Pandemic and Progress
As another wave of a new coronavirus strain subsides across Europe and Asia, virologists and immunologists are attempting to predict future pandemics that humanity may face. They believe that we may encounter a global epidemic caused by either a new coronavirus or a mutated strain of influenza, more lethal than traditional seasonal outbreaks. While this prospect is certainly unsettling, there is a silver lining — history shows that any global epidemic is not only a threat to our survival but also a powerful catalyst for the advancement of human civilisation.
According to the prominent Israeli historian and writer Yuval Noah Harari, the main outcome of the coronavirus pandemic has been the realisation that humanity is no longer as defenceless against epidemics as it once was and is capable of managing them thanks to advancements in science and digital technology. Harari argues that new pathogens are far less terrifying than the restrictive measures imposed by some states, particularly autocratic ones, on their citizens — measures that use a pandemic as a pretext to tighten control and limit freedoms. The governing bodies of such countries might create a true dystopian nightmare on a scale that would make Orwell envious. Therefore, the primary task of future pandemic fighters will not be finding a vaccine, but rather finding a balance between justified surveillance and digital dictatorship. Human altruism and further scientific development, which in critical moments stands as a defender of humanity against the forces of nature, will be crucial in resisting this.
Vaccination
The familiar childhood vaccination procedure emerged as a medical means of combating diseases thanks to the smallpox virus. One of humanity's most feared pandemics, smallpox, had been present since antiquity and persisted alongside civilisation for centuries. By the 10th century, India and China were already attempting to inoculate healthy individuals with mild forms of smallpox. These efforts did not immediately lead to success; it was only in the 18th century that scientific experiments proved fruitful. When the vaccination method reached Great Britain, it gained mass adoption and subsequently spread across Europe. Smallpox was completely eradicated in the mid-20th century, with the last recorded outbreak in Somalia in 1977. Today, smallpox is considered the only virus in human history to have been entirely eliminated.
Quarantine, Disinfection, and Protective Clothing
“Black Death” was the name given to the plague in the Middle Ages during its most widespread outbreak, which claimed the lives of approximately one-third of Europe’s population. Originating from Eastern China, it arrived in Europe via trading ships and caravans. Between 1348 and 1353, at least 25 million people perished in Europe. However, the plague also significantly propelled the advancement of medical and scientific thought. It was during the bubonic plague that the first infection theories emerged, with scientists speculating about an invisible “seed” that transmitted the disease. This period also saw the introduction of disinfection and the first protective gear: the dense robes and gloves of “plague doctors” shielded them from infection, while beak-shaped masks filled with medicinal herbs served as the first respirators, protecting doctors from miasmas in plague barracks. The concept of “quarantine” also emerged, a measure to prevent new waves of infection. Merchant ships entering port were rigorously inspected, and if signs of illness were detected, the ship and its cargo were completely burned. Merchants arriving from epidemic-stricken areas were isolated with their goods for 40 days. Today, the plague is a fully treatable disease that can be easily prevented in susceptible regions through vaccination.
Modern Sewerage and Water Supply Systems
Cholera, an epidemic spread through water and caused by intestinal infection, has struck humanity seven times — that’s the number of cholera pandemics recorded in human history. Until the 19th century, cholera primarily affected Asian countries, but at the beginning of that century, it reached Europe, becoming one of the deadliest pandemics in history. The last serious outbreak occurred in the mid-20th century, and while rare cholera outbreaks are still recorded today in regions with poor sanitation and access to clean drinking water, modern medicine allows for swift containment of the disease. During the cholera epidemic in London in the 19th century, physician and scientist John Snow hypothesised that contaminated water from a communal pump was the cause. His research initiated the modernisation of sewerage and water supply systems, which later formed the basis of public health and sanitation standards related to urban water supply — standards successfully adopted in other European countries.
Disposable Medical Masks
The "Spanish flu," also known as the Spanish influenza, caused the largest flu pandemic in history, claiming the lives of between 50 and 100 million people within a year and a half. The pandemic was driven by technical progress and the First World War — within months, rapid transportation and mass troop movements across the continent enabled the virus to spread throughout Europe and beyond. Entire towns and villages became deserted, some countries imposed martial law due to the spread of the disease, and even a ban on handshaking was introduced. Disposable gauze medical masks, which provide protection against infection, and alcohol-based antiseptics—familiar to us from the COVID-19 pandemic—first appeared thanks to the Spanish flu outbreak in the early 20th century.
Genetic Engineering and Human Genome Editing
The WHO officially acknowledges that, in addition to the coronavirus, there is at least one other decades-long pandemic: HIV. The human immunodeficiency virus was first isolated and identified in the 1980s, and to this day, no 100% effective cure has been found. However, medical treatments allow people with HIV to maintain their health in a relatively stable state for years. The search for a cure continues. For example, Chinese biologist He Jiankui attempted human genome editing to produce resistance to HIV. His gene-editing results were published in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology journal, where he reported the birth of the first children with edited genomes. This sparked an outcry within the scientific community, and the Chinese government soon became involved — further research results were classified, and He Jiankui disappeared from the public eye. Nevertheless, the idea of combating the “plague of the 20th century” through genome editing remains a significant area of scientific research.
Cloud Technologies and the Development of Digital Infrastructure
The coronavirus pandemic has been the most serious challenge to humanity in recent history. COVID-19, along with subsequent lockdowns and quarantine measures, taught us how to live with restricted movement (a tactic that authoritarian regimes quickly adopted) and gave a powerful boost to the development of digital technologies in business, commerce, education, and other areas of communication. The pandemic caused significant losses to many companies, some of which, unable to withstand the pressures, were forced to close. However, companies that adapted to the new business realities began implementing new technologies. Online education through Zoom, video conferencing, virtual remote offices, and the use of cloud services for storing and sharing databases have become integral to the new digital reality — marking just the beginning of business digitalization. Although cloud technology was in use before, the mass migration of businesses (primarily in IT) to cloud data storage has significantly accelerated the development and scaling of these technologies. Remote work, globally distributed teams, the abandonment of physical servers along with associated office space rental and staff costs, and the complete digitization of document workflows and content or product creation solely in a "cloud" accessible from anywhere in the world — all form the office of the future. The next steps in digitalization involve technical solutions to increase cloud service capacity, data transmission speed, and improvements in mobile and satellite internet coverage.