Over the past year and half, we have seen a lot of talk but much less action from global leaders. That is the fundamental truth that must drive the priority, scope and urgency of our actions. To truly protect ourselves-and because it is the right thing to do-we need to fight this pandemic wherever it is raging anywhere. That makes us safer but every month of unchecked growth in new infections anywhere on the globe is an open invitation to the virus to mutate and come back as a variant against which our current vaccines won’t be as effective. Here in some parts of the United States, we have shown that a major turnaround is possible in as little as six months through widespread vaccination and socially responsible behavior. The outbreaks of violence and unrest that we have seen in Colombia, South Africa, and Myanmar each have their specific trigger but a common thread is the tension and frustration added by the pandemic and the inadequacy of measures to mitigate its impact. Their political leaders are even more worried about managing the rising frustration of populations who feel trapped in a prolonged nightmare while their TV screens show scenes of-perhaps premature-celebration and post-pandemic recovery in rich countries. Meanwhile, against the advice of many scientists, the British government has lifted all public health restrictions while its daily COVID-19 mortality has doubled and daily cases passed 50,000 for the first time since January.Īcross developing countries, public health officials are hunkering down for the fourth wave that will hit them in the months ahead: hospitals at capacity, oxygen shortages, overflowing mortuaries, lockdowns that devastate economic and educational activities. Closer to home, infections and fatalities rage unchecked in many countries in Latin America. In Africa, South Africa heads a long list of countries where cases have been skyrocketing. Indonesia is now Asia’s new epicenter for cases and deaths, and new infections have been rising rapidly in South Asia. Melbourne and Sydney in Australia are back in lockdown. Pick a spot on the map and you’ll find we are in collective retreat against the enemy. As a result, we are losing more battles than we are winning, and the scars will haunt our international relations for years to come. Would our response look like what we are doing to fight COVID-19 across the world? The fight against COVID-19 is a global war but policymakers are not behaving accordingly. Imagine if 600,000 Americans and 4 million worldwide had been killed in a terrorist attack, and 50,000 were still being killed every week.
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