Corona, vaccine politics and the fear

Much has happened since July 8, this year, when I wrote “My Battle with Corona”, published in this space. We have at least three vaccines on the market; the medical science has learnt a great deal about the virus, its behaviour and its cure; urban public is more sensitised (and scared… to be more precise); and policymakers more adept at dealing with the pandemic.

Our hospitals have developed better SOPs; our health workers are braving through the crisis with newly acquired knowledge and skills; personal protection equipment (PPE), ventilators and related hardware etc are readily and comparatively inexpensively available, thanks to a supply chain that is now stabilised.

So in sum, we are more prepared to deal with the second wave than we were the first time around. There is personal and anecdotal evidence where patients with much more critical conditions were stabilised and cured. However, some areas still warrant attention, hence this article, without claim to any deeper scientific, medical and/or virology knowledge, be taken as such.

On the down side, the whole saga smacks of a profit motive. Governments are towing the line of the rich and powerful countries, where much can be ascribed to the maligned ‘pharmaceutical politics’. The scientific community still remains divided. And the confusion has simultaneously strengthened and eroded the religious belief system.

First, the profit motive. The run for the vaccine and the intense competition for being the first company/country to produce one; the reluctance to share data; and the unwillingness of the stake-holders — despite pleas by the World Health Organization (WHO) — to make public the vaccine formula free of cost to boost its production, for the greater good of humanity, are some pointers that smack of ill intent.

In the ‘pharmaceutical politics’, companies are profit-driven with no regard to availability and affordability of the vaccine by the poorer nations. At the national level, there is greater emphasis on testing that still is mostly 60-70% accurate. Reportedly some unscrupulous labs would invariably declare a person ‘positive’ in some initial tests, before declaring him/her ‘negative’ subsequently to mint money. Preventive and other critical drugs are still expensive for most common people to afford.

Second, the scientific community’s own gaffes. Masks, washing hands, sanitizers, social distancing and remaining indoors are the enduring mantra. Is there any study about the effects of all these measures on humanity and/or search for other alternatives? Probably not. Without throwing caution to the wind; we cannot live forever wearing a mask (as the virus is not going away). Repeatedly washing hands each time for 20 seconds (and that is a long time), will wear down the skin, making it vulnerable to infections… in layman understanding.

Excessive use of sanitizers affects the immunity, as these after all are chemical. This when combined with scaled-down human interaction has its own medical and psychological problems. In one’s very limited understanding, the immune system is designed to deal with bacteria, germs, viruses and other pathogens on a regular and persistent basis. And in military parlance, battle hardened troops have more chances to win battles. Rural folks’ disregard… even now… for this disease is a testimony to the robustness of their immunity. The spike in infections and the consequent lockdowns (smart or dumb) are limited to our urban areas and the streets of Islamabad etc., to be more precise. Rural Pakistan continues to live without much corona-related bother.

Third, the social-distancing and scaled-down human interaction. It is hoped that by trying to protect humanity from a virus — that is yet not fully understood — we are unwittingly not creating other formidable challenges. A human is a social animal; we cannot survive without physical human interaction, touching (and shaking hands), kissing and hugging. The fear of an ‘unseen being’ today affects the whole spectrum of human life. Gadgets cannot substitute human interaction… the laughter with friends, the daily interaction with co-workers and/or the hugging of/by children… for example. The West cannot be followed blindly.

One knows about people unable to spend time productively, being lonely, unable to visit friends and family; and the most affected group seems to be the elderly, most in need of care and social interaction. A restricted daily routine especially in upscale urban areas, has its own lows, as one cannot watch Netflix endlessly. One hopes we are not dealing with a monster by creating more monsters.

Fourth, the faith. Excessive scientific verbiage and dependence on the “zaahiri asbab” (physical evidence/rationale) has eroded the faith. On the one side is characteristic fatalism, that throws even the most commonsense precautions to the wind; while on the other side is an increasingly paranoid humanity, with absolutely no faith in the “ghair zaahiri asbab” (the realms of metaphysical/hidden rationale).

Whereas tying the camel was the Prophet of Islam’s (peace be upon him) urging to the visitor who left his camel untied; aqeedah (belief) and dua (prayer) are other strong moorings of our faith that keep us afloat during crises and uncertainty. And faith also ordains meeting the Creator when the time is up. And there is no exception to this rule. So why die daily?

When I look back to July, I mentioned the futility of social distancing as there is no way to avoid contact during “mandatory social gatherings without being embarrassingly impolite”. As per this pathogen’s theory of infection, one can get infected while the virus is in incubation; by people who are totally asymptomatic; and that some people can be “super spreaders”. But then how does one know?

I wrote: “this disease like all pandemics will run its full course globally. Countries claiming to be Covid-free should just wait. Infection is only a matter of time. It will continue just like the flu virus and will subside with a vaccine and/or herd immunity or both.” That conclusion stands. We need to come to grips with this grim reality.

However, on the brighter side, there is no more stigma attached to the sickness. People are attending funerals of Covid patients in cities (rural Pakistan always did). By spending time at home, people have bonded together… if a little too much. Economy has found alternative solutions. Faith, resilience, stronger immunity and the can-do spirit continues to sail Pakistan through despite odds. The Earth has gone through the needed ‘repairs’. And a rethink has been imposed on humanity.

So… urbane Pakistan, stop fearing, dying daily and start living.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2020.

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