above acceptable standards established by the World Health Organization.” According to a recent study in The Lancet, air pollution could be blamed for more than 1.6 million deaths in India during 2019. “Some people who are chronically exposed to that pollution and then get COVID-19 most likely already have weakened immune systems,” said Kumar, who also has several relatives in India. “So, their chances of having a favorable outcome are greatly diminished.” Although he is grateful that the case numbers in India are starting to trickle down, Parekh is regularly in touch with Indian doctors he has trained through the Miller School’s fellowship program. He believes that the most useful things that the United States and other nations can offer India are medical support and expertise, as well as supplies, like oxygen and vaccines. While India has vaccinated more than 100 million people, it needs a larger supply to make an impact because the population is so immense, Parekh pointed out, so ramping up vaccinations could be the most effective way to end the surge. “There are so many unutilized vaccines around the world that could be sent there to help,” he said. “And if the world works to help India, they are helping themselves. Because this is a global crisis.” Despite his anxiety, Pratim Biswas, dean of the College of Engineering, who specializes in aerosol science, is also looking for ways he can
use his expertise to help curb the crisis in his native country. Biswas’ 90-year-old mother lives in Mumbai. In fact, a new variant of COVID-19 (called B.1.617) which many believe is fueling the current Indian outbreak, may have originated just outside of Mumbai in a smaller city called Amravati in February, news reports indicate. Working with scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, Biswas is refining some innovative strategies to detect the novel coronavirus and designing systems to control the spread in indoor environments, along with designs for some more effective face masks. Some of his colleagues at IIT are even working on producing medical oxygen that could help ease the shortage for coronavirus patients in India and beyond. Tested successfully at the IIT, the method converts a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) nitrogen unit into PSA oxygen unit. “While the process doesn’t produce 100 percent oxygen, like cryogenic techniques, it can generate up to 60 percent oxygen, which can be good for a patient in dire need,” said Biswas, who is building a partnership with colleagues at IIT in environmental engineering science and chemical engineering. India’s many nitrogen-producing facilities, which take air from the atmosphere as raw material, could be potentially converted into oxygen-generating industrial plants to help ramp up the supply of medical oxygen, Biswas noted. Meanwhile, Biswas is
continuing his National Institutes of Health-funded research to develop remote sensors that could be used in health care settings to detect COVID-19 aerosols. He is glad that the United States is starting to send help to India and hopes that the situation will improve. “The United States and other countries are helping, and that’s good because this is a global pandemic,” he said. “Public health experts are on the ground in India, but they can get advice on best practices from the experts here. And we can collaborate to come up with the best solutions to prevent dramatic surges in the pandemic.” Chatterjee is also hopeful that India will expand its vaccine distribution efforts and recover soon. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed because things are alive and changing,” she said. “The health system, as well as the knowledge and skills, are there. We just need to get people vaccinated in a proper manner, and India did this with smallpox. So, it can do it, but it just needs proper management.”
Naresh Kumar, Ph.D.
NEW PANEL TO ADVOCATE FOR A GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONVENTION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Written by Amanda Torres Published on April 28, 2021 Category: Faculty, Initiative A renowned public health researcher with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has formed a new global panel of public health leaders working to strengthen the world’s ability to prevent pandemics and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. The panel was officially launched on Monday, April 26, 2021. Titled, “Panel for a Global Health Convention,” the group will work towards developing a global public health convention by bridging critical gaps in global
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