Though I still find it incredible that we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, scientists are not surprised.
On Thursday, Dr. Robert Redfield of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the country is in for “rough times” this winter. 
“I actually believe it’s going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” he said, predicting the death toll could reach 450,000 by March, almost double our current rate of 276,000 fatalities.
How did we get here?
After all, we live in a world where diseases such as polio, smallpox and tuberculosis have all but been eradicated thanks to vaccines. Since the advent of antibiotics after World War II, people don’t routinely die of infections from injuries, diseases, medical procedures or childbirth.
Medical advances in the 20th Century, it seemed, would guarantee us protection from pestilence and plague.
Such assurance was badly misplaced, according to scientists, giving us a false sense of security.
Several things disrupt such models. One is that the world has changed. Our global society today means germs travel the world in short order. The COVID-19 virus that began in Wuhan, China in December 2019 made its way around the world in a matter of months, including Iola, Kansas.
There is no such thing as a remote part of the world, anymore.
Also, the complacency created by the vaccines and treatments of the last century allowed politicians and health experts to let their public health efforts slide.
Measles, for example, is seeing a resurgence for the first time in 60 years, with more than 50,000 cases reported in the last three years.
The production of antibiotics — the champion that takes out infections — also has dropped dramatically.
Drug manufacturers such as Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers, Squibb and Novartis, among others, have all stopped producing antibiotics simply because their profit margin doesn’t satisfy their stockholders.
Health experts say the timing couldn’t be worse. Many COVID-19 patients develop potentially fatal secondary bacterial infections, including pneumonia, that rely on antibiotics to fight them off.
Perhaps the greatest disruptor to healthcare is societal. By far, certain populations are being hit harder by COVID-19 than others. Those who live in close quarters — public housing, nursing homes, prisons — or rely on public transportation, are more vulnerable to contracting the virus. Those working in low-paying jobs such as in food service or hospitality are stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty.
