The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
Research trial on HIV vaccine, is led by IAVI and biotechnology firm, Moderna. [Courtesy]
Covid-19, its devastating effects aside, was a blessing in disguise according to experts. While the social economic ruin it wrecked is regrettable, its impact on research across different disciplines - from human health, health systems and even environmental problems - cannot be gainsaid.
The pandemic encouraged cross-disciplinary research, such that the recent HIV vaccine on trial at the George Washington University, USA used the same technology as the Covid-19 vaccines.
Research trial on HIV vaccine, mRNA-1644, is led by International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a nonprofit scientific research body and biotechnology firm, Moderna.
“mRna vaccines were there before,” said Prof Matilu Mwau, a virologist and deputy director at Kemri, “but it is only after Covid that people have seen how effective the technology is.”
That Covid-19 virus was passed from animals to humans has witnessed increased research to prevent such future outbreaks.
Health Cabinet Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr Mercy Mwangangi told attendees during the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) Presidents’ Dinner how the pandemic got health experts brainstorming with architects on“how to isolate people.”
The resultant National Pandemic Preparedness Strategy report was based on a collaborative effort from experts in water, agriculture and environment.
Indeed, come the Glasgow COP26 Conference, which was held in the middle of the pandemic, saw health issues take centre stage in relation to climate action.
One letter signed by organisations representing 47 million global health professionals declared climate crisis “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” with the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimating between 250,000 annual deaths as a result of climate change in the next 20 years to 2050.
Prof Nixon Sifuna, an expert in carbon trading, while acknowledging the threat posed by the pandemic, concurred that “climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term” as access to water and sanitation are vital in fighting the pandemic.
Prof Raphael Kapiyo of Maseno University School of Environment and Earth Sciences argues that since the pandemic began, many researchers have investigated the links between air quality, virus transmission and death rates with findings suggesting air pollution aggravates the consequences of Covid-19.
“The pandemic has shown that there are many ways to work and collaborate that can reduce our negative environmental impact,” says Prof Kapiyo.
Pollution and its impact on health and the environment also came to the fore with gloves and other protective equipment like face masks emerging as the ‘new plastic’.
On the brighter side, a report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) released in 2020 found that travel restrictions during curfews and lockdown temporarily improved air quality especially in urban areas, but the quality deteriorated again when emissions picked after lockdowns were lifted.
join