The healthcare crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic: Capitalism subordinates lives to profit

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the profound failures of the capitalist system in the United States and internationally. The pandemic exposed a healthcare system in deep crisis, starved of resources for years, and subjected to the whims of profit-hungry corporations. Nearly 1.5 million people have died in the US alone, and tens of millions more continue to suffer from the long-term effects of the virus. Globally, over 27 million excess deaths have been recorded since the pandemic began, and every day an additional 6,000 people die from COVID-related causes.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is the only party in the 2024 election that offers a scientifically grounded and socially progressive program to combat the pandemic, rebuild the healthcare system on socialist foundations, and defend the interests of the working class.

The ruling class response to the pandemic: “Malign neglect”

From the very beginning of the pandemic, the ruling class—both in the United States and globally—adopted a policy of “malign neglect,” allowing the virus to spread unchecked to protect corporate profits. This approach, described as “herd immunity” or “living with the virus,” was aimed at forcing workers back into unsafe workplaces to keep the economy running, regardless of the cost in human lives.

The Biden administration, which came to power promising to “follow the science,” has continued and escalated the disastrous policies initiated by the Trump administration. In July 2022, White House officials bluntly stated that “COVID is here to stay,” signaling the abandonment of any pretense of a public health response. The lifting of public health emergency (PHE) declarations in May 2023 marked the formal end of all pandemic mitigation efforts in the United States. This has left the population vulnerable to unending repeated mass infection, a socially criminal policy of “forever COVID” that threatens to leave everyone with Long COVID within just a few years.

This policy of mass infection and mass death was designed to minimize disruptions to the capitalist economy. Throughout the pandemic, both the Democrats and Republicans have put the profits of the corporate and financial elite above the health and safety of the population. 

Mass infection as policy

The ruling class’s response to the pandemic has been nothing short of criminal. The refusal to implement effective public health measures was driven by the need to maintain corporate profitability. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, efforts to contain the virus were systematically undermined. Mask mandates, social distancing guidelines, and other preventive measures were lifted even as new, more transmissible variants of the virus emerged. This policy amounted to a form of social murder—sacrificing millions of lives to maintain the flow of profits.

At the same time, corporate America, Wall Street, and the pharmaceutical giants made record profits. Trillions of dollars were funneled into the stock market to prop up financial markets and enrich the wealthiest layers of society, with the world’s 10 richest billionaires doubling their wealth in the first two years of the pandemic. Meanwhile, ordinary people were left without access to testing, vaccines, and healthcare. The mass infection policy continues to this day, with virtually no meaningful public health protections in place, and workers and their families left to fend for themselves in a landscape of perpetual exposure to COVID-19.

The healthcare crisis

The pandemic exacerbated a healthcare system that was already in deep crisis. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and healthcare workers were pushed beyond their limits. Chronic understaffing, a problem that predated the pandemic, has reached unprecedented levels. A 2023 survey by AMN Healthcare found that 94 percent of nurses reported shortages in their areas, with 50 percent saying the shortage was “severe.” This crisis is projected to worsen, with up to 900,000 nurses expected to leave the workforce by 2027 due to burnout, unsafe conditions, and lack of support.

The shortage of nurses is the worst in four decades, creating dangerous conditions for both workers and patients. Nurses and other healthcare workers are being forced to work in chronically understaffed hospitals, often having to care for more patients than is safe or reasonable. Burnout is widespread, with nearly half of all nurses reporting high levels of exhaustion and emotional stress. These conditions have led to a mass exodus from the profession, further deepening the crisis in healthcare.

A program for global elimination and public health

The SEP’s response to the pandemic is based on the principle that public health must be organized around social need, not private profit. The COVID-19 pandemic, like all public health crises, requires a globally coordinated strategy to eliminate the virus. 

A policy of mass infection is not only inhumane, but it is also scientifically untenable. The virus continues to evolve, with new variants emerging that are more transmissible and potentially more deadly. Allowing the virus to circulate unchecked guarantees the emergence of more dangerous strains. Furthermore, new public health threats—above all, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1 bird flu), with a 50 percent fatality rate—are looming over society.

The SEP calls for a global elimination and eradication strategy to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, eradicate other infectious diseases, and prevent future pandemics. This includes the implementation of the following measures:

• Mass Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation: Universal testing and comprehensive contact tracing are essential to identify and isolate cases of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases like bird flu. Isolation facilities must be established to prevent further transmission, and those infected with COVID-19 must be provided with full income support while they recover.

• Full Funding to Research Mucosal Vaccines and Long COVID: Numerous studies have indicated that mucosal vaccines are highly promising, with one recent study from China showing near-total protection from infection after two doses. The chief obstacle is funding, with a pittance provided to vaccine and Long COVID research.

• High-Quality PPE for All: The SEP demands that high-quality masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) be made freely available to the population. This is particularly important for frontline workers, healthcare professionals, and those working in high-risk environments.

• Clean Indoor Air in All Public Space: Through building renovation with HEPA filters, modern ventilation systems, and Far-UVC technology, indoor air could be cleaned in all shared public spaces, thereby vastly reducing transmission of airborne pathogens like COVID-19.

• Temporary Closure of Non-Essential Workplaces: In areas with high transmission rates, non-essential workplaces must be temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the virus. Workers affected by these closures must be provided with full income support, to be paid for through heavy taxation of the billionaires.

• Global Coordination: The pandemic cannot be eradicated on a national basis. The virus will continue to circulate and mutate unless there is a coordinated global response. This requires massive support for poorer countries to ensure they have the resources to implement effective public health measures.

Healthcare must be a social right

The SEP demands the nationalization of the entire healthcare and pharmaceutical industries under the democratic control of the working class. Healthcare is a basic social right, and it must be guaranteed to all, free of charge. The resources of society must be directed toward rebuilding the healthcare system, expanding hospitals, and ensuring safe working conditions for all healthcare workers.

At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry must be nationalized to ensure that vaccines, treatments, and medical supplies are researched much more rapidly and effective products made available to everyone. No more lives should be sacrificed on the altar of private profit.

The fight for socialism

The fight against COVID-19 and for public health is inseparable from the broader fight against capitalism. The pandemic has revealed the deep contradictions of the capitalist system, which is incapable of addressing the needs of society. The SEP calls for the expropriation of the wealth of the corporate and financial oligarchy and the redistribution of society’s resources to meet human needs.

Only through the establishment of socialism—a system in which the working class controls the wealth and resources of society—can humanity hope to end the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent future pandemics, whose likelihood only increases as the climate crisis deepens. The SEP and its candidates, Joseph Kishore for president and Jerry White for vice president, are fighting to build a political movement in the working class to end the pandemic, stop imperialist war, and abolish social inequality. Join us in the fight for a socialist future.