Five years ago, in the middle of a pandemic that seemed to come out of nowhere, I was employed by the University of Colorado. Chancellor for Research and Innovation Terri Feiz asked us to put together our thoughts about how we think we would look back at the pandemic era 5 years from that day in May. This is what I wrote.
I think that 5 years from now we will look at this time from several sides of the prism of perspective:
· it was a time of anxiety, monotony, and some level of fear, as we discovered that a new infectious organism can appear without warning, and cause us to be afraid of breathing the air around us;
· it was a time when innovation once again stepped to the forefront, in biotechnology, information technology, communications; I sense that these times will lead to a major change in the world’s outlook on biotechnology and population health, leading to a major leap forward in both of those disciplines;
· it was a time when we were reminded, yet again, how important our friends, family, and colleagues are to our lives, and how much direct personal contact with them means to us;
· it was a time when we learned about good leadership, from elected officials, scientists, and normal people; just this encouragement to view today from a perspective 5 years forward shows thoughtful leadership from our leader Terri;
· The main perspective I believe we will have gained, yet again, is that the world is a place of constant and surprising changes, that this is an integral part of living, and that approached in the right ways it provides an opportunity for growth – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
What really happened:
· The biotechnology industry really stepped up to provide life-saving therapeutics in a short window of time. Vaccine technology, and particularly mRNA vaccines, have made significant leaps forward in their ability to prevent and in some cases treat many diseases
· A small but substantial part of the population drew the conclusion that they would not or could not trust in the biomedical establishment, and believed that the nations scientists were not telling them the truth about drugs and their effects, particularly with vaccines
· Some mishandling of the pandemic response by the country’s leadership, and overuse of the term “follow the science”, led to an amplification of the already high-pitched socio-political dysfunction in the US, and the world
· Strong leadership never materialized out of this crisis, and instead the political leadership in the US continues to propagate a strong visceral and tribal split in the country
· A substantial part of the population, particularly younger people, never recovered from the extended period of fear that resulted from “distancing”, face covering, and especially the loss of social maturity that resulted from school closings and lack of social interactions
· Unforeseen consequences of the pandemic, from closure of factories to an extended period of zero interest rates and high inflation, led to political actions that may upend the long-standing world economic order, this will undoubtedly come with a new wave of unintended consequences
· It remains true that strong personal relationships form the basis of flourishing happiness around the world. Recent studies have shown that a central driving factor for a healthy and happy life is strength of interpersonal connections to family, friends and colleagues.
What this tells us:
Life continues to happen all around us, and you never know what’s going to come next! Through pandemics, weather catastrophes, financial implosions, terror attacks, and political strife, life continues to flourish. It is a part of living, through the good and the bad, the expected and unexpected, that makes us human, and continues to drive innovation, and hope, in the world.
