what I think about pandemics, while experiencing one

    So...this is awkward...I don't feel like I have the power to jinx the fate of the planet, but really who knows?

    Just half a year ago I made my little passion presentation, and lo and behold, two months after that, the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. My first reaction was admittedly, "I told you so." My secondary reaction was, "what now?" 

    I am still stuck on the latter reaction. I am following all the guidelines, and new laws in place. I am relentlessly on the emotional roller coaster of optimism, pessimism, frustration, hope, defeat, angst, jitteriness, denial, and a bunch of other things that just cause inner chaos. Mainly though, I am trying to navigate the overbearing ocean of news that is constantly bombarding us. 

    At the beginning of the pandemic, I was right there on the frontlines of the media, clicking on every headline, reading every Tweet, watching every press conference and dissecting the daily reports of all of the reliable organisations. Soon enough, I got tired. Call it compassion fatigue, overwhelmingness, whatever you want, I could not keep up anymore and I started actively avoiding the news. This has gone on for over a month, but now I am slowly finding interest in the situation again, as the fire outside settles ever so slightly.

    Based on my previous stance on pandemics and our global state of preparedness, I am now left with some large open questions:

1. How has this virus impacted the economy?

2. What is the response of the healthcare community?

3. What is the root of the disparity in impact of Covid-19 across the world?

4. How bad is it really?

5. What are we going to change going forward?