دانلود کتاب بازگشت به حالت عادی جدید در جستجوی ثبات در دوران همه‌گیری

A year into the pandemic, more than 100 million individuals have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 3.2 million worldwide have died. In the United States alone, 30 million have been infected and over 550,000 Americans succumbed to the pandemic. The global rollout of vaccines promises to reduce related infections and mortality rates, but epidemiologists warn that COVID is less likely to disappear compelling the world to coexist with the virus much like the seasonal flu. This prediction is supported by the ease with which the virus spreads, by the new mutations that continuously generate new strains, and by the fact that large parts of the world may remain behind with little or no access to vaccines. Should these processes continue, their combined effects may turn COVID-19 into an endemic. Namely, the virus remains persistent and manageable but requires periodic vaccination. Such development may also preserve the newly adopted practices at work and at home; social distancing may continue along with remote working, remote learning, masking and testing. We may gain back some measure of normality, but it is likely to be a new normal. Overcoming the virus may provide a respite from its immediate effects but not from the long-term devastating impact on human life and world economies. Human and material losses cannot be swept away nor forgotten. Remembering COVID’s harmful consequences helps the community of nations better prepare for the next pandemic that may be more severe. It requires keeping in mind the lessons that COVID has taught us, and be cognizant of the developments and changes it introduced as well as the costs it exerted beyond the sheer loss of human life. The pandemic damaged world economies and caused a severe global recession. It triggered massive layoffs, prompted business closings, disrupted supply chains, and resulted in shortages in products and services.