By Joshua Corcuera
So, would there be hope for a better life in 2021? For me, yes would be the more reasonable answer. This question and answer is how I ended my previous column as I looked back at 2020. For this article — which would be my last for this year — I would look at what I expect and hope for the new year.
Before anything else, it seems appropriate that I would greet my readers a happy new year as we managed to survive the severe challenges brought by 2020. At the same time, we must not forget the painful things that happened this year. Moving on, most of us are expecting that 2021 would be a year of recovery, but there is one thing we must not forget — the coronavirus is still spreading. The highly contagious illness won’t be eradicated magically in the early part of next year. Hence, it is essential for us to protect ourselves by continuing to exercise preventive measures such as wearing face masks and distancing ourselves from other people.
Despite this, there is hope that the pandemic would meet its end sooner than later. Thanks to advancements in science, several prospective vaccines are showing promising results in regard to safety and effectiveness. However, distribution and access to vaccines would be an issue to expect. Remember that earlier this year, testing for coronavirus has become an issue as wealthy people are allegedly prioritized even though they did not exhibit symptoms of COVID-19. This might occur as well in vaccinating the masses, though hopefully, this so-called VIP treatment would not happen again — especially that lives are at stake.
Assuming that only a few were vaccinated, if there would be a vaccine, to begin with, life would gradually return to normal as we have seen in the latter part of 2020. After all, people might not succumb to COVID-19, but they might die of hunger. No one can blame the masses for going out to do what they need to do especially that they have spent months at home in the Philippines, where one of the longest and strictest lockdowns were imposed. Hopefully though, they would remain vigilant and exercise preventive measures to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. What I am still precarious of is whether or not face-to-face classes would resume in 2020. I am expecting this would occur during the latter part of 2021 or when a vaccine appears, whichever comes first. There is a chance that online classes would persist in the early part of 2021. Hopefully though, the resumption of safe face-to-face classes would be guaranteed soon — though this seems unlikely in densely populated areas like Metro Manila.
There is good reason to believe that 2021 would be better than this year, but we should not forget the pain and suffering brought by 2020. At the same time, we should not be very optimistic to the extent that we would be blinded by the struggles that would persist in the future. Nevertheless, let us hope — and work — for a better year. A year where society would not merely return to normal, but also a society that would be better compared to any point in the past.
