Context

• Last month marked five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began to alter lives across the globe.
• As we reflect on this half-decade milestone, we find ourselves amidst an ecosystem of conferences, policy discussions, academic reflections, and thought leadership attempting to decode the pandemic’s imprint on humanity.
• Yet, a deeper question emerges, have we truly absorbed the lessons COVID-19 laid bare, and are we applying them to build a more inclusive, resilient, and innovative world?
• Or are we, like Saramago’s protagonists, still groping our way through a metaphorical blindness?

Looking Back: Critical Lessons from the Pandemic

• Fragile Foundations: Trust and Public Health
  • Perhaps the most critical and sobering lesson from the pandemic is the fragility of public trust.
  • The success of any public health intervention, whether pharmaceutical like vaccines or non-pharmaceutical like lockdowns and masking, depends heavily on the trust people place in health institutions and governments.
  • The pandemic exposed severe cracks in this trust globally.
  • In India, for example, early underreporting of COVID-19 infections and excess mortality suggested systemic weaknesses and eroded public confidence.
  • Other countries, particularly those with vulnerable economies, experienced communication failures that fuelled misinformation and hesitancy.
  • The pandemic underscored a stark truth: without trust, even the most well-funded and scientifically grounded interventions can falter.
  • Effective pandemic response is fundamentally anchored in clear communication, transparency, and credibility.
• Technology’s Dual Role: Catalyst and Divider
  • Technology emerged as both saviour and stumbling block.
  • On one hand, it became indispensable. Artificial Intelligence (AI) played a crucial role in accelerating pharmaceutical research and drug discovery, with a sharp post-pandemic spike in AI-linked patents testifying to its growing influence.
  • Innovations like DeepMind’s AlphaFold brought AI to the forefront of biomedical science, even earning its creators global accolades.
  • Telemedicine, too, saw a renaissance, offering much-needed continuity of care when face-to-face interaction was limited.
  • However, these advances laid bare the gaping digital divide.
  • Access to digital tools remained uneven, especially in the Global South, exacerbating inequalities for the underserved and vulnerable.
  • Thus, while technology offered powerful solutions, it also deepened existing social and economic fractures.
• Amplified Inequities: The Cost of Vulnerability
  • The pandemic did not create vulnerability, it magnified it.
  • Women, in particular, bore a disproportionate burden, facing setbacks in childcare, employment, and mental health.
  • Access to health care became increasingly difficult for marginalised communities, particularly in low-resource settings.
  • The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was severely disrupted, and progress toward global equity suffered a significant blow.
  • The mental health crisis that unfolded in parallel, often termed the ‘silent pandemic,’ exposed structural gaps in global health systems.
  • Workplaces, too, struggled with the new normal, wrestling with ongoing debates about remote and hybrid work models while productivity and employee well-being remained fragile.

The Way Forward

• Addressing Systemic Weaknesses and Structural Gaps
  • COVID-19 peeled back the veneer on health systems worldwide, revealing vulnerabilities that had long been ignored.
  • In the Global South, particularly India, weak infrastructure, underfunded institutions, and inadequate public goods provision became glaringly evident.
  • Calls for universal health coverage gained urgency, as did the need to invest in national oxygen capabilities to prepare for future respiratory pandemics.
  • Hybrid care models, combining digital innovation with existing physical infrastructure, emerged as a cost-effective pathway forward.
  • Likewise, public-private partnerships in healthcare and research flourished during the crisis.
  • However, many of these collaborative models have since receded, raising concerns about institutional memory and long-term preparedness.
  • The absence of a centralised public health authority in countries with fragmented health systems continues to hinder coordination and crisis response.
• Equitable International Framework
  • The pandemic also reignited old debates about equity and ethics in global health.
  • The issue of intellectual property (IP) waivers for vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics exposed deep tensions between commercial interests and public good.
  • Africa, in particular, was left behind in the vaccine rollout due to vaccine nationalism, underscoring the need for greater South-South cooperation and resilience.
  • The balance between protecting innovation and ensuring universal access remains precarious.
  • The experience of COVID-19 should serve as a clarion call to reform global health governance and foster more equitable international frameworks.

Conclusion

• Five years on, humanity has made measurable progress in adapting to the disruptions of COVID-19.
• Health systems are more alert, innovation is surging, and economic recovery is underway. But much remains unfinished.
• The question is not just whether we have survived the pandemic, but whether we have learned from it.
• Will we work toward a unified vision of One World, One Health, or will we regress into fragmented, protectionist responses driven by narrow national interests?