MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CONSTANTLY pushes boundaries with its innovations. Over the years, we’ve seen disruptions like 3D bio-printing; the Internet of Medical Things; virtual reality for mental health; robotic surgery and nanomedicine – precision healthcare at a molecular level. 



Early in the pandemic, telemedicine took center stage as patients and healthcare workers turned to technology out of necessity, but it remains to be seen if its popularity will last.



 It was also during the pandemic that Microsoft experimented with its mixed reality (MR) headset, the HoloLens 2. The headset enables surgeons to view 3D holographic images of a patient, obtained from X-rays or CT scans, and supports hand gestures and voice commands. 



Recently, at its annual Ignite conference in March, the company announced Microsoft Mesh, a mixed-reality platform built on Azure that can be accessed on the HoloLens as well as other VR headsets, smartphones, PCs, Macs and tablets, making it more mainstream. 



The HoloLens 2 project was led by Professor Thomas Gregory who used the original HoloLens for its first MR surgery back in 2017. He brought together 15 surgeons across 13 countries to perform a series of MR orthopedic operations. Shoulder surgeries were chosen because it requires 3D planning and modeling of the shoulder. Professor Stephen Roche, orthopedic surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town in South Africa participated in three surgeries; one in South Africa and assistance with two others in France and Germany.



 “Technology is playing a bigger role in surgery, research, and healthcare and certainly during Covid-19, where trainees have not been able to operate, this has highlighted the use and need for technology in training and teaching,” says Roche. 



The HoloLens 2 lets us manipulate images in real-time so intraoperative findings can be checked with surgical planning, he adds. 



“It allows us to access the internet during surgery and more importantly, we can bring a surgeon into the theater virtually for advice, which would be a massive benefit for a continent like Africa, with many of our colleagues working in poorlyresourced areas.” 



Another company targeting disadvantaged communities in South Africa is a start-up called Robots Can Think, which adapted during Covid-19 by 3D-printing personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. 



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:35% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" width="917" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-917x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50857 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-917x1024.jpg 917w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-269x300.jpg 269w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-768x857.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-1376x1536.jpg 1376w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil-1834x2048.jpg 1834w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Natalie-Raphil.jpg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 917px) 100vw, 917px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">At Robots Can Think, we strive to use AI for good, to place AI in a meaningful way in the hands of all, from Sandton to Kagiso, to deep rural Eastern Cape. – Natalie Raphil</blockquote>
</div></div>



Natalie Raphil, founder of Robots Can Think, says that during level 5 of the lockdown in South Africa, when imports and exports were at a standstill and PPE was in demand, she read about healthcare workers using cloth to cover their face and nose due to PPE delays. 



“I have access to a 3D-printer and decided to print face shields and masks with the 3D-printing material I had available. I then distributed them to medical staff in public hospitals, those in Alexandra in Johannesburg and so on,” says Raphil.



Raphil has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) from Stanford University and started Robots Can Think three years ago with a current focus on the medical and healthcare sectors. After questioning the inclusivity of AI for the visually and hearing impaired, she realized things needed to change. 



The start-up came up with an AI module that is fitted on to existing walking sticks, and once activated, assists the visually-impaired to navigate outdoors.



“The device captures real-time images and the AI then recognizes objects such as traffic lights, traffic light colors, how many vehicles/ pedestrians (essentially objects) are in front of the visually-impaired, all the while navigating them to their final destination.”



The device then either communicates back to the visually-impaired via speech through a Bluetooth device or via sensory pulses emitted from the device to the hand holding the stick. 



The AI walking stick is still in a testing phase, and runs on proprietary software that includes image recognition, image/text to speech, and text/speech to sensory conversion software, hosted on-premise.



Raphil credits Robots Can Think’s partner, All Round Tech, for its engineering genius in developing the AI module for walking sticks. Once approved, it will be made available to purchase; supplied to medical organizations; and will be donated to the needy. 



Over the next two years, Robots Can Think will focus on exploring medical tech to enhance the continent’s adoption of AI, invent products that are easily accessible to all and continue to use AI for good, says Raphil. 



“At Robots Can Think, we strive to use AI for good, to place AI in a meaningful way in the hands of all, from Sandton to Kagiso, to deep rural Eastern Cape in South Africa.”



BY NAFISA AKABOR

HoloLens2

The Advancements In Medical Technology That Go Beyond Covid-19

While most cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. , Europe, and China, the virus is spreading rapidly across the African continent. 



The confirmed worldwide cases for the virus have surpassed 50 million with the current figure being at 86,979,718.



The increase in newly reported cases around the world has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the coronavirus a global pandemic. 



The death toll continues to rise globally now surpassing <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/09/29/coronavirus-claims-the-lives-of-more-than-1-million-people-worldwide/">one million</a>. It is currently at 1,878,992.



The U.S. leads with 365,740 deaths. Brazil comes second with 197,777. India&#8217;s deaths are at 150,151; Mexico is with 128,822 deaths, and The U.K is with 76,329.



China, where the virus originated from, maintains that the country&#8217;s death toll is at 4,634.



The figure of the global recoveries stands at 61,684,121.



The African continent now has a total figure of 2,895,592 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll stands at 68,872. The continent has made 2,388,345 recoveries. 



Here are the country-wide numbers for Africa:



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-regular"><table><tbody><tr><td>Country </td><td>Confirmed Cases </td><td>Confirmed Deaths</td><td>Confirmed Recoveries</td></tr><tr><td>Algeria</td><td>100,873</td><td>2,782</td><td>68,185</td></tr><tr><td>Angola</td><td>17,756</td><td>410</td><td>11,376</td></tr><tr><td>Benin</td><td>3,304</td><td>44</td><td>3,185</td></tr><tr><td>Botswana</td><td>15,440</td><td>45</td><td>12,481</td></tr><tr><td>Burkina Faso</td><td>7,342</td><td>86</td><td>5,443</td></tr><tr><td>Burundi</td><td>842</td><td>2</td><td>687</td></tr><tr><td>Cameroon</td><td>26,848</td><td>448</td><td>24,892</td></tr><tr><td>Cabo Verde (Cape Verde)</td><td>11,983</td><td>113</td><td>11,608</td></tr><tr><td>Central African Republic (CAR)</td><td>4,963</td><td>63</td><td>1,924</td></tr><tr><td>Chad</td><td>2,289</td><td>105</td><td>1,876</td></tr><tr><td>Comoros</td><td>995</td><td>13</td><td>759</td></tr><tr><td>Congo</td><td>7,107</td><td>108</td><td>5,846</td></tr><tr><td>Cote d&#8217;Ivoire (Ivory Coast)</td><td>22,855</td><td>138</td><td>22,154</td></tr><tr><td>Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) </td><td>18,248</td><td>599</td><td>14,723</td></tr><tr><td>Djibouti </td><td>5,854</td><td>61</td><td>5,752</td></tr><tr><td>Egypt</td><td>144,583</td><td>7,918</td><td>115,414</td></tr><tr><td>Equatorial Guinea</td><td>5,286</td><td>86</td><td>5,154</td></tr><tr><td>Eritrea</td><td>1,445</td><td>3</td><td>740</td></tr><tr><td>Eswatini&nbsp;(formerly Swaziland)</td><td>10,338</td><td>252</td><td>6,094</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopia</td><td>126,241</td><td>1,963</td><td>112,813</td></tr><tr><td>Gabon</td><td>9,605</td><td>66</td><td>9,415</td></tr><tr><td>Gambia</td><td>3,812</td><td>125</td><td>3,677</td></tr><tr><td>Ghana</td><td>55,168</td><td>335</td><td>53,928</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea</td><td>13,845</td><td>81</td><td>13,199</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea-Bissau</td><td>2,455</td><td>45</td><td>2,398</td></tr><tr><td>Kenya</td><td>97,398</td><td>1,694</td><td>79,966</td></tr><tr><td>Lesotho</td><td>3,206</td><td>65</td><td>1,496</td></tr><tr><td>Liberia</td><td>1,779</td><td>83</td><td>1,406</td></tr><tr><td>Libya</td><td>102,880</td><td>1,546</td><td>77,435</td></tr><tr><td>Madagascar </td><td>17,767</td><td>262</td><td>17,298</td></tr><tr><td>Malawi</td><td>7,110</td><td>199</td><td>5,753</td></tr><tr><td>Mali</td><td>7,349</td><td>284</td><td>5,070</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritania</td><td>14,981</td><td>367</td><td>12,639</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritius</td><td>531</td><td>10</td><td>513</td></tr><tr><td>Mayotte</td><td>6,045</td><td>56</td><td>2,964</td></tr><tr><td>Morocco</td><td>445,439</td><td>7,581</td><td>416,708</td></tr><tr><td>Mozambique</td><td>19,542</td><td>171</td><td>17,069</td></tr><tr><td>Namibia</td><td>25,887</td><td>222</td><td>21,777</td></tr><tr><td>Niger</td><td>3,557</td><td>112</td><td>2,152</td></tr><tr><td>Nigeria </td><td>92,705</td><td>1,319</td><td>76,396</td></tr><tr><td>Réunion</td><td>9,173</td><td>42</td><td>8,706</td></tr><tr><td>Rwanda</td><td>8,955</td><td>110</td><td>6,878</td></tr><tr><td>Sao Tome and Principe</td><td>1,024</td><td>17</td><td>987</td></tr><tr><td>Senegal</td><td>20,156</td><td>433</td><td>17,782</td></tr><tr><td>Seychelles</td><td>354</td><td>1</td><td>224</td></tr><tr><td>Sierra Leone</td><td>2,724</td><td>76</td><td>1,924</td></tr><tr><td>Somalia</td><td>4,714</td><td>130</td><td>3,612</td></tr><tr><td>South Africa</td><td>1,127,759</td><td>30,524</td><td>920,879</td></tr><tr><td>South Sudan</td><td>3,589</td><td>63</td><td>3,131</td></tr><tr><td>Sudan</td><td>23,316</td><td>1,468</td><td>13,524</td></tr><tr><td>Tanzania</td><td>509</td><td>21</td><td>183</td></tr><tr><td>Togo</td><td>3,770</td><td>69</td><td>3,515</td></tr><tr><td>Tunisia </td><td>147,061</td><td>4,934</td><td>110,324</td></tr><tr><td>Uganda</td><td>36,407</td><td>290</td><td>12,387</td></tr><tr><td>Western Sahara</td><td>10</td><td>1</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Zambia </td><td>23,495</td><td>417</td><td>19,672</td></tr><tr><td>Zimbabwe</td><td>17,194</td><td>418</td><td>11,813</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>







Note: The numbers will be updated as new information is available.

KENYA-HEALTH-VIRUS

[IN NUMBERS] Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 In Africa

There has been enough debate and deliberation around South Africa’s proposed National Health Insurance Bill for unified health coverage. Covid-19 has turned the spotlight on it again, and there’s more news expected in February 2021.



I FEEL GOOD,” WERE THE LAST WORDS 33-YEAR-OLD Charlie Mpogeng remembers his brother, Herman Motlhabane, saying to him before his untimely passing on the morning of July 17.



Motlhabane died, his relatives not knowing it was because of Covid-19 as his test results were only made available two weeks after his passing.



He had complained of a flu before being hospitalized.



“It was during that time of mass hysteria when everyone was like ‘if you have the flu, have it checked out’,” Mpogeng remembers as he walks to his brother’s grave at Westpark Cemetery in Emmarentia, west of Johannesburg. Even as he speaks, a tractor is digging up more graves around him, for other hapless victims who have succumbed to Covid-19.



By the end of July, 1,932 people had died of the pandemic in South Africa’s Gauteng Province, Motlhabane one of them.



With a disruptive virus still on the prowl to claim more unsuspecting lives, political establishments everywhere are sitting up and revisiting their healthcare systems – or the lack of it.



In South Africa, the focus has returned to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, proposed to improve and strengthen the health financing system and provide quality, affordable medical care to all.



“The pandemic also showed the need for the public and private healthcare sectors to work together,” Dr Zweli Mkhize, the country’s health minister, said at a press briefing in October. “This is one of the core principles of the NHI.”



To further enable this, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and The National Institute For Communicable Diseases Of South Africa (NCID) have fallen under one umbrella, to ensure tests are adequately and accurately captured, but also to ensure labs can exchange skills, information and resources as and when the need arises.



“At the start of the pandemic, there was a critical shortage of test kits. At that time, the labs 



would count all the kits that were available in the country and then distribute them equitably amongst each other, regardless of whether the lab was private or public and it’s important



to point out that both public and private labs co-sponsored each other in ensuring equitable distribution,” Popo Maja, the spokesperson for the national Department of Health in South Africa, tells FORBES AFRICA.



Healthcare workers were counted as “one workforce” during these dire times, working freely between public and private sectors and some moving to work at field hospitals. Due to the high demand for hospital beds for Covid-19 patients, the government agreed with private hospital groups about pricing and acceptance of state patients. According to Maja, such negotiations have previously taken years 



and were often facilitated by lawyers and courts, at times without resolution.



“Covid-19 reminded us that we depend on each other. We have been able to forge cooperation between private and public,” Mkhize further stated in a one-on-one interview at the fifth annual FORBES AFRICA Philips Future of Health Summit in November. “We need a system that will ensure equitable access to quality healthcare irrespective of class and status or financial standing. Universal health coverage is now a global aspiration.”



The NHI Bill has been deliberated for years and the next development is expected to happen in February 2021. The Parliament’s portfolio committee on health dealing with the bill said that it plans to submit a report on the comments by then. According to ‘BusinessTech’, the pandemic had an impact on the process regarding the NHI and parliament which had to go through a mountain of submissions on the bill.



And though the Department of Health is confident that the pandemic has proven that the NHI is necessary, others believe differently, in consonance with the fact that the bill has sparked much debate from various quarters over the years.



“Our economic situation has deteriorated so drastically, that if it was unaffordable before, it’s even more unaffordable now. I mean the estimates of costs are hundreds of billions of rands,” says Jack Bloom, Democratic Alliance Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, to FORBES AFRICA.



Bloom goes on to explain that right now, the state should be focusing on fixing the administration issues in the health sector, including those around poor hospital infrastructure, frustrated medical personnel, and delayed surgeries and treatments.



However, Dr Nicolas Crisp, public health specialist and NHI advisor to Mkhize, remains optimistic that the NHI can alleviate some of the problems. He believes that by having the NHI, some of the strain on the private sector can be alleviated.



“This is an ethical matter that needs to be debated between clinicians. It’s not a political matter. And it’s not a purely budget matter. It’s an ethical clinical discussion around what can you give to a patient and it’s about what the evidence shows to be the best outcomes for the inputs,” Crisp says.



He believes that countries with a single health system have tended to do better than those with more than one. Decisions and actions can be taken swiftly with one system as instructions don’t need to be directed to multiple networks. Countries like the United Kingdom and Vietnam already boast such systems.



“So it doesn’t matter who’s actually delivering the services, it’s that there’s a coherent mechanism of making decisions and disseminating those decisions. And there’s a coherent mechanism of collecting data to one central point,” Crisp offers.



He has been a medical practitioner in the public sector from the 90s, consulting not only in South Africa but in other parts of Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho. Crisp became the advisor in July this year to assist with the design and development of the administrative and operational capacity to implement the NHI. For just over a year, Crisp has been working with the Department of Health in South Africa looking at the practical implications and requirements to support the NHI fund.



“It is extremely complicated. Let’s take just the public sector. At the moment, the money to run the public health services comes from the national fiscus; it is distributed to the provincial governments, the government, and then they are the ones who decide what percentage of that equitable share will go to health, then they inform the National Treasury and the National Department of Health that this is the amount of money they set aside for health,” Crisp explains, adding that the private sector is not any better. 



There are two ways to pay for healthcare in the private sector. One is where if you are fortunate enough that you can afford it, and you insure yourself through a medical scheme. However, the terms and conditions of this are that you only manage to cover what you can afford, and when it runs out, some are required to use public services.



“The second way that we pay for healthcare in the private sector is that when the need arises, we scramble and raise money,” Crisp explains, “And for people who are middle income and relatively poor, the only way they can raise money is to sell assets or to scrounge from their neighbors, friends, and family, and to basically blow their cash reserves to pay for their healthcare. So it’s very tenuous, and it’s insecure.”



But what do the healthcare workers feel about the NHI in South Africa in these pressing times?



It’s all good and well to consider the patient but what of those who are in the frontline, tending to them?



Solidarity, a trade union, tells FORBES AFRICA that it believes the NHI can and will destabilize the healthcare sector.



The primary research they did in 2019 amongst medical practitioners in both the private and public sectors threw up a negative response towards it.



Morné Malan, the union’s strategic specialist for research and communication, says the report indicated that 83% of medical professionals believe that should NHI be implemented, it will lead to a drastic increase in immigration to other countries; 41% said they would personally consider taking steps to immigrate if 



it is implemented and 21% of healthcare professionals indicated that they have already started taking steps towards immigration.



“The feedback that we’re getting from the industry itself is that there’s very little confidence in government, and there’s very little confidence in the system itself. And you know, this is a crucial factor. Because these are the professionals who are going to be at the frontline,” Malan says.



Other than the practical implications around NHI, is the financial and fiscal aspect that it will cost billions. And the concern from the trade unions is who will have to pay for the NHI.



“Only around 12% of South Africa’s population pays taxes. Most countries, which do have universal healthcare systems, or I should say, which do have nationalized or socialized medicine, the figure is closer to around 30% plus,” Malan says.



“It is the current system that is unstable,” Maja says. “The government currently uses the same amount of money to fund 16% of the population that uses private healthcare as it uses to fund 84% of the population that uses public facilities. The public healthcare system is under enormous pressure due to a growing population and rise of non-communicable diseases amongst other issues.”



However, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) say they have always supported NHI as it provides universal healthcare to everyone, and healthcare should not be divided into the “haves and have-nots”.



Nehawu spokesperson Khaya Xaba explains that the coronavirus has proven the need for one healthcare system, and not two.



According to Nehawu, the need is urgent, as currently, the private sector only treats 14% of South Africans, who have medical aid; while 86% of South Africans are treated by the public sector.



“I believe that the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country has proven beyond reasonable doubt that we need the urgent implementation of the NHI,” Xaba says.



“Through the NHI, we believe that working together between the two sectors and collapsing them into one will be able to deal with the needs of the country. We will be able to attend to everyone who’s sick, even if they don’t have money.”



Covid-19 may be a stark reminder of the urgent need for a unified healthcare system, but is all of South Africa ready for it yet?



Only time – and perhaps another treacherous jolt from nature – will tell.

FRANCE-HEALTH-VIRUS-TEST

What Next For The NHI?

TOPLINE: Some U.S. cities have now run out of space in their ICUs, with many more on the brink of being overwhelmed as Covid hospitalizations keep skyrocketing to new national records on a daily basis.



<h4>KEY FACTS</h4>



<a href="https://twitter.com/TCBPubHealth/status/1326888035129176064?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jackson, Mississippi</a>—the state’s capital—has “zero” ICU beds available, while the rest of the state has “very few,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/10/tulsa-has-run-out-of-icu-beds-and-el-paso-is-out-of-morgue-space-heres-the-latest-grim-toll-of-covid/?sh=78c74f022133">Tulsa</a>&nbsp;health officials announced Tuesday night that the city had run out of ICU beds.



<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/running-out-of-room-st-louis-hospitals-forced-to-turn-away-patients-from-rural-areas/article_0e17fc93-3e67-5a49-9a33-0b346618b5c3.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St. Louis</a>&nbsp;hospitals are so overwhelmed they’re reportedly having to turn away some patients.



In North Dakota, nurses are being allowed to continue working in certain cases even if they are<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/10/covid-positive-nurses-allowed-to-keep-working-in-north-dakota-amid-staffing-crisis/?sh=392003af60fd">&nbsp;Covid-positive</a>, as Gov. Doug Burgum (R) has warned that the state’s healthcare system could soon be pushed beyond its limits.



A field hospital has been set up for surge capacity in<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/22/926809402/wisconsin-opens-a-field-hospital-at-state-fair-grounds-as-coronavirus-cases-spik" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Wisconsin</a>, with<a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/13/metro/mass-reopen-field-hospital-dcu-center-worcester/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Massachusetts</a>&nbsp;planning to reopen one in December, and $10 million going toward converting a parking garage in<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/525995-nevada-hospital-turns-parking-garage-into-covid-19-surge-unit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Reno, Nevada</a>, into a Covid unit.



Vineet Arora, a hospital expert at the University of Chicago, warns that Illinois is “dangerously close” to exceeding capacity, telling<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/12/934266517/illinois-health-care-workers-say-hospitals-will-run-out-of-icu-beds-by-thanksgiv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;NPR</a>&nbsp;that ICUs will run out of space by Thanksgiving.



<h4>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Several other places around the country—like Kansas City and<a href="https://www.rochesterfirst.com/coronavirus/strong-hospital-nearing-100-capacity-as-covid-19-cases-surge-in-monroe-county/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Rochester, New York</a>—are also pushing the limits of their health care capacity. In<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/14/934185297/covid-19-hospitalizations-surge-in-dakotas-its-like-we-opened-up-a-spigot" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;South Dakota</a>, a health official told NPR that it’s “a possibility” the state would follow North Dakota in taking the exceptional step of allowing nurses with Covid to work in Covid units at hospitals and nursing homes, provided they are asymptomatic. That’s a step Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, Associate Dean of Global Health at UC San Diego and author of “<a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/pOQeCZ6ZQ7fAY0XwTysi5X?domain=theperfectpredator.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Perfect Predator</a>,” told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;earlier this week was “crazy” for North Dakota to take. Another looming problem could be a lack of nurses nationwide. During the spring surge, scores of health workers flocked to New York, which was the hardest-hit city in the country. But the crisis now is nationwide, meaning there could be competition for health workers in many places.



<h4>KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



The U.S. has set a new record for hospitalizations for four-straight days, according to data from<a href="https://covidtracking.com/data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;The COVID Tracking Project</a>, and the trend seems to only be accelerating. Significantly adding to the problem is that new cases are also not only increasing, but constantly increasing at a faster pace, as well. The U.S. added more than 180,000 new cases on Friday, again setting a new record, which keeps getting broken<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/11/14/another-grim-new-record-us-tops-180000-new-infections-friday-covid-cases-rising-in-all-50-states/?sh=6c8aa7821ea5">&nbsp;day after day</a>. Just 10 days earlier, the U.S. had never topped 94,000 cases in a single day. And before the fall surge, the daily case record stood at just over 75,000. Hospitalizations stood at 68,516 on Friday, according to The COVID Tracking Project.<a href="https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-daily-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Deaths</a>, which lag behind increases in cases and then hospitalizations, have been on a steady rise since mid-October. The U.S. is now averaging more than 1,000 Covid deaths a day.



<h4>TANGENT</h4>



<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/us/el-paso-covid-mobile-morgues/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">El Paso, Texas</a>, is dealing with an even more grim problem than hospitals reaching capacity—the city has run out of morgue space.



<h4>FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/10/tulsa-has-run-out-of-icu-beds-and-el-paso-is-out-of-morgue-space-heres-the-latest-grim-toll-of-covid/?sh=78c74f022133">Tulsa Has Run Out Of ICU Beds And El Paso Is Out Of Morgue Space—Here’s The Latest Grim Toll Of Covid</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/10/covid-positive-nurses-allowed-to-keep-working-in-north-dakota-amid-staffing-crisis/?sh=392003af60fd">Covid-Positive Nurses Allowed To Keep Working In North Dakota Amid Staffing Crisis</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/14/934185297/covid-19-hospitalizations-surge-in-dakotas-its-like-we-opened-up-a-spigot" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COVID-19 Hospitalizations Surge In Dakotas: &#8216;It&#8217;s Like We Opened Up A Spigot&#8217;</a>&nbsp;(NPR)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/11/14/another-grim-new-record-us-tops-180000-new-infections-friday-covid-cases-rising-in-all-50-states/?sh=6c8aa7821ea5">Another Grim New Record: U.S. Tops 180,000 New Infections Friday, Covid Cases Rising In All 50 States</a> (Forbes)



-By Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff

COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit Within A Houston Hospital Cares For Patients As Cases Continue To Rise

Here’s Where You Can No Longer Get An ICU Bed Because Of Covid

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved remdesivir as a treatment for hospitalized coronavirus patients, Gilead Sciences said, making it the first FDA-approved drug for Covid-19.



<h4>KEY FACTS</h4>



The drug was previously granted an emergency use authorization in May, which allowed healthcare providers to administer the treatment even though it wasn’t formally approved by the FDA.



Remdesivir, which is sold under the brand name Veklury, “should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care,” Gilead said.



The drug is approved for adults and children 12 and older weighing at least 88 lbs. for coronavirus treatment requiring hospitalization.



Clinical trial data has been mixed: A&nbsp;<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04292730" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">randomized</a>&nbsp;trial from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found remdesivir improved recovery time, but a study from the World Health Organization, which has not yet been peer reviewed,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/10/15/antiviral-drug-remdesivir-proves-ineffective-in-treating-covid-19-who-study-finds/#ff60bb95d01d">found</a>&nbsp;last week the drug did not increase the chances of survival or result in faster recovery.



Gilead shares jumped 3.8% in after hours trading following the announcement.&nbsp;



<h4>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“It is incredible to be in the position today, less than one year since the earliest case reports of the disease now known as COVID-19, of having an FDA-approved treatment in the U.S. that is available for all appropriate patients in need,” said Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day in a statement.



<h4>KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



President Donald Trump took remdesivir when being treated for the coronavirus earlier this month.



&#8211;By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

GERMANY-HEALTH-VIRUS

FDA Approves Remdesivir For Covid-19 Treatment

American researchers Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British scientist Michael Houghton were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough which “made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives,” the Nobel Assembly <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-medicine2020.pdf" target="_blank">said</a> on Monday.



<h4>KEY FACTS</h4>



In its press release, the Nobel Assembly praised the scientists’ for their “seminal discoveries that led to the identification of a novel virus, Hepatitis C” noting that prior to this, most blood-borne hepatitis cases remained unexplained.



The blood-borne disease may cause liver inflammation and cancer and the World Health Organisation estimates that there are 70 million cases of hepatitis worldwide, leading to 400,000 deaths each year.



In 1976, American scientist Baruch Blumberg won the Nobel prize for discovering Hepatitis B, the first blood-borne hepatitis.



The Nobel in medicine is the first of six prizes that are set to be announced this month, marking exceptional achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.



<h4>KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



The winners of the 2020 Nobel prizes will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/the-nobel-prize-amounts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">receive</a>&nbsp;a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish Kronor ($1.12 million). While working at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Alter was the first to discover that patients receiving blood transfusions were getting infected by a new form of chronic viral hepatitis that was distinct from Hepatitis A and B. Houghton, working for pharmaceutical firm Chiron, then helped genetically sequence the then-unknown pathogen and discovered it was a novel RNA virus belonging to the Flavivirus family and named it Hepatitis C. Rice, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, through his work on the virus’ genome, found proof that the Hepatitis C virus alone could cause unexplained cases of transfusion-mediated hepatitis.



<h4>FURTHER READING</h4>



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/health/nobel-prize-medicine.html" target="_blank">Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen</a> (New York Times)



-By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

SWEDEN-NOBEL-MEDICINE

Nobel Prize In Medicine Awarded To Trio Of Scientists Who Discovered Hepatitis C Virus

When Houston was gripped by a severe Covid-19 wave in June, a mutated form of coronavirus that developed elsewhere in the world and which is known to be especially contagious grew to eventually dominate the city’s infected patients, according to a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.22.20199125v1" target="_blank">study released Wednesday</a> that could raise new questions about how quickly the virus evolved as it spread around the world.



<h5>KEY FACTS</h5>



The study, which was not peer-reviewed and was first reported by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/?arc404=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Post</a>, looked at virus samples from two different Covid-19 waves in the Houston area over the spring and summer.



Many different strains of the virus entered Houston initially, but when the city moved from a small initial wave in March to a much larger outbreak in late June, almost every coronavirus sample contained a particular mutation on the virus’ surface that had previously been found in cases in Europe.



Patients with that strain of coronavirus carried more virus particles than other people, meaning they were probably more infectious, the study found.



Researchers say the rise of this contagious strain of the virus may have driven up the infection rate in the Houston area, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tmc.edu/coronavirus-updates/infection-rate-in-the-greater-houston-area/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">jumped</a>&nbsp;from an average of around 200 new Covid-19 cases per day to more than 2,400.



The mutation did not appear to make the virus more dangerous or change patients’ outcomes, according to the study.



A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.31.20166082v2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">similar study</a>&nbsp;from earlier this month found evidence that the United Kingdom was also overtaken by the same virus strain over the spring.



<h5>KEY BACKGROUND</h5>



Scientists are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/18/mutant-virus-should-we-be-worried-sars-cov-2-changing-covid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not surprised</a>&nbsp;that coronavirus has evolved over time. Mutations take place when a virus replicates and, after infecting more than 30 million people, coronavirus has had plenty of opportunities to mutate. Most mutations have no impact, but this process sometimes changes the virus’ behavior or makeup, and if that change helps the virus spread, a mutated version of the virus can eventually dominate through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02544-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural selection</a>. This study from Houston is the latest evidence that coronavirus is changing as it moves around, possibly becoming slightly more infectious in the process.



<h5>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h5>



&nbsp;If coronavirus is evolving over time, that process could impact the effectiveness of a vaccine. The virus rarely infects the same person twice, but some research shows that reinfection is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/coronavirusfrontlines/2020/09/22/can-you-get-a-covid-19-infection-twice-an-infectious-disease-doctor-discusses-new-evidence/#130382fd7b09">more possible</a>&nbsp;if a patient gets two different strains of coronavirus. For that reason, as the virus changes, a vaccine might need to change along with it.



<h5>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h5>



“We’ll have to chase the virus and, as it mutates, we’ll have to tinker with our vaccine,” David Morens, a virologist and advisor at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the&nbsp;Washington Post.



<h5>FURTHER READING</h5>



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/?arc404=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Massive genetic study shows coronavirus mutating and potentially evolving amid rapid U.S. spread (Washington Post)</a>



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/18/mutant-virus-should-we-be-worried-sars-cov-2-changing-covid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mutant virus: should we be worried that Sars-CoV-2 is changing? (The Guardian)</a>



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02544-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The coronavirus is mutating — does it matter? (Nature)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/coronavirusfrontlines/2020/09/22/can-you-get-a-covid-19-infection-twice-an-infectious-disease-doctor-discusses-new-evidence/#130382fd7b09">Can You Get A Covid-19 Infection Twice? An Infectious Disease Doctor Discusses New Evidence (Forbes)</a>



-By Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff

Coronavirus blood test in hospital laboratory

Coronavirus May Have Mutated To Become More Contagious, Study Finds

As the coronavirus crisis wears on, new research from the Pew Research Center shows that public perception of the economy has “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/03/views-of-the-economy-have-turned-sharply-negative-in-many-countries-amid-covid-19/" target="_blank">turned bleak</a>” in large parts of the world.



KEY FACTS



A median of 68% of people considered their country’s current economic situation to be bad, the researchers found, while 31% said conditions were good.&nbsp;



Italy had the largest portion of people who rated the economic situation negatively, with 90% describing the situation as “bad.”&nbsp;



In eight of the 14 countries surveyed, including the U.K., France, and South Korea, the majority of people expected their countries’ economies to get worse.



In the United States, Germany, and Canada, however, people were more likely to say that the economy would improve over the next year than to say it would get worse.&nbsp;



The researchers noted that in nearly every country they surveyed, the perception of how bad the economy is tied to how the country handled the coronavirus crisis: people who viewed their country’s response negatively were more likely to have a negative view of the economic situation.&nbsp;



CRUCIAL QUOTE



“In addition to the broadly negative assessments of current economic conditions, few in the countries surveyed are hopeful things will get better in the next year,” researchers Shannon Schumacher and Mara Mordecai wrote.&nbsp;



KEY BACKGROUND



Countries all around the world are now faced with the dire economic consequences of the pandemic. Australia has entered its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/business/australia-recession.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first recession</a>&nbsp;in almost 30 years. The United Kingdom has entered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53748278" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its first recession</a>&nbsp;in more than a decade; CNN reports that the U.K.’s economy shrunk by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/economy/global-recession-g7-countries/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than 20%</a>&nbsp;between April and June. France just unveiled a<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-economy/france-unleashes-100-billion-euro-stimulus-to-revive-economy-idUSKBN25U0IA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;$118 billion stimulus&nbsp; plan</a>&nbsp;to combat its own economic woes. Japan’s economy saw its biggest downturn on record, the BBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53802967#:~:text=Coronavirus%3A%20Japan%20suffers%20its%20biggest%20economic%20slump%20on%20record,-17%20August%202020&amp;text=The%20Japanese%20economy%20has%20shrunk,27.8%25%20on%20an%20annualised%20basis." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>, after its GDP fell nearly 8% between April and June. In the United States, trillions in stimulus spending is on track to push debt to GDP levels above 100% next year.&nbsp;



FURTHER READING



<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/03/views-of-the-economy-have-turned-sharply-negative-in-many-countries-amid-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Views of the economy have turned sharply negative in many countries amid COVID-19</a>&nbsp;(Pew Research Center)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/09/02/thanks-to-stimulus-spending-us-debt-expected-to-exceed-the-size-of-the-entire-economy-next-year/#7ad2290d2384">Thanks To Stimulus Spending, U.S. Debt Expected To Exceed The Size Of The Entire Economy Next Year</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/07/30/economy-shrank-at-historic-33-annual-rate-in-second-quarter-but-thats-not-the-whole-story/">Economy Shrank At Historic 33% Annual Rate In Second Quarter—But That’s Not The Whole Story</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



-Sarah Hansen, Forbes Staff

Business office is closed, bankrupt business, global economic crisis impact by Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic concepts. Unidentified person wearing mask put closed sign on front door with 3d viruses recession graph

Coronavirus Crisis Has Led To ‘Bleak’ Perception Of The Economy, Study Says

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown millions of Americans into financial distress, but new <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2020/08/the-disproportionate-effects-of-covid-19-on-households-with-children.html" target="_blank">research</a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that the economic impact has been especially pronounced for households with children. 



KEY FACTS



Households with children under 18 living at home are more likely to have lost jobs and income: household heads lost their jobs in 12.9% of households with children compared to 9.2% of households without them, the study found.&nbsp;



They’re also more likely to have missed rent or debt payments: 19.5% of households with children said they skipped a rent, mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or student loan payment compared to 12.5% of households without.



Families with kids are also more likely to rely on external support like unemployment benefits, food stamps and food banks, and financial support from family and friends.



This reliance is even higher among single-parent, non-white households and households in low-income neighborhoods, the researchers found.&nbsp;



All this, of course, is only compounded by the added burdens of virtual schooling and closed childcare facilities that working parents and caretakers must contend with.



BIG NUMBER



39%. That’s the portion of households with children that reported income losses, compared to 30.8% of households without.&nbsp;



CRUCIAL QUOTE 



“Our results reveal high reliance by [households with children], and especially those headed by a single parent, on food and financial support from social networks as well as government assistance in the form of SNAP and unemployment benefits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the researchers wrote. “While a greater reliance on assistance undoubtedly predates the pandemic, the high rates of job and income loss experienced by households with children has clearly heightened the importance of such support.”



KEY BACKGROUND



Several key benefits of the CARES Act have expired—most notably supplemental unemployment benefits and eviction protections for certain renters—but the Trump administration and top Democratic lawmakers have been unable to come to an agreement on what the next round of federal stimulus legislation should look like. The $3 trillion Heroes Act, passed by the Democrat-led House in May, included additional support for federal unemployment and nutrition assistance, along with another round of direct stimulus payments and hazard pay for essential workers. The Republican-led Senate never took up the bill, though it did release its own plan—the Heals Act—last month. When Democratic lawmakers and White House policymakers were unable to reach a compromise last week, President Trump took&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/08/08/600-weekly-unemployment-check-cut-to-400-under-trump-executive-orders-and-more/">executive action over the weekend</a>&nbsp;with respect to enhanced unemployment benefits, student loans, eviction protections and a payroll tax deferment. Those actions alone, however, aren’t likely to be as effective in propping up the economy as would legislation from Congress.&nbsp;



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/08/12/second-stimulus-negotiations-appear-to-be-at-a-standstill-heres-what-could-happen-next/">Second Stimulus Negotiations Appear To Be At A Standstill, Here&#8217;s What Could Happen Next</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/06/05/heres-what-the-racial-wealth-gap-in-america-looks-like-today/">Here’s What The Racial Wealth Gap In America Looks Like Today</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/08/11/heres-why-that-400-unemployment-check-from-trumps-executive-order-may-not-happen/">Here’s Why That $400 Unemployment Check From Trump’s Executive Order May Not Happen</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/08/13/unemployment-claims-clock-in-under-1-million-for-first-time-since-coronavirus-crisis-began/">Unemployment Claims Clock In Under 1 Million For First Time Since Coronavirus Crisis Began</a> (Forbes)



-Sarah Hansen, Forbes Staff

Re-opening Continues Across Densely Populated New York And New Jersey Areas

The Coronavirus Recession Has Been Worse For Families With Kids, N.Y. Fed Finds

One morning, when I was 14 years old, I woke up with&nbsp;excruciating&nbsp;stomach pain—the worst I’d ever had. My mom took me to urgent care, and the doctors there concluded that I had gastritis, or essentially a “bad stomach ache.”



But I&nbsp;knew&nbsp;they were wrong. I knew it was more than just a bad stomach ache. I kept pushing my parents until they finally took me to the hospital. After doing a variety of exams, the doctors said something along the lines of, “We really can’t find what’s wrong, but you seem to be in a lot of pain.” They gave me two options: wait four hours until the next available CAT scan, or let them do exploratory surgery and see what they find.



I decided to do the exploratory surgery. It ended up being a major, major surgery—over six hours long—and they found a tear in my intestine. They had to remove about 10 feet of my intestine, and it turns out that if I had waited for the CAT scan, I actually would have died. So, I like to say that that was the first time I learned how to trust my gut (in this case, my&nbsp;literal&nbsp;gut).



I think about this experience all the time, but I found myself reflecting on it even more as I was reading my friend Dr. Alyson McGregor’s new book, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Matters-Male-Centric-Medicine-Endangers/dp/073824676X" target="_blank">Sex Matters: How Male-Centric Medicine Endangers Women’s Health and What We Can Do About It</a>. I don’t know how much of my near-death experience was linked to my being female, but I do know that when it comes to our medical system, women have consistently experienced poorer outcomes in every area of health than men.



McGregor writes: “One of the biggest and most flawed assumptions in medicine is this: if it makes sense in a male body, it must make sense in a female one.”



Our methods for evaluating, diagnosing, and treating disease for both men and women are based on previous research performed on male bodies. But women are physiologically different from men on every level—and these differences can have major impacts on everything in medicine, from how drugs are prescribed, to how routine tests are performed, to how pain is assessed and treated, to how systemic disease is diagnosed.



Here’s an example. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, but women have statistically poorer outcomes and higher mortality. Why? Because women’s symptoms are simply different from men’s. While men might experience left arm pain and chest heaviness (“typical” heart disease symptoms), women often present with only mild pain and discomfort, possibly combined with fatigue, shortness of breath, and a strong feeling that “something isn’t right.” Since women’s symptoms are not the symptoms that doctors typically associate with heart disease, their heart disease is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.world-heart-federation.org/news/new-study-women-likely-die-heart-attack-due-unequal-treatment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 percent</a>&nbsp;more likely to be initially misdiagnosed.



There are hundreds more examples like this one. It’s clear that there is work to do when it comes to unconscious biases in medicine—but, as women, how can we best advocate for our health and ensure that our concerns are heard and taken seriously?



1. Be prepared.



Your doctor may have gone through years of medical school, but that doesn’t mean they’re all-knowing. Research your conditions, your prescriptions, and how your prescriptions interact with each other. This way, you can have an informed conversation with your physician if something is wrong. Also, keep an up-to-date list of your prescriptions and allergies with you at all times so that any provider who cares for you will have all of the information they need.



2. Ask questions.



Even after you do your research, you may still have questions. Don’t be afraid to ask them—especially gender-specific ones. For example, “Has this medication been tested in women? If, so are there different dosing guidelines?” Or, “Will this prescription/test/procedure affect my birth control/pregnancy/breastfeeding?” It’s important to make sure you’re not only being treated for the correct conditions, but also that you’re being treated properly as a&nbsp;woman&nbsp;with those conditions.



3. Trust yourself.



Just like 14-year-old me trusted her (literal) gut! No one’s voice should take precedence over yours when it comes to your body and your health care. As women, we tend to be more attuned to our own bodies than men. We are more likely to notice symptoms when they first appear, and we usually seek treatment more frequently and earlier than men. If you feel like you’re being misdiagnosed or undertreated, keep pushing until you get answers—your life may depend on it.



4. Make your voice heard.



It’s important to advocate for yourself on an individual level, but you may be inspired to do even more. Financially, you can donate to research and advocacy foundations, or even specific research projects within your local universities and hospitals. Other effective advocacy ideas that don’t cost anything are to join a medical research trial, join a support group, or harness the power of social media to share your story. Any of this could be what makes it possible for others to get the treatment they need.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriekerpen/people/carriekerpen/">Carrie Kerpen</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbeswomen">, ForbesWomen</a>

gettyimages-123317975-170667a

4 Ways Women Can Better Advocate For Their Own Health

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="720" height="405" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WHO.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46685" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WHO.jpg 720w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WHO-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WHO-600x338.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption>Flags fly at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo Eric Bridiers/ <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/us-mission/14195612051" target="_blank">U.S. Mission Geneva</a>/ <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-ND</a></figcaption></figure>



The World Health Organization (WHO) has been under attack- efforts being made to defund it, ridicule it, undermine it. The world is fighting a major pandemic which rivals the flu of 1918, which killed over 50 million people.



The Coronavirus pandemic may well be a precursor of what is to come in the future. This for sure is not the last pandemic the world will grapple with, <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/2020/05/13/without-universal-health-coverage-we-are-sitting-ducks-when-the-next-pandemic-strikes/">so let’s brace for impact</a>, as the velocity and virulence of the next contagion may be far more fierce and destructive than COVID-19.



A recent remark that “WHO has been bought by China” is painful to hear. Coming from a senior leader of a country which is the beating heart of the UN’s multilateral system, and has been at the vanguard of improving lives and livelihoods of populations all over the world, is puzzling.



Words matter, and by promoting a number of incorrect and insinuating statements, such language may damage the overall pandemic response and undermine an organization that is doing its best – under the extraordinary circumstances – to save lives across the globe.&nbsp;



I live in Kenya, and on a day to day basis I see the WHO working with countries across the continent to strengthen health systems and tackle health crises. These African countries, like many others especially in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, rely on WHO for guidance, expertise and often for human resources, particularly around disease responses like Ebola, Marburg, Zika or the plague.&nbsp;



I myself have been a beneficiary of the organization’s work, having been immunized as a child through one of the WHO immunization programs, and <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/qa-we-need-a-decisive-win-against-polio/">surviving polio</a> thanks to these efforts. Small pox would not have been eradicated without WHO. Billions more have benefited from WHO’s work, and humanity as a whole stands to gain from a well-funded, highly operational institution not only during this pandemic, but for years to come to prevent the next pandemic and build robust health systems.



Currently, there have been more than 15 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 600,000 deaths around the world. But this tiny microbe has impacted far more than just the global health system. It has pressure tested our political, economic, social and cultural institutions, attacking not only our bodies but the very threads of humanity that hold us together. What’s clear already is that the virus mercilessly exploits any chinks in national unity or global solidarity, making it an enemy far more formidable the modern world has seen in recent history.&nbsp;



At a pivotal time for tackling the pandemic, the global response needs solidarity, not politicization. The attacks against WHO threatens to derail global efforts to bring this pandemic under control.



Over the course of the next few months, governments will determine not only how they tackle COVID-19, but they will set a precedent that will guide the world for tackling future global threats.&nbsp;No country can overcome this pandemic on its own, no matter how advanced its economic systems are or how mighty its military is.



This pandemic is threatening lives, livelihoods, social and economic systems that have taken decades to build. It is an enemy that is threatening to reverse the gains the world has made in healthcare, education, poverty reduction, eradicating hunger and strengthening political unity.



For the sake of humanity, we must stand united against it, and this means supporting institutions that are playing a key role in the pandemic response.



From the climate crisis to inequality, antimicrobial resistance to the threat of a meteor hit, global challenges need global solutions, and these solutions cannot be developed if we focus on demonizing institutions rather than addressing the real issues at hand.



In terms of COVID-19, we have seen examples from around the world that clearly show that no matter how bad the outbreak, leaders can get a grip on the virus. By working with a whole of government and whole of society approach, the virus can be brought under control. Countries that have done this successfully, including New Zealand and Vietnam, which stand out as exemplars of how to tackle the pandemic, have shown us that a singular focus on preventing transmission and keeping their populations safe – not engaging in politics, blame games and blatant denial of science – is what is needed to ultimately flatten the curve.



WHO continues to provide valuable leadership in navigating the pandemic, helping the world deal with this crisis by distributing much-needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and diagnostics, providing technical guidance for health workers, leading efforts to find a vaccine and disseminating&nbsp;information that is playing a critical role in keeping people safe. Reducing support for WHO at this time is therefore tantamount to saying that we are all on our own. But we are not.



At the conclusion of the 73rd World Health Assembly on 19 May 2020, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “COVID-19 has robbed us of people we love. It’s robbed us of lives and livelihoods; it’s shaken the foundations of our world; it threatens to tear at the fabric of international cooperation. But it’s also reminded us that for all our differences, we are one human race, and we are stronger together.”



Let’s take a moment to look at the value WHO brings to the world. It may not be a perfect institution, but it is providing global leadership at a time when it is needed most.



What WHO has achieved in 72 years is remarkable, and undeniable. To accelerate the science, find solutions to the COVID-19 challenges and build global solidarity; now more than ever, the world needs WHO.



Siddharth Chatterjee, is the United Nations resident coordinator to Kenya. He has served with the UN and the Red Cross Movement in various parts of the world affected by conflicts and humanitarian crisis. He is also a decorated Special Forces veteran and a Princeton University alumnus. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@sidchat1</a>



The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.​​​​​

Attacking WHO is Unhelpful-Let’s Focus on Defeating The Virus

South Africa is very much in the early phase of the pandemic, says expert.



South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) announced on Tuesday during a virtual press conference that it will begin the continent’s first clinical trial for a Covid-19 vaccine. Leading the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial is Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA).



“This is a landmark moment for South Africa and Africa at this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we enter winter in South Africa and pressure increases on public hospitals, now more than ever, we need a vaccine to prevent infection by Covid-19,” said Madhi at the launch.



“We began screening participants for the South African Oxford 1 Covid-19 vaccine trial last week and the first participants will be vaccinated this week,” he added.



Speaking to FORBES AFRICA, Martin Veller, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits, believes South Africa is very much in the early phase of the pandemic.



“We will be seeing a lot more cases. And that is already reflected in the significant increase of the numbers that we’ve seen in the country.”



South Africa’s total number of cases has surpassed 100,000 with the death toll reaching 1,991.



The South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial will start tomorrow, June 24.



“2,000 people will be entered into the trial. It’s important to note that the trial is largely going to be a placebo-controlled trial. One needs to see firstly what the safety of the vaccine is but much more importantly whether it’s effective,” says Veller.



He further stated that the participants will be followed for a whole year and the results will be analysed intermittently.



The institution is also collaborating with other institutions on the vaccine trial.



“Because of the expertise that Professor Madhi, his colleagues at Oxford University very early on contacted him to take part in the development and the trials of this vaccine,” says Veller.



Wits will also be collaborating with the Jenner Institute at Oxford University on the trial.

gettyimages-1215274453-170667a

2,000 Participants To Be Entered Into South Africa’s First Covid-19 Vaccine Trial

If governments don’t focus on strong privacy protections in their COVID-19 contact tracking tools, it could exacerbate domestic abuse and endanger survivors, according to a warning from women’s support charities.



They’ve urged the U.K. government to include domestic abuse and violence against women and girls (VAWG) experts in the development of such initiatives.



Though the U.K. doesn’t yet have a widely available track and trace app, the charities &#8211; including Women’s Aid and Refuge &#8211; are already anxious enough about the current tracing program, where infected people are called up and asked to register themselves online as someone who has contracted COVID-19. They’re then asked to share details on people with whom they’ve been in contact so they too can be informed.



In a joint whitepaper, the nonprofits said they were anxious about contact tracing staff inadvertently leaking contact details of survivors to perpetrators. They also raised fears the program could be turned into a “tool for abuse.” 



“For example, perpetrators may make fraudulent claims that they have been in contact with survivors in order for them to be asked to self-isolate unnecessarily, and in these circumstances survivors will have no means to identify the perpetrator as the original source,” they warned. “Perpetrators or associates may also pose as contact tracing staff and make contact with victims [or] survivors requesting they self-isolate or requesting personal information.”



The paper also claims abusers are already using the coronavirus pandemic for “coercive control,” in some cases deliberately breathing, spitting and coughing in survivors’ faces. As <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/05/09/online-child-abuse-complaints-surpass-4-million-in-april-this-is-how-cops-are-coping-despite-covid-19/">Forbes previously reported</a>, the sharing of child abuse material has also spiked during global COVID-19 lockdowns.



As for apps, the report warned they required location services to be switched on. “While the NHS app itself doesn’t collect location data, if a perpetrator has installed spyware onto a survivor’s phone or is able to hack into it, then turning on location services will expose their location.”



Problems with Palantir?



The charities also raised concerns about a number of companies who’d partnered with the U.K. on the contact tracing initiatives. They said Serco, which is handling recruiting for contact tracing staff, “has a significant track record of failings and human rights violations, including running a controversial women’s immigration detention centre where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/serco-given-yarl-s-wood-immigration-contract-despite-vast-failings-9880772.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">staff have been accused of sexual misconduct</a>&nbsp;and involvement in unlawful evictions of asylum seekers.” Serco also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/20/serco-accidentally-shares-contact-tracers-email-addresses-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently had to apologize for leaking email addresses</a>&nbsp;of contact tracer staff.



Serco denies that it has any kind of significant track record of failing and human rights violations and that the evictions to which the charities are referring were in Scotland and were ruled legal. It also said that in seven years there had been no substantiated complaints about any sexual wrongdoing at the Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre, where reports had revealed allegations.



“We are proud to be supporting the government’s test and trace programme with our Tier 3 contact centre team working from pre-approved Public Health England scripts. This is important work and we would like to thank all our teams who have stepped forward. In just four week we mobilised many thousands of people, which is a huge achievement, and we are focussed on ensuring that all our people are able to support the government’s programme going forwards,” a Serco spokesperson said.



Palantir, the $20 billion big data crunching business, also raised an eyebrow. The company, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/03/31/palantir-the-20-billion-peter-thiel-backed-big-data-giant-is-providing-a-coronavirus-monitoring-tool-to-the-cdc/">secured millions of dollars in contracts to help health agencies manage the outbreak</a>, has come in for criticism for assisting U.S. immigration authorities on finding and ejecting illegal aliens.



Palantir hadn’t responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.



<h2>UK’s delayed COVID-19 app</h2>



The charities’ warning comes as the U.K. announced its contact tracing app would be shifting to the Apple and Google models, which promise stronger privacy protections than the app being tested by the government. The main difference is in where user information goes. In the government’s app, anonymized phone IDs of both the infected person and the people they’ve been near are sent to a centralized server, which determines who to warn about possible COVID-19 infection. In the Apple and Google model, only the phone ID of the infected person is sent to a centralized database. The phone then downloads the database and decides where to send alerts. The latter means the government has access to far less data on people’s phones, pleasing some critics but aggravating the government.



Health secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday that Apple&#8217;s restrictions on third-party apps&#8217; use of Bluetooth may’ve been one reason the government’s own app wasn’t as successful as hoped. Bluetooth is being used to determine whether an infected person has been in close proximity with another person’s phone.



Earlier this week, Amnesty International cybersecurity researcher Claudio Guarnieri&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/06/16/covid-19-tracking-apps-a-privacy-trash-fire-as-norway-nixes-its-own/">warned</a>&nbsp;that global rollouts of contact tracing apps were a privacy “trash fire.” After analyzing 11 apps, he found many contained privacy shortcomings. So concerned was Norway that it suspended its tool.



Even with lockdowns easing, those who’re infected are still being advised to isolate. However,  the NHS guidance <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hpft.nhs.uk/information-and-resources/coronavirus/domestic-violenceabuse-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank">says</a> that “the household isolation instruction as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19) does not apply if you need to leave your home to escape domestic abuse.” That message may not have been amplified as much as it should’ve been.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/">Thomas Brewster</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/cybersecurity">Cybersecurity</a>

gettyimages-1221768016-170667a

Warning: COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps Could Be Turned Into Tools For Domestic Abuse

Zola Brunner, the founder of BeyondLupus, says lupus patients have been directly affected by Covid-19 because there is a shortage of the drugs they require.



In April 2018, South African media entrepreneur Zola Brunner was only a month away from celebrating her 25th birthday when she received a life-changing phone call. Around noon, her rheumatologist informed her that her test results had returned positive for lupus. The nightmare she had dreaded all along, quickly turned into an earth-shattering reality.



“I was perplexed because it was not a straight diagnosis, I was told my symptoms also resembled that of lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system,” she says.



Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease causing inflammation and pain in any part of the body. The body’s immune system, which usually fights infections, attacks healthy tissue instead. Commonly affected are the joints, skin and internal organs such as the kidneys and heart.



While anyone can develop the disease, certain people are at a higher risk. This includes women between the ages of 15 to 44, as well as people from certain racial groups and ethnic backgrounds.



“A month later [after the diagnosis], I was sitting in hospital, and had no job,” Brunner says. All the trips to hospital meant she had to resign from a job she loved, as the producer of eNCA’s BackChat, a youth current affairs TV show.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="693" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671-1024x693.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46042" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671-1024x693.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671-600x406.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2-e1592210720671.jpg 1116w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Zola Brunner working from her hospital room. Photo supplied.</figcaption></figure>



She then made a decision to turn her pain into purpose.



In July that year, she started BeyondLupus, an advocacy page that has attracted a following of over 5,000 people around the world.



“I started it for two reasons. Firstly, I did not know anyone personally that had lupus and I wanted to relate to others. And secondly, I am a story-teller at heart and wanted to use this platform to give other lupus warriors the freedom to share and read each other&#8217;s experiences,” says Brunner.



Covid-19 impact on lupus patients



As Covid-19 turns the world on its head, those with low immunity need to be extra-vigilant as they are more susceptible to contracting the coronavirus.



For patients with autoimmune conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the pandemic has also brought with it another major problem: the reduced availability of the drugs used to treat them.



In March, US president Donald Trump was embroiled in controversy when he tweeted that “hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine… hopefully, they will both be put in use immediately”.



Dr Joyce Ziki, a specialist rheumatologist in Johannesburg, says that plasmoquine/chloroquine, used for the treatment of lupus, is one of the drugs “that has been thought to prevent and or cure Covid-19 in conjunction with other drugs”.



“Plasmoquine/chloroquine was being used for prevention and treatment of patients with Covid-19 and hence it became unavailable in pharmacies in South Africa. Many patients with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis could not get the drug. The situation was worse in late March until May. Supplies are beginning to improve now,” she says, further adding that information regarding its efficacy in the management of patients with Covid-19 is currently controversial and inconclusive as studies are ongoing.



“Many members of the BeyondLupus community have come to me to tell me that they have been directly affected because there is a shortage of supply for [the drugs] and they are upset,” Brunner says.



As a result, BeyondLupus published a petition to put forward in collaboration with the Lupus Foundation of South Africa concerning the stockpiling of the drugs to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).



Brunner says SAHPRA responded saying they would keep aside the plasmoquine/chloroquine medicine specifically for lupus patients.



“If you want to ensure that your medication supply is on track, you can message them or email them and they will make sure that they store it,” offers Brunner.



In a web statement, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, CEO of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), urged pharmacies to effectively manage the access to chloroquine containing products and limit any possible stockpile as “it could have important negative public health consequences”. Semete-Makokotlela further stated that the benefits as well as the potential risks of the use of chloroquine as a treatment in patients with coronavirus, are still being investigated.

How Lupus Patients Are Being Impacted By Covid-19

TOPLINE&nbsp;Many employers should adopt a “hybrid” model of office work, with some employees in the office and others working remotely. Clearly communicate phased reopening plans with employees, especially new office protocols, such as testing and wearing masks.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed19b7a8be1be0006b4cbbe/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="public-health-experts"/></figure>



<ul><li>Consider a staggered return. “Offices may consider starting slow by opening with fewer people at first,” says Dr. Mark Kortepeter, an epidemiology professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and author of Inside the Hot Zone. He also suggests shifting work schedules and “having liberal stay at home policies if people are ill.”</li><li>Antibody testing can be a helpful tool but not a panacea, Kortepeter says. The accuracy of the tests can vary, especially because there is a lag time between being infected with the virus and developing antibodies. We also don&#8217;t fully understand whether having antibodies translates to protection from infection and for how long. </li><li>Build areas of protection. The virus mostly spreads via large respiratory droplets, so using plexiglass or other types of barriers can block some of the direct spread of these droplets.</li><li>Minimize face-to-face contact by instituting virtual meetings. For in-person meetings, make sure there is enough room to socially distance. </li><li>Establish employee protocols around personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed19b61b37b8e000605bc84/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Fc"/></figure>



<ul><li>Adopt a “hybrid” approach to reopening. “Some jobs are better performed remotely and some are better performed in the office,” says Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. “Employers are going through that process literally by job category.”</li><li>There are varied ways to reopen, says Taylor. The society’s most recent survey of employers found 39 percent were planning to implement a phased reopening strategy, with critical teams returning first, while 19 percent plan to implement an alternating schedule strategy, with most employees returning on alternating days or weeks.&nbsp;</li><li>Establish a policy around personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, because lax or conflicting guidelines will cause confusion. “We are now watching very closely what happens when you get people back into the workplace, particularly where businesses don&#8217;t mandate the wearing of a mask,” says Taylor. “You have a new area of dispute that&#8217;s going to need to be resolved by employers.”</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed19b347f63de00066e0b22/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="AFGw"/></figure>



Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/videos/live-from-our-internal-weekly-company-townhall-sharing-an-update-on-our-approach/10111936118050541/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;sweeping changes to its remote work policies, such as allowing employees to request the option of permanently working from home and “aggressively” increasing the hiring of remote employees to diversify its workforce. “For the last 10 or 11 weeks, we&#8217;ve had 95 percent or more of our population working remotely and what we’ve found is that we’re still able to get a lot of work done,” says Lori Goler, Facebook’s Vice President of People. The new emphasis on remote hiring will allow Facebook to expand its talent pool geographically. “It really creates a lot of opportunity across the United States. So now you don&#8217;t have to live in one of the locations [where we have offices] which means that people don&#8217;t have to get up and leave their communities,” Goler says.&nbsp;



When the social media giant starts to reopen offices as permitted by state and local officials, they expect to operate at no more than 25 percent capacity in the near-term while proper safety measures are put in place.&nbsp; “We decided that we would take a more conservative approach, both in terms of leaving the offices and in terms of returning to the offices,” Goler says.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed19b0c5e2c7400068b09b6/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="red-flags"/></figure>



Be alert for working conditions (or fellow employees) that are not complying with safety guidelines. Offices are full of high-touch surfaces—door handles, light switches, appliances—so check what the new cleaning and disinfection protocols are in your office. Stay away from crowded conference rooms or other commons areas where people are unable to socially distance.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed199438be1be0006b4cba4/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="QWD"/></figure>



While working remotely is a big change for many people, it also allows for much greater geographic diversity in hiring and access to a whole new pipeline of talented recruits. Plus, many companies will likely take a hybrid approach of having some people work remotely and others in a physical office. “Every company will have to do what’s right for their company and situation but what we found is that it’s actually worked out really well for us,” says Goler of Facebook. “And we’re pretty excited and optimistic about the future.” 



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maneetahuja/">Maneet Ahuja</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs">Entrepreneurs</a>

Tag: Health

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA