The world is still struggling to find a comprehensive strategy to tame the Covid-19 pandemic. Every time the severity of the pandemic appeared to be waning, the lethal virus evolved into new variants to upset any efforts to restore normalcy. During the first wave, it was an unknown enemy and the medical fraternity did not know how to tackle the virus. In unprecedented speed the virus ended thousands of lives, brought the world to a halt and forced it towards an economic collapse. After a few months just when it seemed that the threat was on the decline, the second wave arrived. It was more severe than the first wave and caused more deaths. When the situation started looking a bit brighter due to the unrelenting fight put up by health workers, came the third wave. The latest variant of the Covid-19 virus may not be as deadly as the first two variants, but it’s transmissibility is much higher, and thus has once again forced the entire world to rush indoors, stalling all normal activities. Now the time has come to find a suitable way to deal with this recurring crisis so that no more precious lives are lost.
This is easier said than done as it will require the entire world to work in unison to formulate a public health policy to keep everyone safe from future outbreaks. So far, the world has failed to show any cohesiveness in dealing with the present pandemic, allowing the virus to become even more lethal. For example, the rate of vaccination is not encouraging in many developing nations as rich and developed countries have put their interests ahead of others. As a result, America and European countries are far ahead in vaccination efforts than countries in the African continent. It is time for us to realise that if a sizable population of the world is left without a vaccine, the world will never be able to defeat the Covid-19 virus. The latest surge in the number of Covid cases even in some developed nations stands as testimony to this fact, one can be safe only when all others are safe too. So, it is high time the World Health Organisation (WHO) sits with vaccine manufacturing countries and ensures uniform distribution of vaccines worldwide. Secondly, an international Covid-protocol should be established, which all nations should adhere to. For example, when the third wave was first reported in South Africa, few countries closed air connectivity with the African nation resulting in huge financial loss to the country. Similarly, England imposed a ban on Indian travelers on flimsy grounds. When some nations are struggling to survive, such unilateral decisions are detrimental to mankind and should not be encouraged. The United Nations (UN) is the appropriate body to ensure cohesion amongst the nations to end Covid-19 and all countries must join the effort.
