Asma Jan Muhammad | May 22, 2022

In early 2020, the number of COVID-19 infections reported worldwide grew considerably. The pattern and impact of the pandemic revealed flaws in the global response to the illness in several countries. Following dynamic interactions between population immunity and continuous viral evolution, it is currently believed that this virus will be eradicated as a result of widespread vaccination. However, the most pressing questions are whether COVID-19 will become a well-known but high-impact seasonal diseases, like influenza or the common cold, or whether it will become more contagious than it is currently. This may not occur until population immunity is widespread and there are fewer susceptible hosts in locations where transmission is most effective.

The advent of new virus strains that threaten the pandemic's containment is a hot topic in the media. The rate of evolution of a viral pathogen is influenced by several factors, including virus generation time, infection duration, the number of variants that emerge during an individual's infection, structural and functional restrictions in specific sections of viral proteins, and the extent and strength of natural selection acting on the virus.
For COVID-19, there are three possible future scenarios. The first—and most alarming—scenario is that we will fail to manage the pandemic fast, leaving us with a future marked by prolonged manifestations of the severe disease combined with high levels of infection, which could encourage further virus evolution.

A second and more likely scenario is the emergence of a pandemic seasonal disease such as influenza. As influenza estimates for around 2% of all annual respiratory fatalities in non-pandemic years, this scenario indicates a major health cost.
A third scenario is the emergence of an endemic disease, comparable to earlier human coronavirus epidemics with significantly less disease impact than influenza or SARS-CoV-2. However, there is limited evidence on the global burden of disease produced by common human coronaviruses, and it is impossible to predict whether subsequent adaptations of SARS-CoV-2 to humans would increase or decrease its intrinsic virulence, as previously stated.

The mutated COVID-19 virus is still being battled around the world. This pandemic has shown inadequacies not only in the human immune system, but also in the public health system, economic readiness, health economics, and health policy vigilance in the face of such a crisis.
So, what are the lessons that haven't been learned? Is the world today better prepared to handle any potential pandemic?
Every disaster we plan for involves money, time, energy, and risk. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the status of the global healthcare system. It has highlighted disparities in health outcomes and access to care. Many individuals around the world lack health insurance, which may prevent them from receiving care even if they need it. In the lack of health insurance, the costs might be substantial. Another worrying factor is that hospitals are functioning at low occupancy levels while waiting for surges, and they are losing money as a result of deferring many other types of care. Government support will not be sufficient to compensate many of them for their financial losses. It remains to be seen what this means for future healthcare and innovation.

The epidemic has created other long-term economic consequences. Although many countries have significant national debts, we have been able to secure a life jacket and avoid a slump thus far. The national debt-to-GDP ratio, on the other hand, is not negligible. This is a topic that policymakers must consider and factor into their decisions. According to economists, things will not be the same as they were before the outbreak. The unemployment rate and national debt will, according to forecasts, be larger than in past recessions, such as the one that began in 2008.
We can think, learn, plan, and grow! It isn't simply about one person or one country at the end of the day. We can limit future economic and health damage by carefully planning ahead of time.