Oscaring Parasite

Wars defined as a temporal event with a start and a finish are a thing of the past. Instead, they have become chapters in prolonged and protracted conflicts that ebb and flow yet trap the hostage populations for decades, consuming the lives of generations and shaping their health needs and the provision of health care. What started as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is now a mere chapter in a conflict that has lasted for over 4 decades. The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s was followed by the First Gulf War, sanctions against Iran and Iraq in the 1990s, the second Gulf War, and a litany of different levels of ongoing violence. Even in Central America, the civil wars of the 1980s and 1990s were followed by gang wars in El Salvador and Guatemala that claim lives and similarly lead to forced migration.

With arrival of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), fear of and racism against individuals who “look Chinese” have reemerged. Fewer customers are visiting businesses in US Chinatowns; Asians and Asian Americans have been berated and attacked in subways or questioned and refused service at hotels³; and some people scamper away after a person who looks Asian coughs or sneezes. This is not the first time an illness has sparked panic and xenophobia against a specific group of people.⁴ Sadly, it likely won’t be the last.

To date, nearly 3000 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, most of which happened in China; no deaths have been reported in the United States.⁵ Three thousand is not even comparable to the 290 000 to 650 000 people who die annually from seasonal influenza worldwide every year⁶ or even to the 16 000 to 41 000 people who have already died from influenza in the United States this flu season.⁷ As we investigate, track, and learn more about this novel coronavirus, relevant and accurate information needs to be disseminated to the public in a timely and effective manner. Health care professionals play essential roles in educating patients and communities, but education is not enough: just ask any physician who has failed to convince a patient to get an influenza vaccination.

In a world of character-limited posts and TikTok videos, creating and disseminating information—whatever its quality—seems to be in the hands of everyone, and falsehoods online spread faster and farther and seem to penetrate more deeply and pervasively than truths.⁸ To address this “infodemic,” governments, industry, professions, and the media must work together to contain and counter mis- and disinformation about the novel coronavirus.⁹ The World Health Organization is currently working with tech and social media titans to remove mis- and disinformation and direct us all to credible resources.¹⁰ Enlisting Fortune 500 companies and other large-scale employers is another key part of this truth-telling strategy, as employers tend to be considered trusted sources of information by many members of the public.¹¹ Global callouts by leading scientists and public health experts have condemned conspiracy theories about origins of the novel coronavirus and are notably pushing back against the worst impulses of the human condition that mis- and disinformation campaigns viralize.¹²

Falsehoods sow division and undermine solidarity in particularly pernicious ways when human cooperation is critical. We cannot afford fear, lies, and hatred to spread faster than the coronavirus because, in our interconnected world, no individual or community is an island. As a coronavirus pandemic appears inevitable, our common resolve to combat a global health threat will no doubt be tested. During these times, we expect and need those in positions of authority to be guided by the best available science, to act with civility and empathy, and to demonstrate leadership that justifies public trust.

Never before had a non-English language film been awarded the Academy Award for best picture. The Oscar-winning film from South Korea poignantly titled Parasite reminds each of us that what makes us laugh, cry, love, and despair is what makes all of us human. As we reckon with the threat and uncertainty posed by the novel coronavirus in the months ahead, let us encourage, celebrate, and vindicate our shared humanity.