Use of COVID-19 as an Illegitimate Excuse, or as a Scape-Goat
covid-19, social justice, Pandemics/ethics
Dear Gazeta Médica Editors, The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which induced the respiratory coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has already claimed (November 6, 2020) over 1.2 million lives and infected over 48.5 million people globally.1 Societies, economies and personal lives may be affected for years to come, either directly, as a possible yearly resurgence, even with a vaccine, similar to seasonal influenza, as vestigial left-over health (“long COVID”2), or as long-term psycho-sociological effects.3 [...] REFERENCES 1. John Hopkins University. Coronavirus Resource Center. [accessed November 6, 2020]. Available from: https://coronavirus. jhu.edu/map.html. 2. Mahase E. Covid-19: What do we know about “long covid”? BMJ. 2020;370:m2815. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2815. 3. Kontoangelos K, Economou M, Papageorgiou C. Mental health effects of COVID-19 pandemia: A review of clinical and psychological traits. Psychiatry Investig. 2020;17:491-505. doi: 10.30773/pi.2020.0161.