What has the pandemic taught us?

The richest and most technologically-advanced countries can still be terribly unprepared for the pandemic, lacking even the most basic equipment such as masks. 

Death rates are highest among the richest countries.  Wealth can not be trusted to protect against the pandemic.  

The most vulnerable populations are the elderly, not surprisingly.  This is partly the result of the improvements in medicine, in the technologies for prolonging life.  However, that does not translate into better protection for the elderly.  Longer life does not equate to a safer, better, dignified life.  

Mass production and concentration of the production of necessary products, such as masks and protective gowns, in a small number of countries (as little as one) is a tremendously risky strategy for dealing with threats that affect the whole world.  

Prior pandemics have been faced at least in 1918 (“Spanish” flu), 1957 (“Asian” flu), 1968 (“Hong Kong” flu, and 2009 (“Swine” flu).  Yet the experiences did not seem to have resulted in better preparedness.  

All the high technologies, computers, artificial intelligences, and other technological advances have made little impact against an existential threat such as the pandemic.  

Countries who seemed to do well in the beginning ended up suffering as much as the others.  They flip flop in their strategies.  Policies seemed driven more by emotions, politics, and economics rather than reason and concerns for suffering.  

When a global coordinated response to the world-wide threat is needed, the world fails miserably.  Countries, particularly the rich ones, demonstrated that they will choose to be selfish rather than magnanimous.  They fight ugly for the resources.  They refuse to share vaccines with the poorer countries, even when they are more than enough.  Countries attack each other for starting the pandemic rather than cooperate in fighting it.  

When the next pandemic hits, and it will, will the world have learned the lessons and be better prepared?  Will they act more honourably?  Will the fantastic paradigm-shifting technology protect them against the pandemic?  

Don’t bet on it.