India did much better than even the developed countries when it came to vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19, said Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.
She was delivering the Jerome D’Souza memorial endowment lecture on ‘Future Pandemic Prevention in Relation to WHO Experience’, which was jointly organised by Surana and Surana International Attorneys and Loyola College in Chennai on Wednesday.
Dr. Sowmya, a former Chief Scientist with the World Health Organisation (WHO), spoke on the country’s ability to develop vaccines quickly and help other nations. The vaccination process in India was much better than many other countries. “It [the process] was done extremely well, considering that adult vaccination is not a national programme, and not something done routinely. I think the whole world really appreciated the way India carried it out. I think our digital infrastructure and backbone also came in handy since a lot of things were achieved using digital platforms during the pandemic,” she said.
Dr. Soumya dwelt on the issue of ethics in the context of how private companies held on to intellectual property rights for the vaccines, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation through social media that cost more lives in the U.S.
Countries that had invested in science and research benefitted as research was already on, she pointed out, adding that India should also invest more in science. Funds for research from the National Research Foundation the government had announced should reach all colleges and universities, she said.
Dr. Soumya spoke on the change the pandemic had wrought on the U.S. and the European Union that had agreed to share intellectual property. She explained how the WHO approved vaccines based on their efficacy.
On the role of the Indian Council of Medical Research, she said it collated data relevant to India, drafting guidelines to develop an appropriate strategy. Given that diabetes and hypertension is being diagnosed in younger people, Dr. Soumya exhorted youngsters to include more fruits, vegetables, and cereals in their food to build immunity.
Vinod Surana, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Surana and Surana International Attorneys, and college principal A. Louis Arockiaraj spoke at the event.
