Yes, it really has been five years. On 7 January 2020, we published an article with the headline 鈥淒octors scramble to identify mysterious illness emerging in China鈥�. By then, at least 59 people had been infected with what we now know to be SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind covid-19. The rest is 鈥� well, has now become 鈥� history.
Of course, you know all of that: you lived through it. So why are we publishing a special report on covid-19 now? For many, the height of the pandemic was an incredibly painful and difficult time (see 鈥淗ow the covid-19 pandemic distorted our experience of time鈥�). We lost loved ones. Many of us developed life-changing illnesses. We were scared and uncertain and desperate for a return to normality. Perhaps it is better to keep those memories sealed up in a distant mental box somewhere and move on?
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Yet there are good reasons to take this opportunity, half a decade on, to look back and open that box. While it is impossible to predict the future, we can say with near certainty that another pandemic will eventually arrive, and we need to be prepared (see 鈥淲ill there be another pandemic after covid-19 and are we prepared?鈥�). We can also, with the benefit of hindsight, examine what we should have done differently and learn from that for next time (see 鈥淔ive years on, have we learned the lessons of covid-19?鈥�).
People with long covid still aren't receiving the support that they need
Putting the next pandemic aside, there are also still questions to address with regards to covid-19. People with long covid still aren鈥檛 receiving the support that they need (see 鈥淓verything we know about long covid 鈥� including how to reduce the risk鈥�), while there is more scientists would like to know about SARS-CoV-2 (see 鈥淭he big unanswered questions about the covid-19 coronavirus鈥�). We should also take time to celebrate the vaccines, the fastest ever developed thanks to an extraordinary technology that may bring more benefits in treating other conditions (see 鈥淐ovid-19 led to a new era of vaccines that could transform medicine鈥�).
Even with all of that in mind, it is understandable if you face this special report with some trepidation. We at 麻豆传媒 have certainly experienced mixed emotions in putting it together, taken back to a time when we were suddenly forced to report on events from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms. Like you, we each hope to never live through another pandemic. But we need to look back to help us prepare for when the next one arrives.
