Has the pandemic made us sicker?

The consequences have been wide ranging and unexpected. And while some current trends are likely to prove fleeting, others could be with us for decades to come.

The Covid pandemic “modified disease dynamics,” said Dr Andre. Several patterns of disease that we had come used to were “annihilated”.

“It will take at least two or three years to find a new equilibrium. But some things have also changed for good,” he added.

Faltering vaccination coverage

A collapse in vaccination rates for common diseases like measles and whooping cough is one of the most obvious impacts of the pandemic – and one which explains the resurgence of these and other illnesses across the world.

While governments focused on Covid-19 jabs, routine immunisation programs for other diseases all but stopped in many places and were set back in others. 

In many countries, including the UK, schools, GP surgeries and clinics were shut down during lockdowns, making it difficult for people to access basic healthcare and leaving them vulnerable when restrictions were eventually lifted.  bIn England, NHS waiting lists surged from 4.2m just ahead of the pandemic to 7.6m today. Similar trends have been seen in health systems across the globe.

Unicef described the drop in vaccination coverage as the worst in a generation. Roughly 25 million children across the world missed out on jabs for things like polio, measles, and hepatitis, and 14 million still haven’t caught up. 

“Declining childhood immunisation rates in several countries are certainly contributing to the resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr. Katie Anders, a director at the World Mosquito Programme.