Apart, together: reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Claudia G. Willmes
Journal: Trends in Molecular Medicine (2021)

December 2021 marks 2 years since the first reports of an outbreak were covered by a handful of international media outlets. Few could have envisioned what would transpire over the coming months. None can accurately predict how things will unfold in the years to come. The COVID-19 pandemic continues, diminished in some places, unabated in others, and periodically re-emerging throughout. Although the future remains uncertain, we have chosen to use this anniversary as an opportunity to remember members of our communities and to reflect on the indelible aspects of this uniquely difficult epoch, as well as our hopes for the future. After learning of the passing of community members, including authors and reviewers with whom we have collaborated on articles, the Trends team was moved to create this reflection, in part, to remember all those whose scientific achievements endure beyond their time with us. The Trends team also recognizes the scientists, clinicians, healthcare workers, and their families who lost their lives to COVID-19, whether directly or indirectly. These include individuals who succumbed to complications arising from SARS-CoV-2 infections, including those whose deaths are linked to the growing mental health toll of the pandemic. Still others suffered delayed diagnosis and treatment for other illnesses and diseases because of overburdened healthcare systems. These are sobering reminders of the sacrifices that have been made by so many and the magnitude of the loss endured by our community and countless others. As the COVID-19 outbreak rapidly evolved into a global pandemic, phrases based on scientific principles such as 'flatten the curve', 'herd immunity', '6 feet apart', and 'hotspots' assumed unprecedented importance in everyday life. It brought massive attention and widespread recognition in the lay community to the key role that physician–scientists play in advancing the science of medicine and public health. Some medics and frontline workers were even featured on covers of fashion magazinesi, an unusual recognition of their vital contributions to the community at large, and rightfully so. Yet, despite the esteem and accomplishments, scientists and clinicians are human and vulnerable to the deadly virus they have led the fight against. Of all the phrases that have become a part of our collective vocabulary during the pandemic, one became a global rallying cry as we faced a common threat that forced us to distance ourselves from each other: 'All in this together'. The scientific community has embraced this call for collective action, sustaining an unparalleled pace of progress and discovery over the past 2 years, even in the face of significant setbacks. Thank you to all involved in researching fundamental biology of coronaviruses and disease pathology, developing and testing vaccines, designing clinical trials, repurposing and re-evaluating therapeutics, battling dis-information, and finally facilitating the vaccine roll-out barely more than a year after the virus was identified. However, with lockdowns in place worldwide, laboratory closures and restrictions imperiled research on a global scale. In many places, non-COVID-19-related clinical research has been temporarily halted or limited and has been slow to resume. In some institutions, scientists were required or encouraged to stop their research and instead help fight the pandemic by processing tests, formulating sanitizers, or donating equipmentii–iv. Shortages of laboratory reagents and supplies have stalled other research projects. Laboratory heads scrambled to sustain their research and keep their teams safe, with some even struggling to obtain basic supplies and keep model organisms alive. Many physician–scientists had to shoulder increased clinical responsibilities during surges of COVID-19 patients. At home, many of us have had to deal with loss of child or elder care and even repeated quarantines due to exposures. In academia, colleges and universities faced existential threats, as they grappled with plummeting student enrolment and the challenges of remote learning. Under these circumstances, some researchers have lost their jobs. Those who remain face an exceptionally fraught path for navigating even standard career milestones such as preparing grants and tenure packages. Increasingly, there is strong evidence that this path is more fraught for women researchers, researchers with children, and early-career researchersv–vii [1.Wadman M. Pandemic scientists fight burnout.Science. 2021; 372: 13-14Crossref PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar, 2.Woolston C. 'Less pipetting and more thinking': scientists carry on through the pandemic.Nature. 2021; 592: 806Crossref Scopus (14) Google Scholar, 3.Collins C. Productivity in a pandemic.Science. 2020; 369: 603Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar, 4.Carr R.M. et al.Academic careers and the COVID-19 pandemic: reversing the tide.Sci. Transl. Med. 2021; 13eabe7189Crossref PubMed Scopus (67) Google Scholar, 5.Myers K.R. et al.Unequal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientists.Nat. Hum. Behav. 2020; 4: 880-883Crossref PubMed Scopus (472) Google Scholar]. Undeniably, the pandemic has also taken a significant toll on the mental well-being of us all. The wounds inflicted by the pandemic on the scientific community run deep and will certainly take time to heal. Science continues, despite everything, because of the compassion, sacrifice, and endurance of our communities. We are exceptionally grateful for the members of the community that still offered us their valuable time to write and review for TMM. Many of you worked grueling hours to advance coronavirus research and, if access to your laboratory space was limited, embraced creative approaches to continue research. Virtual platforms ensured that past connections were maintained, while still providing a path forward for forging new links. Conferences and meetings organized by the scientific community turned virtual, providing access to many who would not have otherwise been able to attend. For us Trends editors it is vital to stay connected with the community and we highly appreciate and value the invitations that were extended to us to keep in touch and make new connections. Across all disciplines, scientific editors managed unprecedented volumes of manuscripts, accelerating scientific publishing to meet the demands of the communities, while maintaining scientific integrity. This was especially challenging in the early days of the pandemic, where it was paramount to critically review and publish all valid SARS-CoV-2-related research as quickly as possible to enable public health authorities to make the best decisions and allow researchers to set priorities. Editors and publishers were trying new workflows to prioritize COVID-19-related research articles while still being dedicated to non-COVID-19 articles that were no less important. In a sea of very early or unverified information there was a big demand for contextualized updates of recent research and while some information of our earliest review on the pandemic [6.Sun J. et al.COVID-19: epidemiology, evolution, and cross-disciplinary perspectives.Trends Mol. Med. 2020; 26: 483-495Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (405) Google Scholar] might be already 'out of date', it was highly informative for the newly forming scientific community studying SARS-CoV-2, but also in larger discussions. Quickly, a large scientific community grew, dedicated to studying and publishing on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and at times it felt better to not publish another review in order to keep the literature succinct. While TMM had to reject many article proposals on COVID-19, I am sincerely grateful for the community's ongoing effort to cover progress on COVID-19 research in the journal. To even better serve our readers, Cell Press quickly developed new tools to make relevant COVID-19 research and other materials freely available to the publicviii,ix. Beyond traditional scientific publishing, scientists have used social media to discuss COVID-19 with the public directly. These discussions cover all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as conspiracies on the origin of the virus, the effects and myths of vaccination, basic immunological concepts with easy-to-follow animations, and the science behind the effectiveness of wearing a mask, to name but a fewx [7.Editorial Scientists, keep an open line of communication with the public.Nat. Med. 2020; 26: 1495Crossref PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar,8.Thorp H.H. Scientists' lanes and headwinds.Science. 2021; 372: 217Crossref PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar]. It gave us pride and confidence to see figures from Trends manuscripts in such awareness campaigns. It is our hope that our communities will continue to contribute to these successful public outreach efforts, even after we emerge from this pandemic, and that the communication and support of each other experienced during these trying times remains. Together, these efforts have led, and continue to lead, to astounding achievements. From sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome and sharing it with the world, to unearthing host factors involved in viral entry, characterizing the methods of transmission and spread of the virus, and continued genomic surveillance of new viral variants, the scientific community is working tirelessly and collaboratively to develop and deploy tools to combat the pandemic. Nations with the means to do so are investing an incredible amount of funding into COVID-19 research, helping streamline clinical trials and expedite approvals for life-saving therapies and vaccines. The collective effort, unity, and collaboration on a global scale renders it possible to move therapies from bench to bedside and is the ultimate reminder that we are 'all in this together'. As the pandemic continues to run its uncertain course, we will prevail by remembering what we have all experienced, witnessed, and endured over these past 2 years, whether together or apart. iwww.vogue.co.uk/news/article/keyworkers-july-2020-issue-british-vogue iiwww.sciencemag.org/features/2021/01/pandemic-pivot-how-scientists-answered-call-diagnostic-tests iiiwww.gov.uk/government/news/ukaeas-helping-hand-for-the-nhs ivhttps://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/Getting-back-lab-during-COVID-19/98/i19 vwww.bordertelegraph.com/news/national/18826659.pandemic-threatens-research-early-career-scientists-look-leave/ vihttps://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/health/coronavirus-research-gender-bias-scn/index.html viiwww.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/04/02/struggles-for-working-parents-are-likely-to-remain-post-pandemic/?sh=437133ed6856 viiiwww.cell.com/COVID-19 ixwww.cell.com/trends/collections/apart-together-pandemic xwww.the-scientist.com/careers/science-and-policy-collide-during-the-pandemic-67882