Could Covid-19 Change The Way We Get Sick?
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Humans have battled viruses since our species first evolved, yet the appearance in December 2019 of Sars-CoV-2, which caused a new “novel” Covid-19 coronavirus disease, has brought the world to its knees.
Five months since the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, the number of cases globally has passed 20 million with almost 800,000 known deaths. Here in the UK, more than 40,000 people have so far died of the disease.
The coronavirus has also accelerated scientific development at an unprecedented scale. Across the world, scientists are working around the clock to fight the virus in a collaboration unlike any in history.
But what will be the legacy of Covid-19 on our health for years to come? Could 2020 signal the age of global pandemics, or could we instead become more resilient, more aware and stronger as a species?
We spoke to experts about the potential side effects of this ongoing pandemic.
How have things changed since January?
As countries scrambled to impose lockdown measures in an effort to curb the virus’ growth, scientists noticed a significant shortening of the normal flu season on a global level.
“If you look at the data published earlier in the year of over 70 countries, it’s quite clear that the combination of lockdown and people isolating at home and not going into clinics have resulted in far fewer cases of seasonal flu,” says Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University.
With schools across the UK closed to all pupils besides the children of key workers, infections that are generally spread between younger people, such as chickenpox, have also been reduced.
Lockdown has also led to the other infectious diseases such as German measles being “somewhat reduced”. “There are even reports in the States about the decline in sexually transmitted infections,” added Young.
