Scientific American Health & Medicine, April/May 2022
Join Our Community of Science Lovers!
The COVID pandemic is by no means over. Despite plunging case numbers in the U.S. as of this writing, many countries in the world are still experiencing peak infection rates. And it is impossible to foresee how the SARSCoV- 2 saga will unfold in the coming months or years. Since 2020 in this country (and others), hard truths about our deficient health-care system, rampant societal inequality and flawed policy-making engine, to name a few, have crystallized—painfully in some cases.
At the same time, vaccine technology, spurred by the successful deployment of mRNA shots, has catapulted progress on treatments for a slew of other infectious diseases from malaria to cancer (as writer Mike May detailed last year). And medicines for COVID itself are under such intense research and development, that several powerful remedies are currently available, with more in the pipeline (see “These Are the Latest COVID Treatments”). Such advancements are only part of a new arsenal of strategies for confronting a future challenged by COVID and any other virus that might arise (see “Preparing for the Next Plague”). It’s too flip to call this progress a silver lining in the midst of so much toil and grief. But it is a significant win.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
