Name: Ibina, Ronald Jay U. Grade & Section: 12 — Forest. Date: Nov.

21, 2020

PANDEMIC (COVID-19)
In the space of nine months, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world. Beginning
with what seemed like a routine public health challenge in a single location, it quickly became a
global health emergency, then a social and an economic catastrophe. While the full
consequences of this momentous event may not become apparent for many years, it is
inevitable that its effects will extend over generations to come.

Pandemics are large-scale outbreaks of infectious disease that can greatly increase morbidity
and mortality over a wide geographic area and cause significant economic, social, and political
disruption. Evidence suggests that the likelihood of pandemics has increased over the past
century because of increased global travel and integration, urbanization, changes in land use,
and greater exploitation of the natural environment

Covid-19 has impacted millions of Filipinos who have been out of work for weeks, thus creating
a financial burden. Without a job and the certainty of knowing when one will return to work,
paying rent and utilities has been a problem for many. With unemployment on the rise, relying
on unemployment benefits has become a necessity for millions of people.

In the space of six months, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world. Beginning with
what seemed like a routine public health challenge in a single location, it quickly became a
global health emergency, then a social and an economic catastrophe. While the full
consequences of this momentous event may not become apparent for many years, it is
inevitable that its effects will extend over generations to come.

The unfolding crisis has imposed a need on many people to make decisions with deep,
sometimes unprecedented, ethical content. Those at the front line of clinical care have had to
decide about their duties to their patients, their families, and to the broader community,
sometimes with life or death consequences. However, the ethical perplexities have not been
limited to those involved in clinical decision-making. Indeed, there are probably few people in
the world who have been left untouched by questions of personal and social meaning and value
that have been powerfully activated by the advent of SARS-CoV2.

The virus is a non-living pathogen agent with its nucleic acid chain (a kind of helical amino acid
chain that carries genetic codes) in the envelope. The virus can replicate itself, cause damage,
and spread only when it infiltrates into another cell. For the SARS-Cov2 virus to infiltrate into
cells, its envelope structure must be strong. The virus becomes harmless as oil solvents such as
soap or detergent damage the envelope structure. It can remain infectious for only a few days if
it cannot infiltrate into the cell provided that its envelope structure is strong. The exposed virus
is deformed over time and becomes ineffective. When a sufficient number of SARS-CoV2 enters
the human body, the infection begins once the virus clings onto the surface epithelium (a skin-
like but much thinner, a single layer of cell covering the inner cavities of our body) and then
infiltrates the cell.

It is proven that the virus is transmitted by airborne droplet infection and through contact with
infected surfaces. Furthermore, although it has been demonstrated that the live virus has
excreted from the human body through feces within 12 days of the onset of the disease, it has
not been proven to be transmitted that way. The live virus has not been demonstrated in blood
and urine and does not exhibit infectious properties. The disease is not transmitted by blood
and blood products, or by mosquitoes or other bloodsucking parasites. Yet it is transmitted
from person to person, and infectiousness begins even when the person who is sick has not yet
developed symptoms. There is no consensus on the effects of climate and weather conditions
on the contagiousness of the disease. There are scientific studies indicating that increased air
temperature and humidity reduce the speed of propagation of the disease.6 However, some
authors report that this would not be effective.

These trends likely will continue and will intensify. Significant policy attention has focused on
the need to identify and limit emerging outbreaks that might lead to pandemics and to expand
and sustain investment to build preparedness and health capacity.

Pandemics can cause sudden, widespread morbidity and mortality as well as social, political and
economic disruption. The world has endured several notable pandemics, including the Black
Death, Spanish flu, and human immunodeficiency.

Most new pandemics have originated through the “zoonotic” transmission of pathogens from
animals to humans and the next pandemic is likely to be a zoonosis as well. Zoonoses enter into
human populations from both domesticated animals (such as farmed swine or poultry) and
wildlife. Many historically significant zoonoses were introduced through increased human-
animal interaction following domestication, and potentially high-risk zoonoses (including avian
influenzas) continue to emerge from livestock production systems. Some pathogens (including
Ebola) have emerged from wildlife reservoirs and entered into human populations through the
hunting and consumption of wild species (such as bushmeat), the wild animal trade, and other
contact with wildlife.

Questions were asked about the factors contributing to the emergence of COVID-19 and of the
increasing frequency of novel zoonotic infections in general, leading to a reflection on the
inherent links between climate change, ecological crisis, and social injustice. For some, the
global disaster has suggested the need for political renewal, which would generate
consequences not only for the development and application of novel vaccines and medical
treatments but also for the future ethical constitution of global society.