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The COVID-19 Pandemic

Its destructive run and our resolve to fight it

By Kevin TennertPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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The COVID-19 pandemic is the most destructive and lethal biological disaster the world has ever seen since the Spanish Flu. It has caused a global economic travesty that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Many manufacturing companies, businesses and industrial sectors were forced to shut down. Universities and schools had to close. Events and conventions have been cancelled. Entire countries had to close their borders. New sweeping government-sanctioned regulations coerced people into staying home and limiting their presence in public. There are no public gatherings, parties, and get-togethers allowed and people have to wear masks and maintain a distance of two meters or six feet to mitigate the spread of the virus. To this date, it has claimed more than 3.4 million lives and is responsible for over 166 million confirmed cases worldwide.

In the last twenty years, there has been a steady trend to note. Multiple viral epidemics such as SARS, E. coli, the Swine flu and the foot and mouth disease gripped certain countries. It took in some cases years for affected regions to gain the upper hand. I find these epidemics to be precursors to the far greater and lethal strain of virus that was ready to wreak havoc on the global population.

It is arguably clear that the virus came from China. From where exactly and how it came about remains unclear. I believe the root of this devastating calamity is the cause of the Chinese government's negligence and indecision to alert the international populace. Government officials, including the Chinese Premier in the Politburo didn't find it necessary to warn the global community of the virus's potency. They did shut down large swaths of their country to limit its destructive power but the government refused to this day to divulge the aftermath and the carnage it left behind. Because of this, we don't know how many people in China got infected and later passed away. We also don't know how badly it affected the Chinese industry and economic engine. We hardly knew anything. Lack of transparency and information prevented the global community to fully understand what can happen when COVID-19 is left to do almost whatever it wants. Now it is all over the place. Some countries are hit far worse than others. To understand why, let us take a look at how the virus progressed.

The human mind is capable of thinking whatever it wants to. We accept and believe whatever we feel like. This is a detriment that is worth addressing. What I find most troubling are the people's reaction to the disease. Because of this, the virus had the luxury to spread out even further, causing more damage than before. Many have claimed it is the making of a gigantic conspiracy created to undermine the current world order and destroy freedoms, constitutional rights, capitalism and democracy as we know it. This took on many forms. For starters, people believed COVID-19 wasn't as bad as many were claiming it to be. They say the common influenza virus is much worse. Little did they know, the COVID-19 strain can mutate and build up immunity against specific antibiotics. It has been found that the virus can cause long-term neurological, cardiovascular, vascular and breathing issues. Secondly many people try to discredit findings and research made by the scientific community, claiming they had no clue and wanted only to scare people and make themselves feel insecure. Thirdly, poor government planning and leadership and inadequate healthcare system have given COVID-19 the ability to infect millions. This is particularly evident in the United States of America, in which the country has one of the worst recorded instances of the virus in the entire world. The problem was the Trump administration. In November, the WHO notified the government of the virus but the president chose not to act on it. Instead, the president called it a hoax by the democrats and the radical left without providing evidence. Because of this, Trump refused to set up a strategic plan to combat the virus and organize something to provide resources and assistance to beleaguered states and communities. While he does this, Trump claims simultaneously that he has everything under control, "the sun is shining brighter" and so on even though the United States have seen up to 70,000 new cases a day at the time. He even goes on to claim that bleach and chemicals should be ingested to kill the virus. He doesn't believe in masks and challenges medical and health experts. Trump promotes pharmaceutical companies that he has invested in and encourages the American people to buy their pills. He even recommends people to take medication that hasn't been proven to work against COVID-19 which can cause serious and life-changing side effects on people and even cause death. Hydroxychloroquine and malaria pills are his drugs of choice which he affirms as being effective without providing any evidence again. This is a grave problem. In truth, Trump and his administration had absolutely nothing under control. Despite the problems, he wanted to reopen everything. How irresponsible and negligent is that? It was outrageous! The most dangerous aspect of this is that his voter base and supporters in politics agree with him.

As mentioned earlier, the virus can mutate and it has. Deadlier variants of it were discovered in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and India. Since many people have chosen not to obey the rules and travel, these variants have travelled to different parts of the world causing even more trouble with the healthcare system, forcing government to tighten their grips on the situation. In the end, more businesses were closed and more people suffered economically.

After Biden was elected to succeed Trump in 2020, one of his most crucial directives was to fight the virus. He formed a task force consisting of doctors and experts specifically catering to the monitoring, handling, and distribution of vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson) to stamp out COVID at a gradual pace. Biden's tough and non-negotiable stance against this destructive biological enemy helped get the situation under control. He ignored the nonsense from the opposition and the bottomless conspiracy theories that went along with it. In effect, Biden's administration saved countless lives and helping bring America back on track to recovery so things can run normally again as they once did. I want that and so do many others!

Education is the only viable tool to fight this problem. Do not give conspiracy theorists and polemics a voice or a platform. Exercise social distancing parameters, be mindful of others and wear a mask in tight public places or in areas that have a usual large crowd. You could also stay home and preoccupy yourself with something like hobbies, housework or anything else that can get your mind off of it. Make sure to take the vaccine that will protect you and others from this terrible menace. I received my first dose of Pfizer and hopefully, I will get my second dose in September if all goes well. Each step we take will build a prosperous future for you and society. Together, anything is possible.

I find people have a difficult time in adhering to restrictions that countries have put in place to fight the pandemic. It is psychological. People don't like to be tied down. They don't like to have their lives put upside down. Especially in the free world, they are comfortable of living a life of almost no restrictions. To suddenly turn around and impose a wave of rules isn't going to be easy at all. There have been protests, anger, and even violence because they see government intervention as an evil body that wants to steal their rights and freedoms. You find these protestors in every country. Instead of following rules, they make it about themselves and attempt to ruin the progress that has been made.

I believe COVID will always be here to stay. I think we could all treat it like the common flu. Once the vast majority of the global population is inoculated, we will build a strong immunity against it and move on like we did from other vicious pandemics in the past. Things will go back to normal. Do your part and it we will taste it even earlier than we thought.

humanity
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About the Creator

Kevin Tennert

I think expressing yourself in fundamental and categorical topics help create a more transparent, concise, and educational environment. For me, I like to explain key issues that dominate current events in society and encourage dialogue.

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