Weeks ago virologists and even Bill Gates had maintained that it will take more than a year before a COVID-19 vaccine can be developed,tested and deployed.
by Victor Cherubim
When times are turned on its head,we look for ways to cope with the situation we are faced with.What we think of as valuable is the first casualty of this change. We also get a sense of satisfaction from knowing that we may not be able to change what is here and now ,but we will still be able to have some control over something,if we adjust our perspective?
How then do we have a say in our lives? A good example of this situation is how innovative people who came in search of refugee, from say, Alleppo,in Syria or Khandakar in Afghanistan,over in dinghies in the Mediterranean to Europe and later across the Channel to the United Kingdom, have sought jobs as hospital staff attendants,cleaners, nurses, and even doctors in hospitals treating the pandemic. They were the downtrodden,the persecuted who are now able to take control over their lives and are offering their services in large numbers for recruitment in field hospitals around UK. They are the silent case workers who hardly anyone has spoken about.
It is perhaps,a surprising benefit to offer their services and now have a say in their lives, after years of their post traumatic stress they had to endure as refugees, in a distant land. This sense of community,they would never have contemplated or anticipated,They have the quality of empathy so desired to help the victims of this pandemic.
Another group of "hidden workers" are the robots.
The idea of robots taking the place of humans in the field hospitals in Wuhan,China, is also coming to light now. The pandemic has fast forwarded research immeasurably. What was AI a few months to a year ago is now a reality.
Human robots we are told have taken the jobs previously done and freed hospital medical staff. It has helped limit the possibility of virus spread, We are informed that a Beijing based robotic company, Cloud Minds developed and sent 14 robots to Wuhan,China's field hospital within weeks, with patient care,Some of these robots were programmed to do ordinary jobs to clean and disinfect, deliver medicines to patients, measure temperature. Of course, the robot cost ranged between US$ 17,000 and US$72,000 each. We hear a special AI robot named "Ginger" helped with hospital admissions,education services as part of its administrative responsibilities, as well as deliver food and medication without person to person contact.It also was an added attraction as it entertained quarantined patients, lifting up their spirits.
Another AI research called HARIX (Human Augmented Robot Intelligence) has been in use in the US to monitor patient vital signs,including temperature,heart rate,blood oxygen levels,allowing doctors and nurses outside the ward to monitor all patient vital information remotely as well as their own vitals to catch any potentially early symptoms of infection.
The pandemic, a catalyst for further medical research
Weeks ago virologists and even Bill Gates had maintained that it will take more than a year before a COVID-19 vaccine can be developed,tested and deployed.
The pace of change is unbelievable that today (19 April 2020) Professor of Virology at Oxford University, Dr.Sarah Gilbert during a TV interview stated that her laboratory had identified a COVID19 vaccine She also stated that within a week a platform for a vaccine will be tried and tested so that soon it would become available worldwide.It is a well known fact that Jenner Institute,Oxford University has been making and testing vaccines designed to induce T Cell responses.
Besides, the race is on with GKN (Glaxo SmithKline) and some 21 other companies are working on a Phase 1 Clinical Study. There is no doubt that where there is money, there is research.
What a difference a strain of virus can make?
Do we need a virus to give us an alarm call? It is not only a pandemic, but it is an economic restructure warning of how we manage our lives and our finances?
Countries like Sri Lanka are at the mercy of Monitoring Agencies like Moody's to downgrade our ratings. We were far too over committed in our spending habits and in our borrowings that we ourselves "created" our economic strain of this pandemic?
Because a significant part of our economy is export oriented and by employment funds repatriated,our response immediately is to mitigate this damage.Because in our case the disruption to supply and demand cannot stabilise the economy, we need a far sighted approach. Our response should be large enough to reduce the effect of this pandemic.
This does mean that a fiscal and monetary correction is demanded as in other parts of the developed world.
The first place to start thinking is to invest what little reserves we have left on a public health system to improve the hygiene practices and the eating habits of our people.
As a layman, the first thing that comes to my mind is that Canned Fish imports which cost us Rs.192 a tin,should be banned.Why carry coals to Newcastle.Our coasts are resplendent in natural fish,which is a natural source of Vitamin D, a necessity for a healthy lifestyle to combat any virus?
Another possible reduction can be to restrict unnecessary overseas travel at least for one year. This could replenish our external reserves.
A third possibility,if it has not already been allocated,is to invite Sri Lankans abroad by a Five Year special interest rate inducement, to invest in Sri Lanka.
But who am I to make a value judgment?
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