Why There's Hope In 2021

ALMOST THERE

We’re finally about to leave this dreadful 2020 behind! This year was stacked with natural and man-made disasters, economic and mental collapse, bleeding healthcare and the untimely and unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands. No wonder we are all waiting for the year to end and find some peace of mind that it will all be over soon – and that 2021 will be better.

And hope, indeed, is what we have. Because throughout 2020, amazing advances have given hope that rose in science, technology, digital health, leadership and in basic human care and kindness. Anti-racist books topping the lists. More people wash hands than ever before. Neighbours caring, dogs adopted and people start searching for the real meaning of their lives. Although the current affairs always took the focus off of these positive consolidations, they were there and will stay with us in the future, giving hope not only for 2021 but for the years and decades way beyond it. Let’s have a look at them.

2020

2020 so far: bushfires, floods, locust, earthquake, coronavirus - and the year's not over yet.

Devastating bushfires. A deadly pandemic. Living in lockdown while wild animals roam free in city centres. Experiencing curfews and cuts on our basic human rights, nature’s revenge on pristine lands, conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxer movements and clashes, police brutality, protests, the rise of fake news and people who believe them, incompetent politics and hesitant scientific decisions and other dystopian disasters – before 2020 we would’ve thought this could only come up in the oversized imagination of a Hollywood scriptwriter. 

But no. This is what we’ve been through, and honestly, I think we all have to lie back for a moment, take a deep breath and unwind for a second. We’ve made it so far and it wasn’t easy. But there is hope. I'll tell you why.

#1 HOPE IN SCIENCE

In the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become the poster figure of such scientific realism

The scientific public has reacted to the news of the virus at an astonishing rate. Have you ever thought that the genome of a virus can be sequenced within 24 hours?! Not a single person would have bet on it before 2020, and still, we have seen the enormous and concentrated effort that was put into vaccine development over the past year. 

Before it was even called a global pandemic early March, Pfizer and BioNTech had already started collaborating on a new vaccine against the novel coronavirus. They have reached the third phase of testing and early November they became the first drugmakers to show success in a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine.

It shows that science can indeed save us. Not politicians, not empty promises and not beliefs, but science. Science delivers and it must be celebrated, researchers should be acknowledged because we will have a safe vaccine within months and they are the ones who made it possible.

#2 HOPE IN GOOD LEADERSHIP

I’ve talked about this before and will push it again: it is crucial for the survival of our world to elect leaders who can help societies make good decisions. Strong and clear-minded leaders like the PMs and presidents of New Zealand, Canada, Iceland, Singapore or Germany could safeguard their people more than others. 

Countries whose leaders trusted their scientists and institutions have emerged from the epidemic stronger than others, with fewer lives wasted.

#3 HOPE IN HUMANITY

Source: psychiatrictimes.com

Humanity clearly showed its strengths throughout the difficulties. Random people helping each other in shopping and support groups lifting those struggling with challenges. People dancing on balconies and really caring for each other like never before; and messages of hope, love and support soaring to medical personnel all over the world. 

This unprecedented wave of giving gives me hope that the future can be somewhat brighter than the past, and let’s not forget we’ll be needing this soon when the next challenge arises. We all know of our global interdependence, a knowledge we should build and also rely on.

#4 HOPE IN HEALTHCARE

We now realised the importance of our healthcare systems. Before the crisis there was already a huge burden on healthcare and it sure wasn’t high on the list of priorities by governments. Now it is.

Due to better diagnostics over the past couple of years, the number of chronic patients has been growing at an astonishing rate, putting a huge burden on doctors in the first place. On top of this came an even worse adversary that was invisible, fearful and deadly. And yet, medical personnel and medical systems were able to react in a matter of moments. They have been working tirelessly since the outbreak, often without sufficient protective gears and enough sleep, keeping the frontlines of healthcare and risking their own lives to save others.

And the background infrastructure is working tirelessly as well. I followed the studies and publications appearing in relation with the virus and the pandemic until the end of summer; but by now there are so many that it is no longer possible to keep up to date. Telemedicine applications, devices and platforms, A.I., therapeutic solutions, drug combinations, network science… Thousands and thousands of studies have come out in so many areas, researchers and institutions have responded so quickly that it is unprecedented in the history of humankind.

Today, decision-makers have realised that no society can live without well-operating healthcare. Maybe we needed a global stressful event that is a warning big enough for us to notice.

Because the real crisis of our lifetime is the impending climate catastrophe. And once again, science will be the tool and the solution that can save us.

Dr. Bertalan Mesko, PhD is The Medical Futurist and Director of The Medical Futurist Institute analyzing how science fiction technologies can become reality in medicine and healthcare. As a geek physician with a PhD in genomics, he is a keynote speaker and an Amazon Top 100 author.

Get access to exclusive content and analyses about the future of digital health on Patreon.com!

Subscribe here for The Medical Futurist newsletter to get exclusive details about digital health!