Lessons from the pandemic

The academic opening conference of the UPV/EHU Summer Courses will be on the lessons of the pandemic and will be given by Antoni Trilla, member of the COVID-19 Technical Scientific Committee.

At the end of the conference, the artist Nisa Goiburu will lead a performance.

The most important lesson of this pandemic has been to draw attention to our inability to protect all of us.

The great lesson of this pandemic has been to draw attention to the importance of infectious diseases, to the indifference with which they are usually regarded and to our inability to protect all of us effectively.

An article published in the journal Science, entitled "The Lessons of the Pandemic", provides us with a good summary of the situation.

The pandemic that has affected the entire world is unprecedented. Never before has there been a catastrophe that began so abruptly and was so devastating and universal. One of the most striking things about this pandemic is the mystery surrounding its emergence. No one seemed to know what kind of disease it was, where it really came from and how to stop it. Science, which has brought other infectious diseases under control, seems to still lag behind this disease. It has been assumed that the disease could be controlled in the same way as other infectious diseases, which in themselves have never really been effectively controlled.

There are three main factors that can influence the prevention of the disease. The first is the relative indifference of the general population. People do not assess well and sometimes do not recognise the risks they take. The varied spectrum of symptoms, from the common cold to severe pneumonia, can confuse and hide the danger. For most, the disease is more of a nuisance than a danger. Many people recover without treatment. The second factor is the nature of the individual prevention and control measures. Respiratory secretions are the main route of contagion when they are projected into the air, and do so without suspicion in many cases. Control methods are therefore of limited value. It is not very common in our nature and way of thinking to think about how to protect others.

The third factor is the high contagiousness of the disease. It has a short incubation period and the ability to be transmitted before symptoms begin, and asymptomatic carriers are specially problematic.

No one can speak with authority about the disease. When we have all the evidence, data and facts, some of the ideas that we now hold will be modified. The pandemic is still too close to be able to assess it in all its magnitude and impact. The enormous amount of accumulated data needs to be analysed and studied before a real decision can be made on the effectiveness of the employed control measures. Until this is done, it will be impossible to determine how many people have been affected, how many have died and how many have after-effects, let alone how these data relate to the preventive measures employed. It will be months and perhaps years before all the ongoing studies on the pandemic will be able to reach a conclusion.

The tolosarra artist Nisa Goiburu will conduct the performance "Relearn in motion" together with the dancer Garazi Egiguren and the saxophone quartet of Musikene Sua Sax, who will play the music.