In a strange twist of fate for the big pharma companies, their profits were sharply down in the first quarter, as the regular flu season turned out to be a damp squib.

It’s somewhat ironic that pharmaceutical giants that conquered Covid-19 with life-saving therapeutic drugs and vaccines, have now been ‘punished’ with a lack of demand for their seasonal remedies, that in the past were sure to pay dividends, year after year.

A young brand manager was delighted when his girlfriend recently caught a cold. “Quick, get out there and pass it around,” he begged. He was only half joking; his leading cough syrup was stuck on the shelves, gathering dust.

It seems that as people adjusted to life without shaking hands or casual kissing, normal virus transmission plummeted. On top of that, general hygiene has improved, globally, and people are far more conscious of healthy nutrition and regular exercise to boost their immunity. The co-morbidities that were such a big factor in causing coronavirus deaths, like obesity and poor vascular function, have fallen dramatically, meaning people are far less prone to disease. They’re generally, well, just healthier; and more robust.

Which is great news for medical aid and national health schemes; claims have fallen and reserves have been replenished, after they were decimated by the pandemic. But it’s bad news for the big pharma companies. They threw everything at Covid-19, and battered it into submission, even producing vaccines at cost or below, just to show their hearts were in the right place.

We’re eternally grateful, and loving our new, healthier lifestyles; but we’re not going to catch colds and flu if we can help it, just to bail out the drug companies. After all, they had it too good for too long, profiting off sick people. And there’s always the longevity market to pursue – that’s going to be worth trillions!

We learned a great lesson from the corona pandemic: Prevention is better than cure!