Must there be a “war” against coronavirus?

Abstract

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is marked not only by rapid spread of the causative virus, SARS CoV-2, but also by the spread of warlike narratives. Leaders of different countries have compared the pandemic response to being at war. In this argument paper, the authors take the stance that frequent public pronouncements of metaphors of war do more harm than good, especially when they percolate through the societal psyche and the healthcare system. We describe how the narrative of war has further dented social cohesion, an important social determinant of health, and created a rift in the healthcare system at a time of immense crisis. We express concern that such systemic instability threatens to drive a deeper wedge into the already precarious physician-patient relationship, while also putting the future of medicine at stake. Finally, we provide alternative metaphors for use in the communication strategy. The suggested metaphors are gentler, drawn from sports and ecology, and emphasise the need for cooperation and solidarity at multiple levels.

Reclaiming comprehensive public health

“…Of significant, immediate concern is the militarisation and use of 'war narratives' that compare COVID-19 with a battle and relate the pandemic to being at war, referring to 'the enemy', with calls to 'save the economy' and essential workers labelled 'frontline warriors'. 6 Military capabilities can contribute in mobilising logistics and infrastructure. However, in many countries globally, state security forces and not public health workers or local law enforcement personnel have been deployed to communities to contain the spread of COVID-19.…”

Metaphoric Perceptions of Covid-19 Patients Related to the Disease

“…These developments were thought to affect the patients’ thoughts about the COVID-19. Besides, the aim to empower patients using war metaphors could make negative situations on patients, such as feelings of vulnerability, passivity, and guilt when the disease progressed (Rohela et al, 2020). This study showed that the patients expressed the treatment process either directly through the metaphor of war or suffering, fear, and death.…”

Underpinnings of Pandemic Communication in India: The Curious Case of COVID-19

“…Like many other global leaders, Modi often alluded to the term 'war'. Phrases such as 'war against coronavirus', '#IndiaFightsCovid19', 'COVID warriors', and 'Corona fighters' have emerged as common terms that were used intensively in health communication and in media narratives (Rohela et al, 2020). Healthcare workers and doctors, and even the police personnel who were implementing the lockdown, were 'deployed' in the frontline and were termed the 'frontline warriors'.…”

“…Public pronouncements replete with war metaphors were perhaps necessary to boost public morale and unity. Such messages provided a ready recourse for health communication, given the low levels of scientific literacy among the general public in India (Landau et al, 2018;Rohela et al, 2020). Some researchers argue that the negative consequences of using such metaphors for COVID-19 could have resulted in the creation of an epidemic of fear, discrimination, and stigma against those who were on the frontline or those who contracted the virus; widening of the gap between patients/people and health workers; and acceptability of overmobilisation of resources in one direction and the resultant collateral damage (Rohela et al, 2020).…”