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It's been a long and rough year but ultimately the pandemic may deliver some positives. Here are five glass-half-full (of strong Negroni) predictions for 2021 and the decade beyond... #COVID19 ....
1/ Barring something unforeseen, vaccine hesitancy will start to fade. Never before has the world followed the development process so avidly. Hopefully, a new confidence in vaccines will stop disasters like this one we reported on just a year ago in Samoa https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/measles-in-samoa/
2/ We will look afresh at infectious diseases, and ask ourselves questions like, what are all those winter flu deaths about?? Perhaps we'll see a second “great sanitary awakening”. We may even twig that NCDs like obesity can be controlled too https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/boris-johnson-could-solve-britains-obesity-crisis-not-without/
3/ We will start to look East with less prejudice, and bridges will be built as a result. As this piece eloquently argues, we have been stuck in a bubble in the west... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-was-herd-thinking-that-left-the-west-defenceless-against-covid-zwwvggjh6
4/ We'll invest more in science + health, assuming the Roaring 20s don't get the better of us (again). A paradox of disasters is they can strengthen common bonds and transform human behaviour, notes @peterfrankopan. Here's a worthy project to start with: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/vaccines-could-ready-within-100-days-next-pandemic-starting/
5/ We will place greater store in competence in leadership. Trump and clones have pointed up the pitfalls of voting with our ids. In contrast, Merkle, Ardern, Tsai Ing-wen and Conte have shown learning, diligence and pragmatism get results.
