Could you give an overview of past global health scares, and how do they compare to Covid-19?
Oh yes, finally we get to rant about the coronavirus (Covid-19 for the intellectuals). But before we do so let us first answer the basics about the virus:
Name: Covid-19 formally known as Coronavirus
Age/Year: 3 months
Infected: 68500 (16.02.2020)
Deaths: 1665 (16.02.2020)
Global Reaction: CHINESE EBOLA!!! PANIC!!!
And just to make fun of humanity, since the media started reporting about the coronavirus the google search requests have skyrocketed for “corona beer virus”.
No worries though, you can continue to harm your body with alcohol (no judgment). The confusion, however, is real; and the temptation to step up our pun game, equally real. To avoid this, let us explain where the name originated. Corona is Latin, meaning crown. Under the microscope, the virus looks like a crown, hence, the name. In case any of our beloved readers should actually catch the virus, Christian Drosten, a European leading virologist, recommends you lock yourself in your apartment for 7 days and binge-watch any series on Netflix. (The editors propose the Walking Dead in order to prepare yourself for what’s coming) To put this into perspective, the virus is harmless for a young person in good health.
In order to protect yourself from the virus, doctor google proposes:
- + Clean hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (most of us fail to do this properly)
- + Cover nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with a tissue or flexed elbow (please, this is just common courtesy)
- + Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms (Sarah has been sneezing quite a lot lately, best stay away from her)
- + Thoroughly cook meat and eggs (not beef, please don’t do this to a nice steak)
- + Avoid unprotected contact with live animals
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let us compare the coronavirus to three pandemics throughout history.
Bubonic Plague outbreak aka the Black Death
Year: 1346 to 1353
Infected: 80% of infected people died within 5 dies
Deaths: 75-200 million (or half of Europe at that time)
Global Reaction: The ones who knew of it died.
Originating in Asia, it spread across the world on merchant ships to Europe where it wiped out a huge part of the world population which is estimated at 450 million at the time. Poor sanitary measures only worsened the situation but washing of hands would not have been sufficient to stave off disaster. Unlike Covid-19…wash your hands kids!
Smallpox, the reason why we have vaccines
Year: Forever-1979 (eradicated)
Infected: 3 out of 10 died
Deaths: In the 17th century, 400,000 people died annually in Europe.
Global Reaction: Let’s find a vaccination for this!
Smallpox is a good example of how globalisation has actually helped the world. Then again, globalisation is also the reason for smallpox in the world in the first place. So…yeah…Colonisation first introduced smallpox to the Americas and Africa. But in the 1970s, the World Health Organization (WHO) started its main success story by targeting the global eradication of smallpox through vaccinations, meeting this target in 1979. Take that anti-vaccine-lobby! And all of that without stopping any intercontinental flights or quarantining 40million people. Take that, WHO in 2020!
Zaire Ebola Virus, Black Death 2.0?
Year: Outbreak 2014-2016
Infected: 28,616
Deaths: 11,310
Global Reaction: AHHHHHH, THE KILLER VIRUS FROM AFRICA IS COMING!!! PANIC!!! Oh and racism.
The media in 2014 had a field day (year). Alternating on an hourly basis, the news reported about another Ebola update or the unstoppable rise of ISIS. Everyone who survived Ebola would be beheaded by ISIS, apparently. The fear was real but completely unjustified for those living outside local communities in very specific areas in, for example, Liberia. Now, nobody cares anymore. Ebola is old and boring. The recent outbreak in the DRC did not make it into any news ticker. It’s not like more people died so far than because of Covid-19 or anything…oh, wait…
Honourable mentions: Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease (BSE), Pato Tos… one would almost think that the meat industry causes some negative externalities. And yes, we made up one of these four. Sue us.
So what can we learn from the above? Well, the Bubonic Plague showed us that some epidemics are truly statistical, existential dangers to society. Covid-19 is not one of those.
Smallpox showed us that with diligent cooperation and vaccinations we can eventually overcome a disease. This requires hard, long-term dedication to create “herd immunity” rather than vacuous hype or panic. Then Covid should stand in queue: there are dozens of more dangerous and lethal viruses that should be dealt with first.
Ebola was frightening for a few months until we got bored of it and forgot about it. But during that time period, horrific damage was done: local communities suffered economic collapse because of attempts at quarantining…sound familiar? People died because their other illnesses and vulnerabilities weren’t prioritised…sound familiar? Casual racism spread through the world like the Bubonic Plague…sound familiar?
