COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are…

Question

COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was sought to aid management of the pandemic.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Technology helped India manage COVID-19 at every stage: indigenous test kits, Aarogya Setu tracing, INSACOG sequencing, eSanjeevani teleconsultation and new vaccine platforms. CoWIN handled registration and certificates for over 220 crore vaccine doses.

**Introduction**

India reported its first COVID-19 case in Kerala on 30 January 2020. Lockdowns bought time, but technology, from test kits and apps to genome sequencing and vaccines, turned that time into a response.

**Technology to Detect, Track and Treat the Virus**

SKETCH: flow | Technology Across the Pandemic Cycle
- Detect
- Trace
- Sequence
- Treat
- Vaccinate

1. **Testing**: India grew from one NIV Pune lab to over 2,000 labs within about a year, using indigenous RT-PCR kits, TrueNat machines and CSIR-IGIB's CRISPR-based FELUDA test.
2. **Tracing**: Aarogya Setu used Bluetooth and GPS to alert contacts, and Smart City command centres became COVID war rooms.
3. **Genomics**: INSACOG (December 2020) tracked the Delta and Omicron variants.
4. **Remote care**: eSanjeevani crossed 10 crore teleconsultations by 2023 under the 2020 Telemedicine Practice Guidelines.

**Technology for Vaccines and Continuity of Life**

1. **Vaccine platforms**: Covaxin used an inactivated virus, Covishield a viral vector, and ZyCoV-D became the world's first approved human DNA vaccine in 2021.
2. **Delivery**: CoWIN handled registration and certificates for over 220 crore doses, and eVIN tracked the cold chain.
3. **Life online**: DIKSHA kept schooling alive, and transfers reached women's Jan Dhan accounts.
4. **Limits**: Aarogya Setu raised privacy fears, and the Supreme Court (2021) questioned online-only CoWIN registration.

**Way Forward**

1. **Safeguards and records**: Use the DPDP Act 2023 for health data and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission for consented records.

**Conclusion**

Technology let India test, trace, treat and vaccinate at an unprecedented scale. Institutionalised with privacy and inclusion, it can make India resilient against the next pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was sought to aid management of the pandemic.

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