Apart, together: reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Lindsey A. Drayton
Journal: Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2021)

'I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.' – William Faulkner 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 pandemic continues, diminished in some places, unabated in others. Although the future remains uncertain, this anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the indelible aspects of this uniquely difficult period and our hopes for the future. As part of this reflection, the Trends team wishes to recognize the scientists, researchers, clinicians, and healthcare workers who lost their lives to COVID-19, whether directly or indirectly. These include individuals who succumbed to complications arising from SARS-CoV-2 infections, those who suffered delayed diagnosis and treatment for chronic illnesses and diseases because of overburdened healthcare systems, and those whose deaths reflect the growing mental health toll of the pandemic. These include authors with whom we have collaborated on articles for Trends and members of our own families. 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. The phrase 'follow the science' soon transformed into a trending tagline, with the status of some scientists seemingly elevated to that of celebrities. But 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. With lockdowns in place worldwide, laboratory closures and restrictions imperiled research on a global scale. In some institutions, scientists and clinicians were required or encouraged to stop their research to instead help to fight COVID-19 by processing tests, formulating sanitizers, donating equipment, or working on the frontlinesi–iii. Laboratory heads scrambled to sustain their research and keep their teams safe, with some struggling to obtain basic supplies and keep model organisms alive. 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, and 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 researchersiv–vi [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 (479) Google Scholar]. The pandemic has also taken a significant toll on the mental well-being of members of our communities; individuals have coped with the severe restrictions and isolation with varying levels of success; success that sometimes depends on the day, month, and season. Yet science continues, despite everything, because of the compassion, sacrifice, and endurance of our communities. Those with access to their laboratories worked grueling hours to advance coronavirus research, while those barred from their space embraced creative approaches to continue their own, still vital, research. Meetings and conferences organized by the scientific community turned virtual, providing access to many who would not have otherwise been able to attend. Institutions and grant agencies stepped in to provide tenure extensions and funding resources to ease the crises. Scientific editors managed unprecedented volumes of manuscripts, accelerating scientific publishing to meet the acute demands of the communities while maintaining scientific integrity. The pandemic captured the public's attention and interest and, in response, scientists took it upon themselves to discuss COVID-19 with the public directly. These discussions covered all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as conspiracies on the origin of the virus, 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 fewvii [6.Editorial Scientists, keep an open line of communication with the public.Nat. Med. 2020; 26: 1495Crossref PubMed Scopus (24) Google Scholar,7.Thorp H.H. Scientists' lanes and headwinds.Science. 2021; 372: 217Crossref PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar]. We hope that even as the need for sacrifice and endurance fades, the same level of compassion will remain. 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.sciencemag.org/features/2021/01/pandemic-pivot-how-scientists-answered-call-diagnostic-tests iiwww.gov.uk/government/news/ukaeas-helping-hand-for-the-nhs iiihttps://cen.acs.org/safety/lab-safety/Getting-back-lab-during-COVID-19/98/i19 ivwww.bordertelegraph.com/news/national/18826659.pandemic-threatens-research-early-career-scientists-look-leave/ vhttps://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/health/coronavirus-research-gender-bias-scn/index.html viwww.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/04/02/struggles-for-working-parents-are-likely-to-remain-post-pandemic/?sh=437133ed6856 viiwww.the-scientist.com/careers/science-and-policy-collide-during-the-pandemic-67882