COVID-19 continues to grow despite the active measures that world leaders have implemented within their countries. From ruining people’s lives to a growing economic crisis, the pandemic continues to affect many countries all over the world. Many leading experts in the fight against the pandemic desperately seek solutions and stem the tide. One of these solutions is through the use of technology.
Technology has always been at the forefront of human advancement. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for technology. Moreover, the pandemic would have been twice worse if we didn’t have access to the technology we have today. From early warning systems to tracing, technology has been in the vanguard to fight against the virus. Here are some of the many ways technology is being used to fight the growing pandemic.
Digital
The digital world changed overnight ever since the pandemic hit. It became the central news platform for everyone who needed information about the virus. It became a network of hope, connecting people from across the world to unite against this common enemy. It’s our steel shield against this worldwide disaster.
Studies have shown that digital technology advancements made it easier for countries to disseminate information regarding the virus. It’s also an essential tool for people to make informed decisions. Countries with improved internet access have seen lower infection rates compared to countries with still-developing internet connections. Digital technology is also used in other important functions against the pandemic, such as early surveillance, contact tracing, and virus tracking. These functions help many countries from all around the world slowly flatten the curve and control the pandemic.
Digital technology has found its way to many government policies. It has also integrated itself with various healthcare systems to help monitor the virus and other diseases. Without digital technology, we would have been left out in the dark against the virus. Information dissemination would be slow, and transmissions would be higher. However, because of this essential technology, we were able to keep both mortality and transmissions rate low compared to other global pandemics in history.
Medical
Technology has been at the forefront of medical research since the very beginning. It’s also essential in keeping people safe from the virus.
During Wired Health: Tech 2020, many medical professionals reported various technological advancements to help against the pandemic. Medical technology such as CRISPR and E-health is essential in controlling the virus and, ultimately, finding a way to eradicate it. Additionally, many medical companies such as Pion Inc., Moderna, and Pfizer depend on medical technology advancements to test for the virus and develop a suitable vaccine. It’s quite clear that we would have been defenseless against the virus without the medical technology we have today. It shows how far we have developed as species and weather other disasters in the future.
CRISPR is one of the more miraculous medical technologies developed a couple of years ago. The technology’s ability to edit genomes is essential in finding a way to eradicate COVID-19 and other viruses in the future. Currently, many medical professionals are using CRISPR to study COVID-19. It’s also being used to find a way to destroy the virus from the inside. It’s a more proactive way of fighting against the virus because it makes sure that the virus will no longer harm anyone ever again.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the modern technologies used to help manage the virus and reduce medical workers’ workload. Unlike the two other examples on this list, A.I. is taking a more wholesome approach against the pandemic and is being used as a supplement to many technological functions that are already being used to fight against the pandemic.
A.I. has always been a vital technology ever since its invention. Its ability to compute and make decisions faster and more efficiently than any human being made it a core technology to human advancement. It’s also one of the more prominent technologies used to fight against the pandemic.
A.I. is helping leaders from all around the world coordinate with one another better. It’s being used alongside digital technologies to create a transparent network of information across all countries in the world. This makes government officials aware of ongoing medical developments from other countries. It also helps with keeping track of how the virus could mutate during the next years. Additionally, artificial intelligence is also being used for the early detection and diagnosis of the virus. This drastically reduces the workload of many healthcare professionals from all over the world.
Without technology, the pandemic would have been so much worse. People would lack the information they need to fight against the virus, and many people would have been left out in the dark. We wouldn’t manage the pandemic appropriately, and there could have been more fatalities than what we have now. Without technology, we also would not have developed vaccines in record time. It has been crucial to our advancement and survival as a species.
