Three ways COVID has made healthcare better
We’re all acutely aware of the negative aspects of COVID, but what often gets overlooked are the positive outcomes of this pandemic, the ‘silver linings’.
On an individual level, many of us have benefitted from having more time to ourselves and with our families. On a larger scale, the way medical systems have adapted to the pandemic has resulted in many positive outcomes that’ll endure well beyond COVID. Of course, that doesn’t take away the tragedy and economic struggles caused by the pandemic, but we can still acknowledge the positive spinoffs. These include:
1. Better global collaboration and more research
COVID was first identified in December 2019, and by December of the following year, the first vaccine was authorised – an incredibly fast result, since a vaccine can generally take anywhere from four to 15 years to be developed.
There’s also been collaboration between private and public sectors at levels that were unheard of before COVID came along – think: pharmaceutical companies working with public health organisations and governments.
2. Better data sharing
Another major factor that helped facilitate the rapid development of COVID vaccines was better data sharing between researchers. Everyone joined forces to share what they knew about coronaviruses, rather than protecting their data. Very early in the pandemic, Australian scientists were working with researchers in the UK and US – an open flow of communication and data sharing that had previously been unheard of in the scientific community.
And with the public hungry for COVID information, a rapid stream of credible evidence-based information was released by governments and health bodies, covering everything from case numbers to new variants, vaccines to new treatments. Who would have guessed that words like mRNA, herd immunity, disease modelling, epidemiology and ICU admissions would become everyday language?
That flow of information isn’t just limited to pandemic data, either. Previously, many research publications couldn’t be accessed by the general public, but during the pandemic many organisations, including the Australian Academy of Science, made their publications available to everyone, free of charge.
3. Better healthcare equity
Any illusions we had about healthcare equity have been well and truly exposed by the pandemic. It’s become clear that many racial and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately affected by COVID, getting sick and dying in greater numbers.
There’s also been significant inequity in the way vaccines have been distributed around the world. For example, the supply of Pfizer booster shots to Israel was prioritised above an existing order from South Africa for 20 million doses. According to World Health Organization and World Bank figures, in December 2021 more than 43% of the Israeli population had received a (third) booster shot, while more than 98% of people in low-income African countries were yet to receive a single dose.
While we already knew this inequity existed, COVID has made it more transparent – which is particularly concerning, given that having one part of the world not well vaccinated has an impact on other parts. This is being played out currently with the Omricron variant, which was first reported in South Africa, where, as of late 2021, only 24% of the population was vaccinated.
The take-away
While no one wanted a pandemic to happen, many of us are benefitting from some of the healthcare innovations and changes it has given rise to, both in the short-term and beyond. Our healthcare system will never be the same, and in some ways that’s a good thing.
