Ajai Chowdhry feels that the only way forward in a covidised world is to rely on technology and get vaccinated
The last 8/12 weeks have been a nightmare for India. All the talk of herd immunity and innate immunity due to our living conditions has been turned upside down by the second wave. We got so carried away by our own hyperbole
that we started believing in it. Many countries have faced the same situation whether it is Sweden, Thailand, Germany and Canada, all have had to face the second wave despite all past
successes. The whole country is in this ‘curfew mode’ (a new name for lockdown). And we are seeing more and more people die. And already 300 odd doctors have also died. So why are we still looking at only one solution for Covid – Vaccination! We can prevent many deaths and bring the country back to normal if we look at alternatives.
The Vaccine Dilemma
Today, we are a little better prepared with two vaccines manufactured in India and the Russian vaccine approved. The US was very fast off the block and is vaccinating with great speed. The rest of the western world, who have cornered the vaccine are also moving fast. India now has a plan in place with more vaccines to be approved. However, it will still take a lot of time. And will depend on approvals and manufacturing capacity of other new vaccine producers. Currently there is also no vaccine that is approved for children and pregnant women, that constitutes 51% of the population. On top of all of this, there is always some confusion in the minds of the eligible population. It is believed that even all the frontline workers may not have taken the vaccine. And as per the Health
Ministry, the number of those vaccinated under this category is 24% higher than the known number. So, as usual ‘jugaad’ is happening in many locations. Lots of people worry about efficacy of each vaccine. ‘Mine is better than yours’. So they get confused and wait for the best! But as I read more and saw videos about it, I found that efficacy is not that important. This is because the trials were done at different state of growth of the virus (including more variants). We should take what we get. All vaccines are okay to take if approved. As per Amesh Adalja of John Hopkins University Centre for Health Security – “The goal of the vaccine program for COVID-19 is not necessarily to get to Covid Zero but to tame the virus, to defang it , to remove its ability for serious hospitalization and death”. So, the real purpose is to give your body enough protection to avoid hospitalization and death. (Of course, you can still get infected despite the vaccine) We still don’t know enough about the disease and the vaccines, but many predict that we may end up living with it and taking shots every year for various strains. WHO said that the second year of pandemic could be even tougher as Coronavirus surges (Global News, January 2021). Concerns about clots persist. But we just need to move ahead and get on with vaccination. And this could not be the end to all problems from
pandemics. Bill Gates has warned that the next pandemic could be 10 times worse.
Vaccine Plus
Even if you take the vaccine, it is important to observe the right behaviour – masks, social distancing and washing
hands frequently. This is very difficult in our country what with high density population and mask fatigue and so
many festivals and weddings where all this goes for a toss. But there are masks and there are masks. The most basic masks are use and throw. But lot of technology has crept in here. N95 masks with proper fit are the ones recommended based on the study done by University of Cambridge. But breathability is also important. Many technologies have appeared on the material used for masks. IIT Kanpur start up, Espin has created Swasa N95 mask. This is reusable for hundred hours. Livinguard, a company in Switzerland founded by an Indian, Sanjeev Swamy has a range of very advanced technology masks. These are washable 30 times and the material used is claimed to destroy up to 99.9 % of SARSCoV-2. Another Indian company AARMR has designed some really cool masks to protect and still look good.
Surfaces and technology
A variety of studies are still looking at how long the virus stays alive on surfaces. It is still unclear if this increases the chance of transmission. But it is known that the virus can survive on surfaces from a few hours to a few days depending on the material. So many types of technologies are in use. The most popular are sprays. But these need to be used many times a day. Many service companies have emerged who promote solutions at offices, what with use of special materials, spraying and using tunnels at offices etc. All these provide temporary relief. And studies done by CDC have clarified that surface transmission is “not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Technology to the rescue for prevention. So, the Coronavirus basically spreads from person to person. An infected person (even with no symptoms) may emit aerosols when they talk, breathe or eat. These infectious particles can float or drift around the air for up to three hours. Closed spaces is where the virus thrives. Many technologies have emerged to fight this Coronavirus for closed spaces.
Air Ionizers: There are some companies in India and abroad who have created such products. These are effective for 2 to 4 hours and can take care of airborne transmission only. They may produce ozone which is harmful for human beings. This may be efficient in very small spaces and needs constant filter change
and maintenance.
Ultraviolet devices Many products are available with many dubious claims. These are mainly effective in one time disinfecting. Exposure from this can be very harmful to human eyes and skin.
Sprays: Many products are available here. But these are again one time use and temporary and some can be toxic to
humans and the environment. What is it really needed is to bring back businesses to normal and kick start the economy during Covid 2.0. No amount of advisories will work except vaccine and technology. Our schools will be closed for second year running. Most IT companies and BPOs are running with WFH and in some cases sub optimal operations. Most large corporates and factories are again getting threatened by lockdowns, supply chain breaks etc. And hospitality has a huge problem as restaurants etc will close.
So, some interesting technologies have emerged. A US company has created an AI system that uses existing surveillance to create a real time indoor positioning system for targeted disinfection. But this depends on constant disinfection and is not a 24×7 solution. I have also heard of a water based technology being worked on by some
researchers in India. The most promising and proven technology comes from a startup, Shycocan Corp in India. When the Indian scientist Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar announced this last year, there were a few naysayers who felt this was not possible. Some questioned the physics. He says it adopts old physics principles. “When a superalloy (proprietary technology of the inventor) is excited, it emits a certain amount of photons. These photons bounce off various surfaces to eject electrons.” These electrons seek the negative charge of the virus, which in turn disables the
spike protein of the virus. The cycle continues as these electrons combat the virus irrespective of the number of
infected persons in the room. Interestingly, he says that “the Shycocan does not harm any living thing – from micro
organism to fungi to even largest animals and human beings.”
I met Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar in Bangalore many years ago. He is a prolific inventor and he showed me some amazing technologies like the Cytotron that is known to cure cancer and is CE approved. He has 30 odd patents to his credit.
The product has been tested scientifically in labs in the US, Mexico and India. It also has CE Mark approval and the US FDA has allowed it to be sold in the USA under its ‘Enforcement’s Discretion Guidance’ during Covid 19 health emergency. Many other countries like Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Malaysia have allowed it to be sold there. The company claims to have started exports already. The product is now used by some marquee customers in the private sector and the government. I was shown some real experience of customers (on videos) in a factory, at a dentist practice, a café and a finance company etc. I do believe that all governments and businesses should encourage such
technology and enable ‘opening’ up of offices, schools, colleges, cinemas rather than another specter of lockdowns. We now need Unlockdowns and to be the first in the world to use Indian technology to do so. And just the way, the
Government encouraged development of ventilators etc last year, we should encourage more innovation like this to come up and save the economy. This will be a welcome step towards real atmanirbharta and show our technological prowess to the world in addition to vaccines. What I call vaccine plus technology
