Different Speed Syndrome

It’s becoming obvious that the further COVID -19 crisis develops, the more difficult is for authorities, entrepreneurs and peoples to understand what measures need to be taken for political and economic stabilization and recovery. A rare combination of epidemiological, political and economic factors has created a phenomenon that can be called Different Speed Syndrome, which in the near future will greatly hinder the stabilization and recovery, both global and local. This Syndrome is similar to the highway where road signs have suddenly disappeared and there are no more traffic rules and speed limits. And now each driver decides for himself how to drive and at what speed. The countries of the world and their authorities remind now exactly such drivers. They were guided only by their own standards and principles and in addition, are violating international treaties and are accelerating sanctions and restrictions against each other. Conflicting and often senseless actions against the pandemic and its political and economic consequences create global and local chaos.
The main reason for the Syndrome is the fact that the economy have become global over the past 30 years, while politics and healthcare have remained largely local. In the hundred years that have passed since the Spanish flu, the world still has not created common standards and principles to combat pandemics, despite the existence of the UN and the World Health Organization. There are not even common standards and principles for calculating the number of cases that will be mandatory for each country. All decisions on the fight against the pandemic are still made by local authorities. The situation with the global economy is not much better. Despite the existence of international organizations such as WTO, World Bank, OECD common mechanisms for overcoming global economic crises have not been created. As for politics, there is no unity even within organizations such as the European Union and NATO.
The Syndrome is also characterized by rapidly changing circumstances that require authorities and people to be able to make the necessary decisions quickly. I can even say that it is not so much the virus is dangerous now as the wrong actions of authorities and people. A good example is the attempt to create a so-called Tourist Bubble in the Baltic States. In spring, at the beginning of the first wave of the pandemic, the epidemiological situation in all Baltic States ( Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) was about the same and they adopted common standards and principles to control the virus. Thus, tourists from all three countries were able to travel inside this Tourist Bubble without obstacles. However, later on, the authorities of these countries adopted different policies and eventually, at the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic, the Tourist Bubble disappeared as the epidemiological situation in all three countries became very different. As a result, the hospitality and tourism industry there now found itself in a very difficult situation.
Another example is the global political race to create a vaccine against COVID -19 that has led to a large number of vaccines with varying and not entirely proven efficacy, some of which (like the vaccines from Russia and China) are not even internationally certified. Sold simultaneously on the global market all these vaccines create additional chaos and new risks to the fight against the pandemic. In addition, the distribution of vaccines among the countries of the world faces technological, economic and transport problems and the political egoism of the authorities. In such a situation, due to the lack of common rules and standards for pandemic control and vaccine creation and distribution worldwide, the actions of WHO and governments cannot be effective.
So, any stabilization and recovery are impossible until at least authorities and international organizations start acting in a coordinated manner, in the right direction and with approximately similar standards, principles and speed as in the fight against the pandemic as in the recovery of global politics and economy. Leading epidemiologists says that, even if we have an effective vaccine it will take a long time to stabilize situation and there will be a constant threat of a new pandemic because the virus will not disappear and remain with us forever. It is likely that recovery of the the global politics and economy will require even more energy, time and money than fighting a pandemic. The main goal now is to prevent this Syndrome from becoming a chronic problem. Otherwise our future will be even more vague and unpredictable than it is now.