computational linguistics, which seeks to better match human and computer language capacities, or applied linguistics, which is concerned with improving language education. Still, others work as language experts for the government, advertising companies, dictionary publishers and various other private enterprises. Some might work from home as freelance linguists. Philologist, phonologist, and dialectician are some of Linguist synonym. Linguists can study French , German , Italian . 

Public Relation Executive

Travel journalist.

The career of a travel journalist is full of passion, excitement and responsibility. Journalism as a career could be challenging at times, but if you're someone who has been genuinely enthusiastic about all this, then it is the best decision for you. Travel journalism jobs are all about insightful, artfully written, informative narratives designed to cover the travel industry. Travel Journalist is someone who explores, gathers and presents information as a news article.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

Merchandiser.

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer is a professional who studies and produces materials that bring power to our world. He or she extracts metals from ores and rocks and transforms them into alloys, high-purity metals and other materials used in developing infrastructure, transportation and healthcare equipment. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

Information security manager.

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

Business Intelligence Developer

Applications for admissions are open..

JEE Main Important Chemistry formulas

As per latest 2024 syllabus. Chemistry formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters

Aakash iACST Scholarship Test 2024

Get up to 90% scholarship on NEET, JEE & Foundation courses

Resonance Coaching

Enroll in Resonance Coaching for success in JEE/NEET exams

ALLEN JEE Exam Prep

Start your JEE preparation with ALLEN

NEET 2024 Most scoring concepts

Just Study 32% of the NEET syllabus and Score upto 100% marks

JEE Main high scoring chapters and topics

As per latest 2024 syllabus. Study 40% syllabus and score upto 100% marks in JEE

Everything about Education

Latest updates, Exclusive Content, Webinars and more.

Download Careers360 App's

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

Cetifications

We Appeared in

The pandemic has had devastating impacts on learning. What will it take to help students catch up?

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, megan kuhfeld , megan kuhfeld senior research scientist - nwea @megankuhfeld jim soland , jim soland assistant professor, school of education and human development - university of virginia, affiliated research fellow - nwea @jsoland karyn lewis , and karyn lewis director, center for school and student progress - nwea @karynlew emily morton emily morton research scientist - nwea @emily_r_morton.

March 3, 2022

As we reach the two-year mark of the initial wave of pandemic-induced school shutdowns, academic normalcy remains out of reach for many students, educators, and parents. In addition to surging COVID-19 cases at the end of 2021, schools have faced severe staff shortages , high rates of absenteeism and quarantines , and rolling school closures . Furthermore, students and educators continue to struggle with mental health challenges , higher rates of violence and misbehavior , and concerns about lost instructional time .

As we outline in our new research study released in January, the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ academic achievement has been large. We tracked changes in math and reading test scores across the first two years of the pandemic using data from 5.4 million U.S. students in grades 3-8. We focused on test scores from immediately before the pandemic (fall 2019), following the initial onset (fall 2020), and more than one year into pandemic disruptions (fall 2021).

Average fall 2021 math test scores in grades 3-8 were 0.20-0.27 standard deviations (SDs) lower relative to same-grade peers in fall 2019, while reading test scores were 0.09-0.18 SDs lower. This is a sizable drop. For context, the math drops are significantly larger than estimated impacts from other large-scale school disruptions, such as after Hurricane Katrina—math scores dropped 0.17 SDs in one year for New Orleans evacuees .

Even more concerning, test-score gaps between students in low-poverty and high-poverty elementary schools grew by approximately 20% in math (corresponding to 0.20 SDs) and 15% in reading (0.13 SDs), primarily during the 2020-21 school year. Further, achievement tended to drop more between fall 2020 and 2021 than between fall 2019 and 2020 (both overall and differentially by school poverty), indicating that disruptions to learning have continued to negatively impact students well past the initial hits following the spring 2020 school closures.

These numbers are alarming and potentially demoralizing, especially given the heroic efforts of students to learn and educators to teach in incredibly trying times. From our perspective, these test-score drops in no way indicate that these students represent a “ lost generation ” or that we should give up hope. Most of us have never lived through a pandemic, and there is so much we don’t know about students’ capacity for resiliency in these circumstances and what a timeline for recovery will look like. Nor are we suggesting that teachers are somehow at fault given the achievement drops that occurred between 2020 and 2021; rather, educators had difficult jobs before the pandemic, and now are contending with huge new challenges, many outside their control.

Clearly, however, there’s work to do. School districts and states are currently making important decisions about which interventions and strategies to implement to mitigate the learning declines during the last two years. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) investments from the American Rescue Plan provided nearly $200 billion to public schools to spend on COVID-19-related needs. Of that sum, $22 billion is dedicated specifically to addressing learning loss using “evidence-based interventions” focused on the “ disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups. ” Reviews of district and state spending plans (see Future Ed , EduRecoveryHub , and RAND’s American School District Panel for more details) indicate that districts are spending their ESSER dollars designated for academic recovery on a wide variety of strategies, with summer learning, tutoring, after-school programs, and extended school-day and school-year initiatives rising to the top.

Comparing the negative impacts from learning disruptions to the positive impacts from interventions

To help contextualize the magnitude of the impacts of COVID-19, we situate test-score drops during the pandemic relative to the test-score gains associated with common interventions being employed by districts as part of pandemic recovery efforts. If we assume that such interventions will continue to be as successful in a COVID-19 school environment, can we expect that these strategies will be effective enough to help students catch up? To answer this question, we draw from recent reviews of research on high-dosage tutoring , summer learning programs , reductions in class size , and extending the school day (specifically for literacy instruction) . We report effect sizes for each intervention specific to a grade span and subject wherever possible (e.g., tutoring has been found to have larger effects in elementary math than in reading).

Figure 1 shows the standardized drops in math test scores between students testing in fall 2019 and fall 2021 (separately by elementary and middle school grades) relative to the average effect size of various educational interventions. The average effect size for math tutoring matches or exceeds the average COVID-19 score drop in math. Research on tutoring indicates that it often works best in younger grades, and when provided by a teacher rather than, say, a parent. Further, some of the tutoring programs that produce the biggest effects can be quite intensive (and likely expensive), including having full-time tutors supporting all students (not just those needing remediation) in one-on-one settings during the school day. Meanwhile, the average effect of reducing class size is negative but not significant, with high variability in the impact across different studies. Summer programs in math have been found to be effective (average effect size of .10 SDs), though these programs in isolation likely would not eliminate the COVID-19 test-score drops.

Figure 1: Math COVID-19 test-score drops compared to the effect sizes of various educational interventions

Source: COVID-19 score drops are pulled from Kuhfeld et al. (2022) Table 5; reduction-in-class-size results are from pg. 10 of Figles et al. (2018) Table 2; summer program results are pulled from Lynch et al (2021) Table 2; and tutoring estimates are pulled from Nictow et al (2020) Table 3B. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals are shown with vertical lines on each bar.

Notes: Kuhfeld et al. and Nictow et al. reported effect sizes separately by grade span; Figles et al. and Lynch et al. report an overall effect size across elementary and middle grades. We were unable to find a rigorous study that reported effect sizes for extending the school day/year on math performance. Nictow et al. and Kraft & Falken (2021) also note large variations in tutoring effects depending on the type of tutor, with larger effects for teacher and paraprofessional tutoring programs than for nonprofessional and parent tutoring. Class-size reductions included in the Figles meta-analysis ranged from a minimum of one to minimum of eight students per class.

Figure 2 displays a similar comparison using effect sizes from reading interventions. The average effect of tutoring programs on reading achievement is larger than the effects found for the other interventions, though summer reading programs and class size reduction both produced average effect sizes in the ballpark of the COVID-19 reading score drops.

Figure 2: Reading COVID-19 test-score drops compared to the effect sizes of various educational interventions

Source: COVID-19 score drops are pulled from Kuhfeld et al. (2022) Table 5; extended-school-day results are from Figlio et al. (2018) Table 2; reduction-in-class-size results are from pg. 10 of Figles et al. (2018) ; summer program results are pulled from Kim & Quinn (2013) Table 3; and tutoring estimates are pulled from Nictow et al (2020) Table 3B. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals are shown with vertical lines on each bar.

Notes: While Kuhfeld et al. and Nictow et al. reported effect sizes separately by grade span, Figlio et al. and Kim & Quinn report an overall effect size across elementary and middle grades. Class-size reductions included in the Figles meta-analysis ranged from a minimum of one to minimum of eight students per class.

There are some limitations of drawing on research conducted prior to the pandemic to understand our ability to address the COVID-19 test-score drops. First, these studies were conducted under conditions that are very different from what schools currently face, and it is an open question whether the effectiveness of these interventions during the pandemic will be as consistent as they were before the pandemic. Second, we have little evidence and guidance about the efficacy of these interventions at the unprecedented scale that they are now being considered. For example, many school districts are expanding summer learning programs, but school districts have struggled to find staff interested in teaching summer school to meet the increased demand. Finally, given the widening test-score gaps between low- and high-poverty schools, it’s uncertain whether these interventions can actually combat the range of new challenges educators are facing in order to narrow these gaps. That is, students could catch up overall, yet the pandemic might still have lasting, negative effects on educational equality in this country.

Given that the current initiatives are unlikely to be implemented consistently across (and sometimes within) districts, timely feedback on the effects of initiatives and any needed adjustments will be crucial to districts’ success. The Road to COVID Recovery project and the National Student Support Accelerator are two such large-scale evaluation studies that aim to produce this type of evidence while providing resources for districts to track and evaluate their own programming. Additionally, a growing number of resources have been produced with recommendations on how to best implement recovery programs, including scaling up tutoring , summer learning programs , and expanded learning time .

Ultimately, there is much work to be done, and the challenges for students, educators, and parents are considerable. But this may be a moment when decades of educational reform, intervention, and research pay off. Relying on what we have learned could show the way forward.

Related Content

Megan Kuhfeld, Jim Soland, Beth Tarasawa, Angela Johnson, Erik Ruzek, Karyn Lewis

December 3, 2020

Lindsay Dworkin, Karyn Lewis

October 13, 2021

Education Policy K-12 Education

Governance Studies

Brown Center on Education Policy

Darcy Hutchins, Emily Markovich Morris, Laura Nora, Carolina Campos, Adelaida Gómez Vergara, Nancy G. Gordon, Esmeralda Macana, Karen Robertson

March 28, 2024

Jennifer B. Ayscue, Kfir Mordechay, David Mickey-Pabello

March 26, 2024

Anna Saavedra, Morgan Polikoff, Dan Silver

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Young people like me are still feeling the effects of Covid – and they’re not all bad

When it comes to studies, work or social abilities, some fared better than others. But the pandemic left its mark on all of us, whether we realise it or not

I recently came across a folder on my laptop labelled “Covid”. Inside I found screenshots I had taken of the government website, showing daily cases, ICU admissions and deaths from Covid-19. These reports were released every weekday during the first lockdown, and each afternoon I would collect them in this folder and study them, trying to understand what was happening in the wider world – before I began a busy evening of Zoom birthday quizzes, Netflix Party and WhatsApp.

I was shocked – both that I had ever been so macabre in the first place, and also that, four years later, I had forgotten doing it. I don’t remember being anxious or depressed during lockdown, but I have 60 image files suggesting otherwise.

In general, studies since 2020 have displayed a widespread decline in young people’s mental health , often linked to the experience of the pandemic. According to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 75% of mental health difficulties start before the age of 24; so young people are more vulnerable, as adolescence involves crucial milestones in emotional and social development. Some experts claim that my generation may have to suffer the consequences of social distancing and cessation of work for the rest of our lives, that on top of economic difficulties we also face a unique experience of social disintegration.

And yet, despite what my folder of screenshots may suggest, I don’t feel too badly affected by the pandemic. I was 21 and studying at university when Covid hit, and was able to move home for my final exams. I was lucky to have a quiet room to myself, with no financial concerns or specific health issues. Those a couple of years younger than me – starting their studies, rather than finishing them – fared worse, continuing a larger stretch of their university period under the doomscape of 2020 and 2021.

A friend, who is now 22, thinks her peers rely more on “internet speak”, having been immersed in social media over Covid, and thus developed the lexicon and mannerisms from TikTok et al without intention. They also are “much less inclined to go out and drink” and don’t know how to behave in front of “new people”. She told me that, in comparison, 25-year-olds have “more real-life personalities”, which we forged away from our smartphones, before the pandemic.

My darkest point was when I got Covid, just before Christmas 2020. I spent the next fortnight alone, trying to recover, not once leaving the house, or taking a shower. On Christmas Day, I watched 10 episodes of Bridgerton just so I wouldn’t have to sit for a second with my own thoughts. I was struggling. But after I recovered, I was grateful for tiny things, like getting to walk on the grass and have dinner with my family. For a few days, I felt simply happy.

Everyone’s experience was different. Some had worse experiences with the virus itself. Some contracted long Covid , or lost a loved one to it. But such things aren’t restricted to one age group. And so the generational lens may be a blunt tool by which to make assessments; it could be damning to label a whole cohort as psychologically and economically scarred. It is perhaps another way of underestimating young people. After all, those who were most affected across all generations were those who were already at risk of unemployment, mental health issues and poverty. All the stats say that Gen Z has been wounded by the pandemic , but many of my peers are more resilient than people may think.

It’s true that I was affected in terms of personal life and employment, especially in my struggle to get a job after university. I also blame Covid-19 for the breakdown of a past relationship. My then-boyfriend and I both did our best to make it work, but in the first lockdown our relationship moved on to WhatsApp, and ultimately it forced us apart. But for all the reports of an entire generation permanently blighted by the pandemic, we didn’t have the same experience across the board. My flatmate, aged 24, is nostalgic about the first lockdown, remembering it as a time of sunshine and spring and finishing his dissertation in peace. Another friend said she grew closer with her sister over that time.

It may be that the people I know had the support network and financial prospects to be able to bounce back. But it wasn’t just the lucky ones among us who, looking back now, can see the positives of the pandemic. My friend was living with his elderly father and his brother, who had mental health difficulties at the time. He says it was a “very stressful” time – and yet also “character-building”. During the pandemic he had to be extremely careful about public transport, walking across London instead of taking the tube, even if it took hours.

The subsequent alleviation of risk after the vaccine offered a perspective shift, which had a positive, long-lasting effect on his mental health; he had the realisation of “everything’s fragility”, which he says has helped him. The studies that back this up are in the minority, but they do exist, for example, a systematic review by the BMJ suggests that Covid has had little significant impact on mental health across the population, including in young people. One study from Italy goes even further, reporting that 14- to 20-year-olds had more time for self-discovery and personal growth.

But it’s telling that most of my friends seem to have decided not to mention the pandemic again. For me, that is sufficient proof that it did do some damage. My friends and I don’t reminisce about shared experiences from this time because we don’t have any; it feels like a hole in time. Even the positive reflections are couched in conflicted terms, or apologetic for seeing the good in a traumatic experience. Covid-19 might have stolen a chunk of our adolescence but my peersseem keen to make the best of a bad situation, and a lot of them talk of going through a “second youth” now.

Isabel Brooks is a freelance writer

• Coronavirus
• Mental health
• Young people

More on this story

Over 4,000 Covid victims at Madrid care homes ‘could have been saved’

Global pandemic agreement at risk of falling apart, WHO warns

Lockdowns and face masks ‘unequivocally’ cut spread of Covid, report finds

Barbenheimer-style gatherings blamed for Covid rise in Germany

WHO declares ‘Eris’ Covid strain a variant of interest as cases rise globally

Nose-picking healthcare workers more likely to catch Covid, data suggests

Ex-Italian prime minister and health minister cleared of Covid culpability

Covid lab leak theory should not be ruled out, top Chinese scientist says

Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, says WHO

Most viewed.

Preparing for the next pandemic: What will it take?

Juan pablo uribe, magnus lindelow.

In the wake of COVID-19, there have been calls for the world to be better prepared for the next pandemic.  These calls are driven by a sense that the outbreak could have been foreseen and prevented, or that the spread could have been more effectively contained causing less social and economic disruption and averting deaths.

Such calls have been made in the past and have resulted in meaningful action. Yet, the world tends to move on quickly, with new crises taking center stage, resulting in the now familiar cycle of “panic and neglect”. This is a concern: although the timing and nature of the next pandemic spark is unknowable, it is certain to happen.

Perhaps things will be different this time. COVID-19 has brought into sharp focus the limitations of past efforts and the need for a more ambitious and sustained approach to preparedness.  It is encouraging to see widespread calls for more financing, a reform of global governance for health-related crises, and fresh thinking around global public goods.

But let’s first take a look at what pandemic preparedness is and what types of investments it requires.

Pandemic preparedness starts at the country level

Preparedness starts at country level and comprises many elements.  First and foremost, it requires strong and resilient health systems, in particular primary care, to facilitate detection of disease outbreaks, provide essential care, and support deployment of vaccines and other medical countermeasures. Second, it requires surveillance systems and laboratory capacity to detect both human and zoonotic disease outbreaks. Third, mechanisms are needed for coordination across sectors for prevention and preparedness. Fourth, preparedness requires legal frameworks and regulatory instruments to support both outbreak prevention and the deployment of countermeasures. Fifth, there is a need for well-functioning supply-chains as well as adequate stockpiles of essential goods and equipment.

These and other elements of preparedness are established and reflected in the approach to the Joint External Evaluation Tool that emerged from the 2005 International Health Regulations.

As pathogens do not respect borders, there are also important cross-country dimensions of preparedness, with regional, and sub-regional institutions playing key roles in areas such as regulatory harmonization, standards for reporting and information sharing on disease outbreaks, sharing of key public health assets such as high complexity laboratories, and pooled procurement.

Many countries, especially low- and middle-income countries, have long-standing weaknesses in these preparedness domains, which translate into weaknesses at the regional level as well.  Even countries with stronger preparedness were profoundly challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting vulnerabilities associated with the breakdown of global supply chains, and the role that a lack of trust, cohesion, and mechanisms for intra-government coordination have played in undermining response.

The World Bank’s support to preparedness

The World Bank, though IDA and IBRD, has a strong track record in providing the long-term, predictable, sustained financing that countries need to prepare for pandemics, often requiring multi-sectoral interventions. For example, using a One Health approach, that recognizes the linkages between human and animal health, and the environment, the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) program, developed in the wake of the Ebola crisis, has helped strengthen national and regional capacity for disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness across 16 countries in West and Central Africa. We have also supported the Africa CDC through IDA financing. As we help countries to address the current pandemic with our $157 billion COVID support package, the largest in our history, we continue to help build capacity to prepare for future pandemics.  What’s more, both IDA and IBRD leverage significant resources in the capital markets: IDA now provides more than $3 in concessional finance for every dollar of donor contribution; for IBRD, one dollar of additional capital can enable additional $10 in financing to clients. 

Looking ahead, the World Bank’s suite of financing mechanisms and instruments, global footprint, strong in-country presence, multisectoral expertise, and broad reach to policymakers positions us well to expand support for country and regional preparedness. Preparedness will be an important focus of IDA20, and it is set to feature more prominently in our country engagements.

The need for global action

The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need for action at the global level and a large share of proposed increases in international finance for preparedness is focused on addressing perceived gaps in the global domain.

Financing needs at the global level are diverse and complex. One key priority is to step up the financing of R&D on therapeutics and vaccines. This area is receiving significant public, private, and philanthropic financing, including in support of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is set up as a World Bank-supported FIF and seeks to positively disrupt financing models for vaccines against epidemic diseases.  

Equally important is the financing for medical countermeasures to ensure timely and equitable access for all countries. On the demand side, this will require building on our collective experience with pooled procurement mechanisms like COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). On the supply side, there is a need to boost distributed manufacturing capacity to ensure equitable access to low-cost vaccines. Not every country needs its own vaccine manufacturing capacity, but we need to ensure that there is sufficient production capacity in developing countries that can be quickly scaled up.  Pharmaceutical companies are unlikely to invest without some degree of demand and price certainty, which is where advanced market commitments backed by donor financing can help.

How do we move forward?

The ambitious preparedness agenda has generated calls for scaling up financing. The G20 HLIP estimated that US$34 billion of public financing per year is needed over the next five years, with nearly half coming from donors. More recently, the US government has called for a US$10 billion global health fund to prepare for future pandemics and announced a US$250 million contribution to jumpstart the effort. It has been proposed that the fund be established at the World Bank.

Additional financing for preparedness could help expand the support that the World Bank and others provide to countries and regional institutions and help address gaps at the global level.

A key next step is to unpack the needs assessment and costing exercise prepared by the G20 HLIP and deepen the analysis of gaps. Financing is key for better preparedness, but strong preparedness also requires sustained political will.  This would seem to require a set of globally agreed norms and standards on pandemic preparedness—building on the Joint External Evaluation Tool–-and regular monitoring and assessment of performance against those standards. Perhaps it is time to consider a new “global compact on pandemic preparedness”, similar to the one for climate, to ensure shared commitment and collective accountability around pandemic preparedness.

• The World Region
• COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Global Director, Health, Nutrition & Population and the Global Financing Facility, World Bank

Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund hosted by the World Bank

Practice Manager, Health, Nutrition and Population

Join the Conversation

• Share on mail
• comments added

• Open access
• Published: 25 March 2024

Where should “Humans” be in “One Health”? Lessons from COVID-19 for One Health

• Zhaohui Su   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2005-9504 1 ,
• Dean McDonnell 2 ,
• Ali Cheshmehzangi 3 , 4 ,
• Barry L. Bentley 5 , 6 ,
• Sabina Šegalo 7 ,
• Claudimar Pereira da Veiga 8 &
• Yu-Tao Xiang 9  

Globalization and Health volume  20 , Article number:  24 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

186 Accesses

3 Altmetric

Metrics details

The culling of animals that are infected, or suspected to be infected, with COVID-19 has fuelled outcry. What might have contributed to the ongoing debates and discussions about animal rights protection amid global health crises is the lack of a unified understanding and internationally agreed-upon definition of “One Health”. The term One Health is often utilised to describe the imperative to protect the health of humans, animals, and plants, along with the overarching ecosystem in an increasingly connected and globalized world. However, to date, there is a dearth of research on how to balance public health decisions that could impact all key stakeholders under the umbrella of One Health, particularly in contexts where human suffering has been immense. To shed light on the issue, this paper discusses whether One Health means “human-centred connected health” in a largely human-dominated planet, particularly amid crises like COVID-19. The insights of this study could help policymakers make more informed decisions that could effectively and efficiently protect human health while balancing the health and well-being of the rest of the inhabitants of our shared planet Earth.

Introduction

The world is interconnected. The interaction between humans and animal health, as seen in zoonotic infectious diseases, has been a crucial force that has shaped the course of current and previous pandemics [ 1 ]. While differing voices are present, numerous species of animals, ranging from rats to bats, have been widely implicated as carriers of deadly pathogens that have caused or substantially contributed to devastating pandemics throughout human history, ranging from the Black Death, Ebola outbreaks, to the COVID-19 (coronavirus 2019) pandemic [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Despite the importance and inevitability of human-animal interactions [ 2 ], the progress of contemporary understanding of “One Health” has been disappointingly lukewarm and lacklustre. While the concept gained traction amid the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic starting in 2003, meaningful debates and discussions on One Health are still lacking in academia and beyond. One of the earliest sets of One Health principles, for instance, was developed in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s symposium in 2004 by an international group of experts from fields such as public, veterinary, and environmental health [ 6 ]. The principles, which are often referred to as the “Manhattan Principles”, set twelve priorities that have the potential to help society better combat threats to human and animal health [ 6 ].

Ranging from calling for greater emphasis on understanding the link between humans, animals, and various diseases, to more impactful investment in education to increase awareness of the interconnectedness of all living species, essentially the “Manhattan Principles” formed the modern concept of “One Health, One World” [ 6 ]. Even without drawing on the “butterfly effect” rationale, the importance of acknowledging, understanding, and tackling the interconnectedness of the health and well-being of all species living on Earth can be hardly overemphasized. Take the current pandemic for instance. While much remains to be uncovered, it is highly possible that SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the virus that caused COVID-19, might be zoonotic in nature—a virus transmitted from animals to humans, possibly as a result of increasingly frequent human-animal interactions [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Second, the growing body of evidence on COVID-19 transmissions between humans and animals further underscores the need to investigate and protect public and global health through the lens of One Health. Across the pandemic continuum, insights from research labs and real-world settings both confirm that the list of animals that could either contract COVID-19 or have the ability to infect humans with the virus has been growing [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].

In addition to wild animals (e.g., bats, deer, pumas, and lions) and farm animals (e.g., mink), SARS-CoV-2 has also been found in common pets like dogs and cats [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Growing evidence further shows that the susceptibility of dogs and cats to COVID-19 could range from 0.79% to 40% [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Considering the prevalence of COVID-19 in domestic animals, along with their close proximity to humans, domestic animals like dogs and cats could pose considerable harm to humans or the overall pandemic control efforts without proper measures. Furthermore, what makes the virus transmissions between humans and animals particularly worrisome also centres on the fact that these transmissions often indicate potential virus mutations—the virus has evolved to the extent that it has the potential to transmit between species, rather than among humans, which could, in turn, lead to unknown consequences (e.g., reservoirs for secondary zoonotic infections) [ 21 ]. In addition, the role of these interactions in the course of the pandemic is also evidenced in the suspected animal-to-human transmissions of SARS-CoV-2.

One health controversies

In early January 2022, health experts in Hong Kong linked COVID-19 infections that first occurred in a pet store to imported hamsters [ 22 ]. Later tests confirmed the assumption—10% of the hamsters tested were positive for COVID-19 infections [ 23 ]. As a result, the authorities responded by culling over 2,000 hamsters and other small animals, citing the possibility of virus mutations with the potential to further exacerbate the pandemic, including outbreaks caused by animal-human transmissions of the virus [ 23 ]. A global outcry ensued over the city’s decision to euthanize these animals en masse, with people questioning whether the decision to cull these animals—many of which may not have been infected with the virus—was necessary [ 24 ]. At the time, it was still unclear with regard to hamsters’ transmissibility across COVID-19 variants. What is clear, though, is that preliminary data suggested that at least 50 people were infected with the Delta variant that could be traced back to contact with these hamsters [ 12 ]. What is also clear is that the public’s  response was particularly impassioned, and emotionally charged, which further deepened the already divided and fragmented narratives surrounding COVID-19 with regard to pandemic policies (e.g., masking, lockdowns, vaccination) and the general discourse and language around the pandemic (e.g., using biased and discriminatory terms like “Wuhan Virus” or “Chinese Virus” to refer to SARS-CoV-2) [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].

One potential contributing factor to the heated discussions around animal rights during the pandemic, particularly from the academic and policy perspective, was the lack of a unified understanding of One Health [ 29 ]. To date, there has yet to be a rigorous and internationally accepted definition of the concept, partly because current definitions often do not clearly reflect the competing interests between different One Health sectors as highlighted by COVID-19 and beyond. For instance, one definition provided by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention refers to One Health as “a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment” [ 30 ]. In a similar vein, a definition that was given by the World Health Organization’s One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) framed One Health as “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems” [ 31 ].

While these definitions could shed some light on the concept of One Health, they nonetheless fail to provide the level of detail necessary to guide health experts’ decision-making in crucial situations, such as how policies should be developed when the interests of humans, animals, and plants are not in tandem or harmony with one another. In other words, in situations where animals become an imminent or almost inevitable threat to human health, as we have seen in cases across the COVID-19 pandemic, which principles should government and health experts utilize in determining which health policies to develop and deploy? Essentially, the current understanding of the One Health concept could hardly address questions such as: Should humans, animals, and plants be considered equal in rights and importance under the concept of One Health, even in times when human health is under imminent and consequential threats like COVID-19? To shed light on the issue, this analysis aims to investigate whether One Health should prioritise human health in a world where many populations face existential challenges like hunger and poor health, particularly in the post-COVID era.

Where should human health stand under one health?

The idea of putting people’s health first over that of the floras and faunas, if not the universe as a whole, is often in direct contrast to many implicit or stated principles of One Health (please see Table  1 ). For instance, the first fundamental principle of One Health proposed by OHHLEP is “equity between sectors and disciplines”, with “sectors” referring to humans, animals, and the environment [ 31 ]. Overall, of the seven principles established and endorsed by OHHLEP—equity, inclusivity, equal access, parity, socioecological equilibrium, stewardship, and transdisciplinarity, at least three (equity, equilibrium, and stewardship) require humans put an equal, if not a more rigorous, emphasis on the health of the animals and the wider environment [ 31 ]. Yet even within the context of these seven One Health principles, there are notable discrepancies, such as the disconnect between the stated goal of protecting and respecting the health of all sectors, the proposed pathways, or the lack thereof, and the reality. For instance, the second set of principles is centring on “sociopolitical and multicultural parity” where “all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities” [ 31 ].

This principle, in light of the raging and oftentimes blatant gender, racial and ethnic disparities that are present in societies large and small [ 25 , 38 ], especially post-COVID, might be best described as distantly ideal that is almost impossible to address in the near future. The absence of a detailed pathway as to how the principle of parity might be achieved in the increasingly fragmented post-pandemic world further highlights the issue. This disconnect between the stated principle, the contrasting reality, and the lack of practical pathways, then, raises the question: In a world where people have yet to learn to respect one another for their oftentimes added and artificial “labels” even against continuous interventions and movements, is it even possible to expect society at large to prioritize the allocation of respect and resources for largely alien-looking, foreign-tongued, and possibly disease-carrying non-human inhabitants of the Earth? Existing evidence suggests that there is a notable prioritisation of human health among One Health professionals. Via interviewing six professionals in the human domain and seven in the veterinary domain, for instance, the findings show that, while in principle, a holistic view toward One Health is widely held among the participants, in practice, they often took an anthropocentric approach—i.e., humans first—in matters such as culling animals as either a necessity or a precaution to protection human health [ 39 ].

The principle of “stewardship”—assigning the role of stewardship to humans in the protection and preservation of One Health—also raises concerns, such as whether it has a conflict-of-interest issue at heart. To a certain extent, sharing the planet Earth with animals and the wider eco-environment also means that, by default, humans are inevitably “competing” for a relatively finite pool of resources with residents of the floras and faunas, from securing foods and territory (e.g., the ruthless use of pesticides and herbicides as well as deforestation), leveraging available resources (e.g., industrialisation and domestication of animals), to eliminating potential risks (e.g., the culling of animals for fear of infectious disease outbreaks). Assigning humans as stewards of One Health is then similar to the impossible practice of asking players to be players, as well as judges, of the game simultaneously. The conflict of interest means that human stewards might be inherently biased to make fair decisions that would prioritise the interests and the well-being of animals over those of humans. Also, in light of the notable scarcity of research into interspecies communication, and the subjective conscious experience of animals [ 40 , 41 , 42 ], it is even questionable whether humans can have a true understanding of what constitutes animal well-being.

One health or human-centred connected health?

These questions reflect one key issue that many One Health studies have yet to confront: in a world where humans’ health needs—let alone wants—have yet to be met, is it realistic to categorically treat the health of the animals—many of which have been domesticated as pets or a source of protein for humans, as an equal of the health of humans? Albeit seems ever-improving, it was not long ago when health professionals like doctors and nurses in highly medically advanced countries like the U.S. worked in COVID-19 wards with overused masks—if not maskless—or had to make-do with torn trash bags as protective “gowns” due to severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) [ 43 ]. The coincided strain on medical supplies also meant that many doctors in affluent countries had to make the once unthinkable decision of denying life-saving medical care to patients due to a lack of beds, ventilators, or essential medicines [ 44 , 45 ].

It is important to note that, in light of mundane yet ever-present threats  like food safety and security issues, antimicrobial resistance, and spillover infections [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ], COVID-related threats to human health are but one of many. While our current society is often claimed as civil and modern, seemingly unstoppable massing killings in places like Gaza, for instance, have effectively created human-made hells where children and women, along with other vulnerable people, are starving to death, patients are dying from easily treatable wounds and curable illnesses due to prolonged absence of medical resources, that is, if hospitals can still function amid the attacks, while families and communities are either being decimated in droves or live in constant fear and other reverberation like grief, trauma, and beyond [ 54 , 55 , 56 ]. The increasingly immersive and 24/7 media coverage of these human sufferings means that the world at large—including people living in places far away from wars—can be subject and succumb to war-induced trauma [ 57 ]. In this “One World, One Hell”, where human sufferings have yet to be addressed, is it realistic to give equal prioritisation to animals in terms of resource allocation and beyond similar to those of humans? Are animals in yet-to-be-at-war societies really more precious than humans in war zones even in theory and principle?

While it can be argued that the blatant disregard for human lives and livelihoods of recent wars in Gaza and beyond make a mockery of almost everything public health holds dear, the scale, scope, and severity of human sufferings might be most difficult for One Health to confront. A rethink might be needed to recalibrate the underlying presumptions and principles of One Health, not least because, in addition to the abovementioned threats to global health, a pandemic caused by Disease X or Pathogen X—which could be more powerful and destructive than COVID-19—is hardly a low-probability threat [ 58 , 59 , 60 ]. For instance, rather than assigning equal weight to human health and animal health, perhaps it is more realistic to prioritize shared interests and common ground between humans, animals, and the overall environment, especially in times of grave global tension and geopolitical instability.

In other words, while the idea of treating all beings of the planet as equal is morally admirable and politically correct, in real-world practice, a clear and concrete commitment to human health while being actively considerate of the well-being of animals might have a greater chance of connecting the already deeply divided camps of society, including that of global health. The prioritisation of human health does not and should not dismiss the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, and environmental health. Rather, it creates a more tangible link between the health of different sectors (please see Fig.  1 ), while highlighting the instrumental role humans need to play in securing the safety and security of their living environment, from animal welfare (e.g., farming animals in an ecologically and ethically conscious manner) to global warming (e.g., actively pursuing sustainable and green consumption to mitigate global warming).

Visualisation of Human-Centred Connected Health

Humans worked hard to make the current Anthropocene epoch a reality. Difficult—ethically controversial and morally uncomfortable—yet necessary clarifications need to be made across research fields to ensure the protection of human health is consistently prioritised across One Health fields. While compromises often seem to be impossible to tackle, global health leaders are and must be well-equipped to face the difficulties head-on. In a time when humans—healthy and ill, young and old, in war zones and beyond—face immense and ever-worsening health challenges on a daily basis, it would be a gross injustice to our own kind and humanity at large should we put political correctness over people’s welfare and well-being. To be united in health, we have to have the health needed to start—let alone finish—the job first. Human health has to be at the centre of One Health, in definition, in principle, and perhaps most importantly, in practice, clearly, consistently, and conclusively.

Availability of data and materials

Data are available upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Coronavirus 2019

One Health High Level Expert Panel

United States

Greger M. The human/animal interface: emergence and resurgence of zoonotic infectious diseases. Crit Rev Microbiol. 2007;33(4):243–99.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Wilson R, Tiedt S, Murray K. Zoonotic infectious diseases as ecosystem disservices: a retrospective data review. Lancet Planetary Health. 2021;5:S23.

Article   Google Scholar  

Barry JM. Pandemics: avoiding the mistakes of 1918. Nature. 2009;459(7245):324–5.

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Allen T, et al. Global hotspots and correlates of emerging zoonotic diseases. Nat Commun. 2017;8(1):1124.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Opriessnig T, Huang Y-W. Third update on possible animal sources for human COVID-19. Xenotransplantation. 2021;28(1):e12671–e12671.

Cook RA, Karesh WB, Osofsky SA. One World, One Health: Building interdisciplinary bridges to health in a globalized world. New York: Wildlife Conservation Society; 2004.

Google Scholar  

Dimonaco NJ, Salavati M, Shih BB. Computational analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-like coronavirus diversity in human, bat and pangolin populations. Viruses. 2021;13(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/v13010049 .

Lytras S, et al. The animal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Science. 2021;373(6558):968–70.

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Zhou J, et al. Infection of bat and human intestinal organoids by SARS-CoV-2. Nat Med. 2020;26(7):1077–83.

Hobbs EC, Reid TJ. Animals and SARS-CoV-2: Species susceptibility and viral transmission in experimental and natural conditions, and the potential implications for community transmission. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021;68(4):1850–67.

Sreenivasan CC, et al. Susceptibility of livestock and companion animals to COVID-19. J Med Virol. 2021;93(3):1351–60.

Mallapaty SH, sneezing hamsters sparked a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong. cited 2022 February 8. Available from: 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00322-0 .

Koeppel KN, Mendes A, Strydom A, Rotherham L, Mulumba M, Venter M. SARS-CoV-2 reverse zoonoses to pumas and lions, South Africa. Viruses. 2022;14(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/v14010120 .

The U.K. Government. Covid-19 confirmed in pet dog in the UK. 2021 [cited 2022 January 31]; Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-confirmed-in-pet-dog-in-the-uk .

Chandler JC, et al. SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2021;118(47): e2114828118.

Barroso-Arévalo, S., et al., Large-scale study on virological and serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in cats and dogs in Spain. Transboundary and emerging diseases, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14366 .

Goryoka GW, Cossaboom CM, Gharpure R, Dawson P, Tansey C, Rossow J, Barton Behravesh C. One Health investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and seropositivity among pets in households with confirmed human COVID-19 Cases—Utah and Wisconsin, 2020. Viruses. 2021;13(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/v13091813 .

Calvet GA, et al. Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs and cats of humans diagnosed with COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(4): e0250853.

Ruiz-Arrondo I, et al. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in pets living with COVID-19 owners diagnosed during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: A case of an asymptomatic cat with SARS-CoV-2 in Europe. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021;68(2):973–6.

Jairak W, Charoenkul K, Chamsai E, Udom K, Chaiyawong S, Hangsawek A, Amonsin A. Survey of SARS-CoV-2 in dogs and cats in high-risk areas during the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak, Thailand. Zoonoses and Public Health. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12907 .

Munir K, et al. Zoonotic and reverse zoonotic events of SARS-CoV-2 and their impact on global health. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020;9(1):2222–35.

Soo, Z. Hong Kong to kill 2,000 animals after hamsters get COVID-19. 2022 [cited 2022 January 18]; Available from: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-arrests-hong-kong-75f2d3507bdb8255cd2aee79e962fc35 .

BBC. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defends Covid hamster cull. 2022 [cited 2022 January 29]; Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60095060 .

Davidson, H. Hong Kong to kill thousands of hamsters after Covid found on 11. 2022 [cited 2022 January 29]; Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/18/hong-kong-cull-thousands-hamsters-covid-pet-shop-virus-animals .

Su Z, et al. Time to stop the use of ‘Wuhan virus’, ‘China virus’ or ‘Chinese virus’ across the scientific community. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(9): e003746.

Su Z, et al. Mental health consequences of COVID-19 media coverage: The need for effective crisis communication practices. Glob Health. 2021;17(1):4.

Gupta A, et al. Understanding patterns of COVID infodemic: A systematic and pragmatic approach to curb fake news. J Bus Res. 2022;140:670–83.

Zhang S, et al. Characterizing the COVID-19 infodemic on Chinese social media: exploratory study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021;7(2): e26090.

Lerner H, Berg C. The concept of health in One Health and some practical implications for research and education: what is One Health? Infect Ecol Epidemiol. 2015;5(1):25300.

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One Health. 2022 [cited 2022 January 28]; Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth .

One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), et al., One Health: A new definition for a sustainable and healthy future. PLoS Pathog, 2022. 18(6):e1010537.

Davis MF, et al. Checklist for One Health Epidemiological Reporting of Evidence (COHERE). One Health. 2017;4:14–21.

Hillier SA, et al. Examining the concept of One Health for indigenous communities: A systematic review. One Health. 2021;12: 100248.

Peterson, J.K., J. Bakuza, and C.J. Standley One Health and neglected tropical diseases—multisectoral solutions to endemic challenges. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2021;6. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6010004 .

Sutradhar I, Zaman MH. One Health approaches to improve refugee health. Lancet Glob Health. 2021;9(12):e1646–7.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One Health. 2024 [cited 2024 February 18]; Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/index.html .

World Health Organization. One Health. 2017 [cited 2024 February 18]; Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/one-health .

Su Z, Cheshmehzangi A, McDonnell D, Šegalo S, Ahmad J, Bennett B. Gender inequality and health disparity amid COVID-19. Nurs Outlook. 2022;70(1):89-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.08.004 .

van Herten J, et al. Ethical decision-making in zoonotic disease control. J Agric Environ Ethics. 2020;33(2):239–59.

Birch J. Medical AI, inductive risk and the communication of uncertainty: the case of disorders of consciousness. J Med Ethics. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2023-109424 , https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2023/11/17/jme-2023-109424.citation-tools .

Hildt E. Artificial intelligence: does consciousness matter? Front Psychol. 2019;10:1535.

Meissner G. Artificial intelligence: consciousness and conscience. AI & Soc. 2020;35(1):225–35.

Kamerow D. Covid-19: the crisis of personal protective equipment in the US. BMJ. 2020;369: m1367.

Grover S, McClelland A, Furnham A. Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation: Differences between experts and the general public and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. Br J Health Psychol. 2020;25(4): e12439.

Ranney ML, Griffeth V, Jha AK. Critical supply shortages — The need for ventilators and personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(18): e41.

Bondoc I. European regulation in the veterinary sanitary and food safety area, a component of the European policies on the safety of food products and the protection of consumer interests: A 2007 retrospective. Part Four: Decisions. Rev. Universul Juridic. 2016. p. 24-27.

Ossebi W, et al. One Health training needs for Senegalese professionals to manage emerging public health threats. Sci One Health. 2022;1: 100005.

Bondoc I. European regulation in the veterinary sanitary and food safety area, a component of the European policies on the safety of food products and the protection of consumer interests: A 2007 retrospective. Part One: the role of European institutions in laying down and passing laws specific to the veterinary sanitary and food safety area. Rev. Universul Juridic. 2016. p. 2-15.

Gunjan, et al., Comparative meta-analysis of antimicrobial resistance from different food sources along with one health approach in the Egypt and UK. BMC Microbiol. 2023. 23(1):291.

Bondoc I. European regulation in the veterinary sanitary and food safety area, a component of the European policies on the safety of food products and the protection of consumer interests: A 2007 retrospective. Part Two: Regulations. Rev. Universul Juridic. 2016. p. 16-19.

Bondoc I. European regulation in the veterinary sanitary and food safety area, a component of the European policies on the safety of food products and the protection of consumer interests: A 2007 retrospective. Part Three: Directives. Rev. Universul Juridic. 2016. p. 20-23.

Ma L-C, et al. Impact of the microbiome on human, animal, and environmental health from a One Health perspective. Sci One Health. 2023;2: 100037.

Jibo GG, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in South-East Asia; a one-health approach of human-animal-food-environment. One Health. 2022;15: 100417.

Taha AM, Sabet C, Nada SA, Abuzerr S, Nguyen D. Addressing the mental health crisis among children in Gaza. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00036-1 .

The Economist. Why are so many of the victims in Gaza children? 2023 [cited 2023 October 29]; Available from: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/10/27/why-are-so-many-of-the-victims-in-gaza-children .

United Nations. Nearly 600 attacks on healthcare in Gaza and West Bank since war began: WHO. 2024 [cited 2024 January 6]; Available from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145317 .

Su Z, McDonnell D, Cheshmehzangi A, Bentley BL, Ahmad J, Šegalo S, da Veiga CP, Xiang YT. Media-induced war trauma amid conflicts in Ukraine. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(4):908-911. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221109609 .

Su Z, et al. Addressing Biodisaster X threats with artificial intelligence and 6G technologies: Literature review and critical insights. J Med Internet Res. 2021;23(5):e26109

Honigsbaum M. Disease X and other unknowns. Lancet. 2019;393(10180):1496–7.

World Health Organization. Research response to pathogen X during a pandemic. 2024 [cited 2024 February 22]; Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2024/01/19/default-calendar/Research-response-to-pathogen-X-during-a-pandemic .

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the editor and reviewers for their kind and constructive insights that helped improve this paper.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Public Health, Institute for Human Rights, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China

Department of Humanities, South East Technological University, Carlow, R93 V960, Ireland

Dean McDonnell

Center of Innovation for Education and Research (CIER), Qingdao City University, Qingdao, China

Ali Cheshmehzangi

Network for Education and Research On Peace and Sustainability, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 739-8530, Japan

Cardiff School of Technologies, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK

Barry L. Bentley

Collaboration for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation, University College London, London, UK

Faculty of Health Studies, University of Sarajevo, 71000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sabina Šegalo

Fundação Dom Cabral - FDC, Av. Princesa Diana, 760 Alphaville, Lagoa Dos Ingleses, Nova Lima, MG, 34018-006, Brazil

Claudimar Pereira da Veiga

Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration; Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences; Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences; Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China

Yu-Tao Xiang

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

ZS, DMD, AC, BLB, SS, CPDV, & YTX conceived the work, reviewed the literature, drafted, and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the manuscript for submission.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhaohui Su , Claudimar Pereira da Veiga or Yu-Tao Xiang .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Su, Z., McDonnell, D., Cheshmehzangi, A. et al. Where should “Humans” be in “One Health”? Lessons from COVID-19 for One Health. Global Health 20 , 24 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01026-y

Download citation

Received : 23 November 2023

Accepted : 06 March 2024

Published : 25 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01026-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Human Health
• Human-Centred Connected Health
• Health Policy

Globalization and Health

ISSN: 1744-8603

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

Mobile Menu Overlay

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

FACT SHEET: Update on the United   States Commitment to Expanding Access to Medicines Around the   World

Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to ensure the United States is better prepared for the next pandemic. U.S. national security and prosperity depend on countries around the world being prepared to prevent outbreaks when possible, and to rapidly detect and respond to emerging infectious disease threats when they occur. Detecting infectious disease threats quickly, and sharing that information widely, is critical to limit global transmission, and to rapidly develop necessary diagnostics, vaccines, treatments, personal protective equipment, and other countermeasures. Once available, facilitating equitable domestic and global access to medical countermeasures, like vaccines, tests and treatments, is the best way to minimize global morbidity and mortality, as well as to reduce economic and other disruptions. Collectively, these actions will make the United States, and the world, safer from the risk posed by pandemics and other biological events.

Coupled with broader investments in health, the United States is supporting countries around the world to expand access to quality medical countermeasures (MCMs), including vaccines, tests, and treatments, to end long-standing threats such as HIV, growing threats such as measles, and novel threats like COVID-19. These investments built on decades of global health and health security leadership by the United States. In the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, the United States invested nearly $32 billion globally to: better prepare for the next pandemic; fight existing epidemics like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria; and ensure high-need communities have access to essential health services like routine childhood immunization and maternal and child healthcare. Starting in 2021, the United States also invested $16 billion in the global COVID-19 response, including sharing nearly 700 million COVID-19 vaccine doses with countries around the world. The President’s FY 2025 Budget includes nearly $10 billion to continue these investments in critical global health programs, strengthen health systems, and enhance pandemic preparedness.

The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to expanding access to MCMs around the world, including through investments in innovation, research and development; building sustainable global manufacturing and supply chain capacity; providing vaccines, tests and treatments and support for their delivery; expanding pandemic response financing for MCMs; and strengthening legal and regulatory systems. Examples include:

Investing in Innovation, Research and Development

The U.S. government invested billions of dollars in mRNA technology in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic. These public investments translated into millions of lives saved in the United States and around the world, and were crucial to developing the mRNA vaccine technology that can be leveraged in a future pandemic, as well as potentially treating other diseases.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in science and technology, from basic science to piloting innovative financing mechanisms to real-time research during health emergencies, are transforming the tools and approaches we use to detect, contain and respond to health threats. This work is often done in partnership with biopharmaceutical innovators and manufacturers that have unique roles to play in global health security. Examples include:

• Public-private partnership on the Ebola virus. Public-private partnerships through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), resulted in a licensed Ebola vaccine, two licensed monoclonal antibody treatments, and one cleared diagnostic for Ebola; technologies that are now being applied to other viruses such as Marburg.
• Support for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is working to accelerate the development of life-saving vaccines against emerging disease threats, and to transform capability for rapid countermeasure development in response to future threats. Notable achievements include: the market authorization of the world’s first Chikungunya vaccine; the advancement through clinical development of vaccine candidates against Lassa, Nipah, and coronaviruses, among others; and the launch of a new Disease X Vaccine Library with six viral families prioritized as high risk.
• Innovation in TB and HIV prevention and treatment. Pretomanid, a treatment for drug-resistant TB, developed with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has reduced TB treatment time from up to 18 months to 6 months and dramatically improved outcomes. New long-acting HIV/AIDS prevention options such as cabotegravir, a single bi-monthly injection, could avert many new future HIV infections in low- and middle-income countries. The dapivirine vaginal ring, a long-acting HIV prevention tool, is a breakthrough innovation that offers women another method of discreet protection.
• New products to address drug-resistant infections. BARDA is investing over $2 billion in new products to address drug-resistant infections that have resulted in 10 therapeutics and diagnostics receiving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or clearance and revitalizing late-stage antimicrobial product development across dozens of products for both adults and children.

Building Sustainable Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Capacity

The United States is investing in sustainable and resilient global medical manufacturing and supply chain capacity. Robust systems for production and delivery of MCMs not only helps improve health – ensuring more people are able to routinely receive life-saving vaccines and therapeutics like antiretrovirals (ARVs) – they also serve as an essential foundation for effective emergency response. Sustainable systems must provide the infrastructure, resilience, quality assurance, operational efficiency, steady demand, and public confidence necessary to respond promptly and effectively to emergencies while ensuring the continuity of essential healthcare services. Examples of United States investments in sustainable manufacturing systems include:

• U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) finances and catalyzes investments by the private sector and other development finance institutions in health commodity manufacturing and supply chain for MCMs in developing countries, with a focus on Africa. DFC, along with International Finance Corporation and other like-minded development finance institutions (DFIs), is supporting the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal to become a key hub in the African Union’s vaccine production network. DFC previously provided a $3.3 million technical assistance grant for early-stage project development and is evaluating additional financing for expansion of the industrial-scale facility. DFC is also working with peer DFIs to provide working capital to regional manufacturers to enable producers to pivot and scale up efforts during a health emergency.
• Accelerating the expansion of vaccine manufacturing in Africa. The United States is supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), working in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), to establish the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, a $1 billion advanced market commitment financial instrument that would provide financial support over the next ten years to accelerate the expansion of commercially viable vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
• Sourcing MCMs from African manufacturers. The United States is sourcing MCMs from African producers to address African needs through programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). PEPFAR aims to procure 15 million HIV tests produced in Africa by 2025, and work alongside other partners to shift 2 million patients on first-line ARV treatments to African-produced products. Since 2023, PEPFAR has procured nearly 100,000 HIV tests from the Africa-based manufacturers towards that goal, and has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund) and Unitaid to launch an open Expert Review Panel for Diagnostics for African manufacturers of HIV rapid tests to accelerate the availability of HIV rapid tests produced in Africa. PMI is committed to building a more resilient supply chain and is leveraging its procurement volume to accelerate growth in African regional manufacturing. PMI is actively working, in coordination with partners like the Global Fund and Medicines for Malaria Ventures, to increase the number of African suppliers they procure from and their share of PMI’s total procurement. In FY 2023, PMI doubled the share of its procurements sourced from Africa to 10 percent.
• Medical supply chain studies in the Americas Region. Through the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, the United States is working closely with the Inter-American Development Bank to carry out supply chain competitiveness studies in three critical sectors: clean energy, semiconductors, and medical supplies.

Providing Vaccines, Tests and Treatments and Supporting Delivery

The Biden-Harris Administration provides MCMs for ongoing and emergency health threats, and makes significant long-term investments to support country readiness to receive, deliver and effectively use vaccines, tests, PPE and treatments. These investments range from bed nets to protect children and families from malaria, to ARVs for those living with HIV, to supporting skilled health workers, and to MCMs to support outbreak response. Examples include:

• Provision of HIV treatment. The PEPFAR program continues to support the African continent with the provision of more than $700 million in health commodities to African HIV programs in 2023, alongside the more than $2.1 billion in health commodities provided to Africa in 2023 through the Global Fund, to which the United States is the largest donor.   
• Provision of and improvement in Ebola treatments. Since the 2014-2016 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has worked with impacted nations to supply the standard-of-care treatments for Ebola patients. In 2018, HHS made existing therapeutics available to support the international response to the second largest Ebola outbreak in history, partnering with researchers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on a randomized controlled trial that demonstrated superior efficacy of two therapeutics. The United States has since made those treatments available to impacted nations and WHO in every outbreak of Ebola in Africa since 2018. This includes an outbreak in Guinea in February 2021 in which U.S.-supplied therapeutic doses were available for use in a remote Guinean treatment facility less than one week after the identification of the first case.
• Public-private partnerships to deliver vaccines. Project Last Mile collaborates with regional Coca-Cola bottlers and suppliers to strengthen public health systems capacity in supply chain. This partnership between the Coca-Cola Company and Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund, and USAID applies Coca-Cola’s expertise in route-to-market, cold chain, and marketing for improved vaccine distribution and uptake. 
• Responding to mpox outbreaks. The Biden-Harris Administration is currently working to make a vaccine available to African nations where mpox is endemic. For all donations, technical experts from ASPR, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NIH are supporting the recipient nation in the development of vaccination strategies based on local epidemiology. Discussions about vaccine donations are ongoing with multiple countries, including DRC, which is responding to an unprecedented surge in mpox cases.
• Supporting access to medicines in Ukraine. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the United States has focused on meeting Ukraine’s urgent needs, while maintaining support for long-term development goals. For example, in March 2022, USAID rapidly expanded support for Ukraine’s public health supply chain systems, enabling Ukraine to transparently and efficiently receive, distribute and account for more than $400 million in medicines and supplies donated from around the world during the first six months of the war, helping to sustain access to lifesaving medicines.

Expanding Pandemic Response Financing

Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized transforming the global financing architecture to better support pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. One of the causes of disparities in delivery times for vaccines and medical countermeasures in the COVID-19 response was that many health organizations and national health systems lacked the capital they needed to place early orders with vaccine manufacturers. Ensuring funding is available to accelerate MCM access during health emergencies is vital for achieving health security.

• Supporting multilateral development bank (MDB) evolution. MDBs have a key role to play in helping countries address global challenges. The United States is working with other shareholders to evolve the visions, incentive structures, operational approaches, and financial capacity of the MDBs to equip these institutions to respond to transboundary global challenges with sufficient speed and scale. The United States and other shareholders have urged the World Bank to prioritize pandemics along with climate change and fragility, and in response it has expanded its crisis preparedness and response toolkit and announced a Global Challenge Program aimed at enhancing health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response.  The United States is also exploring how the World Bank can strengthen partnerships, enable coordinated and right-timed financing in the event of a pandemic, and help client countries assess critical pandemic preparedness gaps. 
• G7 partnership on surge financing. The DFC is partnering with G7 DFIs to transform institutional capacity individually and collectively to effectively provide surge financing for procurement, production, and delivery of medical countermeasures in low- and middle-income countries. This partnership is working toward the launch of at least two new DFI-led and shared MCM surge financing facilities in 2024 and is working to develop viable options, with the G7 DFIs, including the European Investment Bank and IFC, to enhance pooled procurement instruments and delivery of tests, treatments, supplies and vaccines, by the end of 2024.
• Support for Gavi’s Day Zero Financing Facility. The United States has supported Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in establishing the Day Zero Financing Facility, a suite of tools that will mobilize, for example, up to $2 billion in risk-tolerant surge and contingent capital to enable Gavi to quickly meet the demand for vaccines in a pandemic. The United States also supports the roles of CEPI, the Global Fund, and other regional and multilateral organizations in the development of analogous capacity to surge financing for MCMs.
• Support for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A). The United States was the world’s largest donor to ACT-A and provided global leadership to raise additional billions in critical funding through the U.S.-hosted and co-hosted Global COVID-19 Summits to save lives globally, end the pandemic, and build stronger health security.

Strengthening Regulatory and Legal Systems

Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States is working to promote and strengthen global regulatory and legal systems to better prepare for health emergencies and otherwise ensure the safety, efficacy and accessibility of MCMs. Examples include:

• Strengthening regulatory systems. FDA advances multi-lateral and bilateral regulatory systems strengthening by providing technical support to FDA counterparts in foreign countries and international organizations as part of cooperative regulatory activities. The United States also actively engages in diverse multilateral health and regulatory forums such as the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, International Convention on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals of Human Use, and the International Medical Device Regulators Forum to inform internationally recognized technical guidance documents, standards and scientific principles, common or similar practices and procedures, related to MCMs. FDA also provides technical assistance to WHO’s efforts.
• Support for the Legal Preparedness Action Package. The HHS Office of Global Affairs (OGA) and CDC co-Chair the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Legal Preparedness Action Package to develop and promote guidance and capacity building tools on legal mapping, regulatory strengthening, and liability risk management with a network of experts from around the world to support efforts in strengthening legal preparedness, including to promote equitable access to medical countermeasures.

Stay Connected

We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Factsheet: Joint Update by the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services on Negotiations Toward a Pandemic Accord

What is the Pandemic Accord?

In December 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) Member States decided at a Special Session of the World Health Assembly to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB), representing all regions of the world, to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. More information about the INB process can be found here .

Why is the United States participating in these negotiations?

Pandemic preparedness was a day one priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and the United States remains committed to concluding an ambitious Pandemic Accord and amended International Health Regulations by the May 2024 deadline. For more than two decades, the United States has been the largest contributor to efforts to improve public health and other medical capabilities globally, because infectious disease outbreaks can occur anywhere and these capabilities are critical to lowering the risk that an outbreak can become a pandemic and affect all of us. U.S. national security and prosperity depends on all countries being prepared to prevent biological events when possible and to rapidly detect and respond to emerging infectious disease threats when they occur. Unfortunately, that’s not currently the case.

Detecting infectious disease threats quickly, and sharing that information widely, is critical to limiting global transmission, and to rapidly developing necessary diagnostics, vaccines, treatments, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other countermeasures to mitigate adverse health effects. Once available, facilitating equitable domestic and global access to medical countermeasures is the best way to minimize global morbidity and mortality, as well as reduce the economic and other disruptions that we have experienced in previous pandemics. Collectively, these actions will make the United States, and the world, safer from the risk posed by the spread of harmful pathogens.

The United States is seeking the following key outcomes in the negotiations:

• Enhance the capacity of countries around the world to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemic emergencies and provide clear, credible, consistent information to their citizens.
• Ensure that all countries share data and laboratory samples from emerging outbreaks quickly, safely, and transparently to facilitate response efforts and inform public health decision making regarding effective disease control measures, including the rapid creation of safe and effective vaccines, diagnostic tests, and treatments.
• Support more equitable and timely access to, and delivery of, vaccines, diagnostic tests, treatments, and other mitigation measures to quickly contain outbreaks, reduce illness and death, and minimize impacts on the economic and national security of people around the world.

What actions does the United States support in the Pandemic Accord, in order to ensure the world can respond more effectively in the next pandemic?

The negotiations are ongoing, and WHO Member States, including the United States, have not yet agreed on the language in a final agreement. However, the United States has brought solutions to the table in these negotiations, including:

• Support for an access and benefits sharing system that pairs strong commitments to share information, pathogen samples, and genetic sequence data before and during a pandemic and contractual commitments from manufacturers participating in the system to set aside a dedicated percentage of production for equitable distribution during pandemics.
• Support for a stronger systems of voluntary technology transfer, as well as new voluntary schemes to promote and facilitate sustainable manufacturing, while protecting incentives for innovation, which proved so critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced or coercive transfer of technology and know-how is ineffective and impractical.
• Support for sharing the outputs from publicly funded research, especially during emergencies, and indeed the United States already requires sharing of publications from U.S. government funded research.
• Support for strengthening and expanding research capacities for addressing pathogens with pandemic potential, in accordance with appropriate biosafety and biosecurity measures, and taking steps that will enable both more rapid and higher quality research during responses that provide critical evidence to inform decision making.
• Support the development of a coordination mechanism that would promote harmonization and coordination for financing prevention, preparedness, and response as the means of aligning existing funding mechanisms with the Accord and amended International Health Regulations, while underscoring that the coordination mechanism will operate across a variety of financing sources. The United States also supports utilizing surge financing commitments in the early stages of a pandemic (see more on U.S. actions to support surge financing here ).
• Continued commitment to work with other countries through the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization to address issues related to intellectual property. Intellectual property is a critical cornerstone of innovation and provides a strong incentive for medical countermeasures development, especially in pandemics.

What is the United States doing to expand access to medicines for people living around the world?

Like every nation’s leaders, the Biden-Harris Administration’s most fundamental responsibility is to protect the American people. To do that, we must secure the United States against the next pandemic by working with other countries to help detect threats as soon as they emerge, contain those threats at their source, and respond quickly to mitigate the impact of future biological incidents on the global and U.S. healthcare, educational and economic systems.

In a future pandemic, we will ensure that all Americans have access to the vaccines, tests and treatments they need. Additionally, by working to make vaccines and treatments available as early as possible in the next pandemic for the highest risk populations, wherever they are in the world, we can save lives and reduce the risk of new variants emerging elsewhere that can threaten American lives.

We are taking steps to develop a more efficient and predictable process for financing global vaccines in the next pandemic, which will mean:

• Leveraging pre-negotiated purchasing agreements to enable a more rapid start to donations of vaccines and other countermeasures when needed;
• Negotiating more favorable pricing before and during the next pandemic; and
• Benefitting American companies -- by more clearly communicating demand for their products, companies will have more reliable order volume at the beginning of a pandemic emergency as well as access to new markets.

The United States is leveraging its purchasing power to facilitate rapid production, distribution and administration of vaccines for Americans, as well as those living around the world, in order to limit the spread of future pandemic pathogens, and mitigate their impact, resulting in lower risk to Americans and the world in the next pandemic.

The most effective and sustainable way to increase manufacturing capacity for vaccines and other medical countermeasures is by expanding local manufacturing of routine health products, as well as facilitating and incentivizing demand for and procurement of those locally-manufactured products, in order to maintain a true warm base that can be shifted to producing pandemic-specific products when needed. More information on United States actions to expand access to medical countermeasures globally is available here .

The United States’ positions in these negotiations are built upon decades of commitments and investments in enhancing global health systems. If included in the final negotiations, they would make a meaningful difference across all regions, spurring cooperation, incentivizing participation and moving us well beyond the status quo. We are hopeful that all countries will demonstrate a shared commitment to progress through these negotiations. 

Sign Up for Email Updates

Receive the latest updates from the Secretary, Blogs, and News Releases

Subscribe to RSS

Receive latest updates

Related News Releases

Joint statement by secretary of health and human services xavier becerra and secretary of state antony j. blinken, hhs secretary becerra and u.s. trade representative tai commemorate third anniversary of atlanta spa murders, secretary becerra delivers remarks at howard university, hhs principals visit 11 medical schools to celebrate match day, related blog posts.

Donate Blood and Help Save Lives

The u.s. department of health and human services is taking action to strengthen primary care, improving data to support the home- and community-based workforce, media inquiries.

For general media inquiries, please contact  [email protected] .

Disease X: Critics say Biden admin selling out US sovereignty with WHO treaty

T he Biden administration is negotiating a controversial global pandemic treaty with the World Health Organization (WHO) that the health agency says will help the world prepare for the next pandemic and the potential outbreak of "Disease X," but critics say the agreement will end up stifling free speech and cede American sovereignty to the global body.

The WHO has been sounding the alarm for months that a May deadline for having the text of the treaty agreed upon is fast approaching, an accord it says is necessary to "bolster the world’s collective preparedness and response to future pandemics." The health agency wants to ratify the treaty at the World Health Assembly at its May 2024 Annual General Assembly.

Last week, dozens of former heads of state, including former U.K. Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, as well as former UN General Secretary Ban-ki Moon, penned a joint letter urging "accelerated progress" in current negotiations while WHO Director Tedros Ghebreyesus has been warning for months that an agreement is needed for "when, not if," Disease X strikes.  Disease X is a hypothetical "placeholder"  virus that has not yet been formed, but scientists say it could be 20 times deadlier than COVID-19. 

WHO DIRECTOR CALLS FOR WORLD PANDEMIC TREATY TO PREPARE FOR DISEASE X

But critics are casting doubt on the unelected agency's need for such an agreement that would demand the U.S. share its public health data with the agency and more than 190 countries and follow WHO rules on how to prepare and react to the next pandemic. The treaty, critics say, would allow the WHO to dictate global public health policy. For instance, the word "shall" appears throughout the draft document which would be legally binding under the agreement. 

Opponents also say that a public health emergency is not clearly defined and could be extended to include climate, reproductive health or immigration emergencies. 

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Oh., who chairs the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, says that sovereignty and intellectual property rights of Americans are threatened by the global accord.

"The Biden Administration must ensure that the final draft does not violate American sovereignty or infringe upon the rights of the American people," Wenstrup told Fox News Digital." Without being presented to Congress for approval, any pandemic treaty is wholly insufficient."

Under the constitution, the U.S. can only enter a treaty if the president submits the accord to the Senate, and it is approved by a two-thirds majority. 

Advancing American Freedom (AAF), a non-profit advocacy group founded by  former Vice President Mike Pence , says that the treaty undermines U.S. sovereignty and insists it would leave the U.S. worse off for a future pandemic. 

"The United States should withdraw from the World Health Organization," John Shelton, the policy director at AAF tells Fox News Digital.  

"Instead, the Biden Administration continues to negotiate a fundamentally flawed draft that sells out American interests. No treaty should be considered without a change in WHO leadership and accountability for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including its role in the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO remains a geopolitically compromised institution paid for by American tax dollars," Shelton said. 

The WHO faced strong criticism from around the world over its slow response to investigating China for the COVID outbreak. A WHO team investigating the origins of the  coronavirus pandemic also downplayed the possibility that the virus leaked from a lab near Wuhan, China.  

'DISEASE X': WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM CREATING CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR INFECTIOUS VIRUS OUTBREAK

A State Department spokesperson tells Fox News Digital that the U.S. government will oppose any agreement that would undermine U.S. sovereignty, security and economic competitiveness and the right of Americans to make their own health care decisions. Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto is representing the U.S. in discussions with more than 190 nations.

"The Biden-Harris Administration’s most fundamental responsibility is to protect the American people. To do that, we must protect the U.S. against the next pandemic by working with other countries to help detect threats as soon as they emerge, contain those threats at their source, and respond quickly to save lives," a State Department spokesperson said.

"Detecting infectious disease threats quickly, and sharing that information widely, is critical to limit global transmission and to rapidly develop necessary diagnostics, vaccines and other countermeasures to mitigate adverse health effects."

In their letter last week, the former leaders blasted those raising sovereignty and warned that "no one is safe anywhere until everyone is safe everywhere."

"Among the falsehoods circulating are allegations that the WHO intends to monitor people’s movements through digital passports; that it will take away the national sovereignty of countries; and that it will have the ability to deploy armed troops to enforce mandatory vaccinations and lockdowns," the letter reads.

"All of these claims are wholly false and governments must work to disavow them with clear facts."

Tedros has also panned these concerns in the past as "fake news, lies, and conspiracy theories."

Nevertheless, last year the WHO and the European Commission announced the rollout of a "digital COVID-19 certification" system, which is effectively a digital vaccine passport system.

Meanwhile, freedom of speech concerns have also been raised by ADF International, a faith-based legal advocacy organization. 

The group says that the current draft would obligate the U.S. and other signees to prevent "misinformation and disinformation" under Article 18 of the draft.

"The revised negotiating text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement continues to misrepresent the human right to freedom of expression as a threat to public health," said Giorgio Mazzoli, the director of UN Advocacy with ADF International. 

"Everyone agrees that life is precious and that states have an interest in protecting public health. But some of the most grave and systematic human rights abuses of the last century unfolded during public emergencies, and we must be vigilant to protect hard-won rights – especially in times of crisis," Mazzoli said.

"When it comes to vague and undefined concepts such as ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation,’ the currently proposed cure is far worse than the disease."

The State Department, however, says that any agreement would have to guarantee Americans' right to freedom of speech.

Negotiations on the latest draft are expected to wrap up later this week.

Original article source: Disease X: Critics say Biden admin selling out US sovereignty with WHO treaty