Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Science, Health, and Healthcare

COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan City in December 2019 and spread throughout Hubei Province and other parts of China. After causing significant morbidity and mortality in China, by February 2020, it had spread to numerous other countries, infecting millions of people and causing a large number of deaths across the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a burden on almost all areas of the world including healthcare systems, education, industry, travel, etc. The pandemic revealed the vulnerability of the world’s healthcare systems and affected healthcare personnel significantly. The virus is able to attack not only the respiratory tract, but almost all the organs including the brain. Impacts on gut biota have also been noticed. The virus has caused both morbidity and mortality in humans without any geographical, cultural, or religious barriers. The emergence of new variants due to mutations in the virus has aggravated the problem. While the delta variant brought a second wave and killed a large number of people due to various factors such as lowering of saturated oxygen in blood and other physiological emergencies, the omicron variant proved to be less lethal. Though the pandemic has subsided, the emergence of the subvariants BA1 and BA2 and now their hybrids has started to increase the number of cases at exponential levels and has forced new lockdown measures in places such as China. As the conditions laid down to combat the pandemic have been relaxed, the virus may reach other countries and cause additional countries to resort to lockdown again.

COVID-19 became the focus of the scientific community with the aim of developing new drugs, repurposing available drugs to be used against the virus, and developing a series of vaccines in a short time. The mild effect of omicron might have been due to the extensive vaccination programmes carried out in various countries. However, there is genuine fear that newly emerging variants may evade the immune system and cause damage to the body.

This book highlights the impact of COVID-19 on science, industry, and healthcare systems. The chapters included in the volume come from dedicated experts belonging to basic sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, and other fields of sciences. These include discussions on how the virus evolves and attacks various organs in the body. A separate chapter explains the emergence of various strains of virus. The preparedness of hospitals and healthcare workers as well as different agencies such as DRDO to face the challenges posed by virus is also discussed. The way scientists and technologists developed new techniques to detect and control the virus have also been highlighted including a chapter on the development of vaccines to control the pandemic.

This book is a key resource for students, teachers, medical personnel, administrators, and the public as a whole.

Ranbir Chander Sobti is a Former Education Consultant Governor of Bihar, Senior Scientist (Indian National Science Academy), Former Vice Chancellor, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow (UP) and Panjab University, Chandigarh. Professor R.C. Sobti starting his career as an Animal (including human) Cytogeneticist characterized the karyotypes of animals of groups from protozoa to human. He also looked into the mutagenicity /carcinogenicity of environment pollutants both in in vivo and in vitro settings. He then moved on to explore the developments in the molecular biology of diseases. He has proactively been involved in cancer biology and focused on finding out novel tumour markers for cancer detection. He has evaluated the role of gene polymorphisms and their expression in the genesis of various cancers and also in COPD, AIDS and metabolic syndrome. He has identified disease susceptible /protective novel genotypes and determined the crucial role of SACS-1 and STAT genes in the genesis of cervical and prostate cancers.

His immense contribution to science includes, inter alia, 350 plus high impact research publications with more than 50 books and 23 Sponsored Research Projects. He has also tried to develop whole organ by tissue/organ culture through custom designed de-cellularization protocol. He has demonstrated that the regulation of stem cell character under in vitro conditions is a function of morphological assortment of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNC)- an observation that has marked significance in the field of stem cell research. At the moment he is involved in meta data analysis for organ dysfunctioning to investigate underlining molecular mechanism: ML approach.

Professor Sobti is a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), National Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academies of Medical Sciences and Agricultural Sciences and of the Canadian Academy of Cardiovascular Diseases. He is also associated with many other Academic Associations and Institutions in the domain of higher education and research. The litany of honours showered on him includes, among others, the INSA Young Scientist Medal (1978), UGC Career Research Award, Punjab Rattan Award, JC Bose Oration Award and the Life Time Achievement Award of the Punjab Academy of Sciences, Zoological Society of India, and the Environment academy of India, besides many other medals & awards of various reputed National and International Organizations. He was bestowed with Padmashri award by the Government of India in 2009

He has delivered numerous keynote addresses at reputed National and International forums, based on implications and applications of science and scientific temper for general awareness and improvements of everyday life and lifestyle in a lucid and people-centric manner.

Aastha Sobti is currently carrying out research at the Department of Immunotechnology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, under Can Faster, Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND programme. She has a background in dental sciences and did a specialization in master’s in Clinical Dentistry (Oral surgery) from Eastman College, UCL, London. Her core interests are head and neck cancer-based clinical research. In entirety aiding in the field to bring reforms that are required in the present multifarious surgical as well as translational research areas. She has teaching and research experience of about 8 years and published a few papers in international journals of repute. She is a recipient of a large number of prizes and medals for her exceptional work namely the academic certificate of excellence from BAOS, UK and IADR Hatton award (India). Additionally, she has attended and presented papers in international conferences in Hong Kong, Croatia, Brazil, Sweden, UK, Japan, and other countries.