Covid-19 and our future: The changes we will learn to live with
When the first vaccines were announced as a success, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. ‘There will be an end to this’, was the promise. Yet, the reality is, we are destined to live with Covid-19 for a long time yet. It’s not going anywhere, and it certainly won’t vanish overnight. How will we adapt to a deadly virus that won’t go away? By Richard Forsyth
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here have been pandemics throughout human history, yet Covid-19 in today’s world still feels like uncharted territory with so many shifting variables. In just a year and a half so much in our lives has changed. We have learned to live with wearing face masks in all indoor public venues, we have learned to live without going out to visit people and places, and we have learned to test ourselves regularly for the virus. Many of us have also learned to live without jobs, loved ones and the health we once took for granted. Now the vaccination programmes are rolling out, how can we foresee the future of our daily lives evolve? People are still getting infected, despite vaccinations. Some are weary of constrictions to freedoms to a point they no longer care, whilst others have developed a terror of going beyond their house, and for mixing with others in any way. Beyond these different reactions to cope, there are some things that will become routine and impact us all, some familiar and some not. Covid-19 is widely expected to stay with us, rather than be eradicated, so what do the days, weeks, months and years look like moving forward? What will we notice about changing life in the era of Covid-19?
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A passport for rights One change we need to get used to is using so called ‘vaccination passports’. The EU has made the Covid-19 passport documentation a sufficient proof of vaccination for no restrictions to entry to an EU country. The idea is that those who are double vaccinated will be able to travel between countries without a requirement to quarantine. Beyond a ‘green light’ for travelling, there is the controversial question of passports being used for allowing unrestricted access to venues such as museums, bars, gyms, nightclubs, stadiums, shops and even schools and higher education institutions. Whilst seeming a very practical way to show vaccination status, there is the glaring ethical question mark over the passport scheme. This could lead to a society split in two groups, one group that is stripped of basic rights, denied entry to most establishments. Whilst a vaccination is essentially a choice, there will be a margin of people who cannot take vaccines for medical reasons, beliefs, moralities or fear. The moment such as a passport becomes a way to enter any crowded venue, or rather to enjoy rights of movement, is a moment that human rights of a proportion of the population are taken away. It could lead to ostracisation, stigma, persecution and could prove a grim, lonely outlook for those without the correct ‘pass’.
EU Research
