The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global High-Tech Challenge at the Interface of Science, Politics, and Illusions discusses COVID-19 as the first pandemic in the Internet era and our current reality of continuous reports, news, and updates. Since its beginning, we were daily bombarded with news of what was happening around the world. There was no global political leadership. The United States was politically partially paralyzed. Russia and China hoped to gain diplomatic profile worldwide, but their vaccines are of limited efficacy, and trust in their clinical data is rightly low. The European Union did not order enough vaccines in time, but sued a large manufacturer for delivery delays. Now it is setting up yet another bureaucratic institution. At least the pharmaceutical or life science industry paved the way out, but is not enthusiastically praised for it. It would be too easy and superficial to blame mistakes of governments and leaders on stupidity. Idiocy exists, but we have to go deeper to understand how illusions and blind spots in today’s common perception and science, inertia, arrogance, conflicts of interest, competition of individuals, and states and institutions for public recognition have contributed to a multitude of flawed assessments and direct mistakes. Healthcare professionals and anyone interested in an in-depth understanding of humankind’s response to the COVID-19 challenge will not get around the key conclusions of this book.
1. Chapter 1 : Introduction - p. Page ix 2. Chapter 2 : We are no longer hunters and gatherers. Societies, states, values, and healthcare today - p. Page 13 3. Chapter 3 : Development of drugs and vaccines - p. Page 26 4. Chapter 4 : COVID-19—The disease - p. Page 33 5. Chapter 5 : Russian and Chinese vaccines - p. Page 62 6. Chapter 6 : The European Union (EU) response to the COVID-19 pandemic - p. Page 76 7. Chapter 7 : COVID-19 vaccines global access (COVAX) and more - p. Page 83 8. Chapter 8 : International healthcare structures and COVID-19 - p. Page 88 9. Chapter 9 : Low-tech and high-tech challenges. Accidents and disasters. Technical and scientific progress and its perception by science and the public - p. Page 105 10. Chapter 10 : Basic research, applied research, and the real world - p. Page 129 11. Chapter 11 : Conflicts of interest and the self-picture of medicine and scientists - p. Page 138 12. Chapter 12 : Vaccination hesitancy - p. Page 154 13. Chapter 13 : Social inequality, developing countries, and COVID-19 - p. Page 169 14. Chapter 14 : Politics, illusions, websites, and the real world - p. Page 186 15. Chapter 15 : Global warming, Armageddon warnings, and the COVID-19 pandemic - p. Page 195 16. Chapter 16 : China and Russia are giants on feet of clay - p. Page 209 17. Chapter 17 : Conclusions and outlook - p. Page 217 18. Index - p. Page 228
The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global High-Tech Challenge at the Interface of Science, Politics, and Illusions discusses COVID-19 as the first pandemic in the Internet era and our current reality of continuous reports, news, and updates. Since its beginning, we were daily bombarded with news of what was happening around the world. There was no global political leadership. The United States was politically partially paralyzed. Russia and China hoped to gain diplomatic profile worldwide, but their vaccines are of limited efficacy, and trust in their clinical data is rightly low. The European Union did not order enough vaccines in time, but sued a large manufacturer for delivery delays. Now it is setting up yet another bureaucratic institution. At least the pharmaceutical or life science industry paved the way out, but is not enthusiastically praised for it. It would be too easy and superficial to blame mistakes of governments and leaders on stupidity. Idiocy exists, but we have to go deeper to understand how illusions and blind spots in today’s common perception and science, inertia, arrogance, conflicts of interest, competition of individuals, and states and institutions for public recognition have contributed to a multitude of flawed assessments and direct mistakes. Healthcare professionals and anyone interested in an in-depth understanding of humankind’s response to the COVID-19 challenge will not get around the key conclusions of this book.
1. Chapter 1 : Introduction - p. Page ix 2. Chapter 2 : We are no longer hunters and gatherers. Societies, states, values, and healthcare today - p. Page 13 3. Chapter 3 : Development of drugs and vaccines - p. Page 26 4. Chapter 4 : COVID-19—The disease - p. Page 33 5. Chapter 5 : Russian and Chinese vaccines - p. Page 62 6. Chapter 6 : The European Union (EU) response to the COVID-19 pandemic - p. Page 76 7. Chapter 7 : COVID-19 vaccines global access (COVAX) and more - p. Page 83 8. Chapter 8 : International healthcare structures and COVID-19 - p. Page 88 9. Chapter 9 : Low-tech and high-tech challenges. Accidents and disasters. Technical and scientific progress and its perception by science and the public - p. Page 105 10. Chapter 10 : Basic research, applied research, and the real world - p. Page 129 11. Chapter 11 : Conflicts of interest and the self-picture of medicine and scientists - p. Page 138 12. Chapter 12 : Vaccination hesitancy - p. Page 154 13. Chapter 13 : Social inequality, developing countries, and COVID-19 - p. Page 169 14. Chapter 14 : Politics, illusions, websites, and the real world - p. Page 186 15. Chapter 15 : Global warming, Armageddon warnings, and the COVID-19 pandemic - p. Page 195 16. Chapter 16 : China and Russia are giants on feet of clay - p. Page 209 17. Chapter 17 : Conclusions and outlook - p. Page 217 18. Index - p. Page 228
