The ESSC Challenge

The COVID pandemic is impacting all levels of society on a global scale. To date, the virus has caused or contributed to the death of 2,191,209 people worldwide and affected over 101 million people in over 192 countries. On a daily base, over 17,000 people die because of this virus. The impact of the virus has been underestimated at first by the global community.

 

The financial impact is huge and varies greatly depending on the estimated source. The IFM estimated in October 2020 that the global cost in lost output to range at US$28tn, while the World Economic Forum estimated it between US$8.1tn and US$15.8tn. Independent from the source, the cost is extremely high.

 

By the end of January 2021, the researchers have been able to identify seven strains of the coronavirus. Statistically, it is expected that more strains will be found in the coming months.

 

The global community has mobilized to address the pandemic in a race to create and produce enough vaccines to protect the population. Unfortunately, vaccination campaign progress is slow, and the only other form to avoid infection is prevention.

 

Taiwan represents a great example for proactive preventive activities that have avoided the island to go in a full-scale lockdown. Today, most European countries are in extended lockdown to control the spread of the virus in the community.

 

In studies conducted in the USA and India, the researched discovered that “few super-spreading individuals are responsible for a disproportionate share of new coronavirus infections.” The study in India showed that “just 8% of people with COVID-19 accounted for 60% of the new infections observed among the contacts.”

 

The same study also demystified the idea that young people wouldn’t be affected by the virus. “The study also found that although children younger than 17 were the least likely to die of COVID-19, they transmitted the virus at rates similar to the rest of the population, underscoring the idea that the disease doesn’t spare young people.”

 

Another study conducted in the US highlights that young adults and teenagers might not show symptoms at all and thus become unconscious super-spreaders in the community. Thus the behaviours of young adults might greatly affect the livelihood of the older citizen.

 

While the importance of having an effective vaccine solution within a record time, it is important to realize that preventive actions can achieve good results without paralyzing the economy.