COVID-19: a test for society at a worldwide level

ARRUVITO L

ARCHIVOS ARGENTINOS DE PEDIATRIA

SOC ARGENTINA PEDIATRIA

Año: 2022 vol. 120

0325-0075

As many epidemiologists, public health experts, and influential voices had alreadywarned, it was only a matter of time before a highly infectious virus would have an explosiveglobal dissemination, as occurred at the beginning of 2020.Two years later, with 6 million deaths and 500 million people infected worldwide (more than 9 000 000 cases in Argentina), we should not forget that we have survived this, partly, due to the global effort of science.When the 1918 influenza pandemic struck, the most severe in the recent past, there wereneither the technology to develop a vaccine nor the antibiotics to treat the bacterial infectionsassociated with the virus, and humanity was decimated. The 1918 influenza pandemic alsoinfected approximately 500 million people (roughly one-third of the world’s population atthe time). However, in contrast with the 6 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19 in 2022, atthat time the number of deaths was estimated to be between 50 and 60 million worldwide; acatastrophically higher mortality rate, surely related to the lack of adequate resources to dealwith it, which include diagnostic and treatment methods, and an effective vaccine.Thus, 100 years later, we are the only generation in the history of mankind that hasbeen able to successfully fight a pandemic of this magnitude, with the global scientific effort,through the development of sensitive and specific diagnostic tests developed against a totally newvirus, treatment strategies and an effective and safe vaccine, which made it possible to restrainits transmission in a very short time. The magnitude of isolating the genetic codeof the virus, characterizing immune responses, developing diagnostic methods, and producingvaccines for use on a global scale in such a short period of time has been a feat like no other inhuman history. This was strengthened by the response of health care systems to assist the sick,the logistics to distribute and use diagnostic tests and vaccines, and the implementation of thenecessary public policies to achieve these goals. To face the pandemic, the world hadto develop diagnostic methods that would allow the detection of the virus nucleic acidor the presence of specific antibodies, widely available, inexpensive, and on a scale neverseen before. Diagnostic tests, in addition to identifying each case, would help governmentstailor non-pharmacological interventions for specific locations and populations, in order todecide when to relax or tighten them. Massive diagnostic testing also providedvaluable data to help answer pressing unknowns: What is the infection rate in certain populations,cities or countries? What fraction of the population is immune? How long does immunitylast? How does it depend on age, on the severity of infection, and on the presence of previousconditions? During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have turned to their scientific community foradvice and practical solutions. Many governments have established ad hoc scientific committees to manage the crisis. This pandemic has radically changed our way of life, and the crisis may yetredefine scientific processes in unforeseen ways. It is likely that it will have an impact on the nextgeneration of physicians and researchers and on the mechanisms by which medicine and sciencein general are financed. Capacities necessary for research are not generated by themselves. Theyare long-term processes that require investment and complex productive structures that demandscience and technology. It is mandatory not to underestimate what we have achieved as a society: the giant breakthrough in diagnostic methods, vaccines, and the science behind them.