Care: Global Situationer and Policy Analysis

Class Discussion
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Class Discussion
Choose an area of interest in healthcare and lead a discussion of the status of that care globally and how policy could impact care globally.
One of the things that COVID-19 was able to expose was the world's divisive nature even amidst a common enemy. As viral infectivity was rising all around the world, countries were pointing fingers and blaming each other for the onset and spread of the scourge. While this was happening, more people were getting infected and dying in large numbers. In Italy, for example, the virus has so far killed more than 112,000 people, and hundreds of thousands are still infected. As countries like the U.S. and China were trading insults, the world was languishing in the virus. African countries, the least prepared of all, are currently having to bear with weakened economies, more cases, and dejected people who are looking to their ill-equipped healthcare systems to save them. Every part of the world has so far had to deal with the devastating effects of COVID-19. Sectors have been crushed, and it is unclear whether the hospitality and entertainment industries will ever recover. However, even as everything was happening the way it did, one wonders whether things could have been different had the world joined hands in dealing with the scourge.
Currently, more than five vaccines are being administered in the world. Examples of these include Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V. China is said to be using a different vaccine altogether and trying to get as many countries as possible to acquire its vaccine. Even though the response to COVID-19 has been commendable, it appears as if these major powers of the world are trying to outdo each other instead of coming together and developing a vaccine that would help save the world. As Qian et al. (2020) indicate, there needs to be better cooperation, coordination, and solidarity from the countries of the world if future viral infections are to be defeated before they inflict as much damage as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO needs to find ways through policy enactment that will bring about solidarity and a willingness to work together to fight such infections in the future. Currently, countries are scrambling to side with their partners to acquire the vaccines they need for thei...