Pandemic Sparks Innovation

Maryam Mohd Shukri

4 August 2021

“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity - not a threat.” This quote by Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc. is the reason I am writing this blog post today.

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well and safe. As stated in the topic, my blog post today would be about new innovations that are created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we all know, The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in dramatic deaths worldwide and poses an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the working industry. In spite of that, the pandemic has also brought great impact by creating innovations that can help to improve our lives. In this entry, I would like to share two of my favourite creations that are created by great minds around the world.

First of all, one of my favourite innovations is the AstraZeneca vaccine which originated from the United Kingdom. The name AstraZeneca is actually the name of a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company which has a portfolio of products for major diseases in this world. Together with the British Ivy League university, they collaborated to develop a vaccine named Vaxzevria. Two doses are given in order to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccine against COVID-19. This vaccine has an efficacy of 63.09% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

I think this is an amazing project as it helps to reduce the risk of getting infected by COVID-19. This virus is very dangerous and can lead to detrimental effects if we are infected by it. With the use of vaccines, we can avoid the spread of COVID-19 among the community thus creating herd immunity.

In addition to this, another innovation that caught my attention is The Ultimate Model-T created by a company in Japan under the name Telexistence. Founded in 2017, they designed and manufactured a robot that can be controlled remotely by staff in the stores, without them being in the store. It seems like a scene from a futuristic anime. This robot will help in the prevention of infection because it allows employees working in stores to work from home.

This fascinating project made me realise the importance of robot technology in assisting humans to complete their tasks and fulfill job vacancies. Avoiding human contact is the main solution to curb the spread of COVID-19. Thus, limiting the number of staff that are working outside will bring great benefit towards the health of the staff and also the customers.

As a conclusion, great innovations always come from great minds. Living through a pandemic does not mean we have to put a pause on our activities, when this actually allows us to take a seat and think of great ideas. I feel very amazed with every mind blowing innovation that is shared by my friends in class. We as a student should take inspiration from these works to contribute impressive projects for the community and the whole world.

That is all from me for now. Please leave a comment below if you would like to share with me your favourite innovations.

Thank you for reading and I will see you in the next blog post!

fin.