# The Scabbard of Excalibur: An Allegory on the Role of an Efficient and Effective Healthcare System under Universal Health Coverage during the Pandemic Response

## TL;DR

This essay uses an allegory from Arthurian legend to highlight the importance of an efficient healthcare system during pandemics.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel allegorical framework to discuss healthcare system efficiency under universal coverage during pandemics.

## Key findings

- An efficient healthcare system can prevent hospital capacity strain during pandemics.
- The allegory of Excalibur's scabbard symbolizes the need for a robust healthcare system to manage future pandemics.
- Current healthcare systems lack the equivalent of 'the scabbard of Excalibur' to effectively manage pandemics.

## Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while some countries succeeded in reducing their rate of death after SARS-CoV-2 infection via vaccination by the end of 2021, some of them also faced hospital capacity strain, leading to social anxiety about delays in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with other diseases. This essay presents an allegory to explain the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an allegory and Le Morte d’Arthur (Arthur’s Death), this essay indicates that “the scabbard of Excalibur” that we are looking for is an efficient and effective healthcare system that can diagnose patients who might become severely ill due to COVID-19 and to treat them without hospital capacity strain. In Le Morte d’Arthur, the scabbard of Excalibur was lost, and we have not been able to find any alternatives to end the COVID-19 pandemic. We can choose a future in which “the scabbard of Excalibur” exists, providing a different ending for the next pandemic.