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Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
COVID-19 changed our world

A

B

Figure 4. Different COVID-19 variants from different countries. (A) Structure of COVID-19, including the component of genes of COVID-19; (B) Variant
of concern. Image created by the authors

people who were older, male, or obese (Docherty et al., to curb the spread of COVID-19. These measures were
2020), or who suffered from pulmonary hypertension, effective in preventing infections (Coccia, 2021) but they
chronic cardiac conditions (Pagnesi et al., 2020), diabetes, also exerted a significant negative impact. As Figure 6
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver diseases, and illustrates, the lockdowns affected many sectors including
chronic kidney disease (Iaccarino et al., 2020). Patients business (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020), economy, health,
at lower risk of death also often experienced persistent and education (Jiang et al., 2021; Shastri et al., 2020; Nicola
symptoms, and up to 70% of such individuals exhibited et al., 2020; Haleem et al., 2020). The sections that follow
organ damage 4 months after their initial symptoms. detail how strict lockdowns adversely impacted diverse
The affected organs included the heart, lungs, kidneys, aspects of society and affected resources.
liver, pancreas, and spleen (Dennis et al., 2021). Vaccines
significantly reduced mortality rates but debates persist 4.1. Mental and emotional health
about whether COVID-19 can be eradicated or could Mental health is defined as the state of well-being in which
reemerge (Murray, 2022). individuals can manage daily challenges and contribute
constructively to society (World Health Organization,
4. Impact of COVID-19 2004; Galderisi et al., 2015). The COVID-19 pandemic

Governments worldwide implemented strict lockdowns disrupted this balance, primarily because preventive
when the pandemic began, and self-isolation was mandated measures such as lockdowns confined people to their

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 43 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3992