As 2020 draws to a close, there’s not doubt that it will go down in history as a year to remember, for mostly the wrong reasons. From bushfires to riots to controversial elections it’s all happened in 2020. All this while the world deals with the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Coroavirus pandemic has caused widespread changes around the world. Some may be temporary others may be lasting. Like most major events, some will end up better off from it, and others worse off.

Marketwatch recently reported that because of Covid, it expected that the death toll in the US will be close to 3.2 million. The highest it has ever been. We hope that 2021 sees a reversal of this trend.

Social Distancing

Before 2020, if you tried to maintain ‘social distancing’, people might think you’re a germaphobe. Now it’s just something that responsible people do to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

What started as ‘keeping a safe distance’, evolved into stay at home lockdowns. This has forced us to change the way we live. Some of these changes may last beyond the pandemic.

Working From Home
Corporations are very motivated when it comes to keeping profits flowing. So when many economies went into lockdown, they were very quick to implement work from home capabilities for most staff.

A side effect of this has been a huge surge in the use of video conferencing software such as Zoom. Companies have learned that they don’t need to travel to the same room to have a meeting, it can be done online! The Economist reported that use has increased to rates not expected for another 5 - 10 years.

Shopping From Home
As with working, people have had to find ways to shop from home. Online shopping for everything from groceries to high end goods, has also accelerated. This has come at the expense of traditional retail shops. Here in Australia, we’ve seen several close their doors in 2020.

Research by The Economist suggests that even after the pandemic ends some of these online habits will continue. Some people will continue to shop online as now that they have discovered it, they prefer it. And many companies may reduce corporate travel, now that they have learned how effective online meetings can be.

Learning From Home
Social distancing meant that schools and universities were unable to have regular classes. Instead the students stayed home, and teachers provided classes online. Most students will happily return to traditional classes after the pandemic.

Even if learning goes back to the classrooms, that doesn’t mean it has to go offline. It’s quite likely that several classes will continue to be available via streaming. The ability to log into a class means students can be anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Mass Gatherings
If there’s one thing we didn’t see a lot of in 2020, it’s crowds. We’ve had to adjust to having less people around. Due to restrictions, people had to be more selective over who they could invite to their life events. Everything from weddings to funerals had limitations.

Live entertainment such as concerts and theatre have been heavily reduced because of Covid. Some musicians put on shows via livestreaming. After the pandemic, it’s possible that artists will offer online streaming of their events for fans who could not travel to the live show. Not unlike how some sports offer a ‘Pay Per View’ option.

Virtual Fans
The pandemic has also taken a toll on sports. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed and will hopefully take place in 2021. Wimbledon was just one of the annual events which we didn’t see in 2020. For the sports which did go ahead, we initially had to deal with empty stadiums. It was only later in the pandemic that arenas started filling the stands with ‘virtual fans’.

If you are a fan of the NBA for example, you would have noticed that they replaced the seats in the arena with screens. Each screen then became the face of a fan who could stream their live reactions as they watched the game from home.

After the pandemic, this may have novelty value, but it’s quite unlikely that the streamed in fans will feature much after the live crowds return.

Medicine

Nobody has worked harder in 2020 than our front line medical workers. They have not only had to deal with unprecedented need for beds and incubators, but have also had to put themselves at risk in order to help others. We hope that after the pandemic everyone will appreciate these people as the heroes they truly are.

Vaccines
It looks like 2021 will be the year of the Covid vaccine. We have already seen the value of BioNTech more than double since the beginning of October. Together with Pfizer they helped develop the Covid Vaccine which has recently been approved for use in England, USA and Hong Kong. Several other European countries are also preparing to use the Vaccine.

The soaring stock value has seen the founding couple, Dr Sahin and Dr. Tureci, go from being Billionaires, to become one of the richest couples in Germany. For them the Covid pandemic has permanently increased their wealth.

Clearly BioNTech and Pfizer will benefit from an unprecedented demand for a vaccine. Even at full production, they can’t make enough to keep up with demand. The only way to effectively vaccinate the population will be if countries use more than one vaccine. It’s quite likely that several companies will end up with multi billion dollar sales for their Covid Vaccines.

Med-Tech
The impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on medicine will not end at the distribution of Covid vaccines. Even before any vaccines were approved, the medical industry was forced to make some changes.

When it comes to the online world, the medical industry has been somewhat resistant. Prior to the pandemic, it was found that nearly 3/4 of US Doctors still sent records by fax or mail. In Spain most medical records were kept on paper in filing cabinets.

Since Covid-19 broke out, social distancing has meant both Doctors and patients have become more comfortable with remote streamed consultations. It is forecast that this change will last and digital healthcare will more than quadruple in the next 5 years.

A French company, Doctolib, who provides video medical consultations, has seen demand for their services increase by 100 times in 2020 compared to what it was in 2019. Companies providing similar services in China and Singapore have also seen a surge in demand due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Economist reports that research and development toward medical technologies is also surging. The future may see medical-grade sensors and data analysis. In Europe, they are already promoting an ‘electronic standard’ for medical records..

We’re not the only ones who believe that medicine has a digital future. November 2020 saw the launch of Amazon Pharmacy. The world’s largest e-tailer is set to be part of the med-tech digital revolution

Years from now, the Coronavirus will be remembered as a historical tragedy but it will also be looked back on as a catalyst for positive change. The world will move forward in spite of and because of Covid-19