COVID-19 Pandemic Kindled Innovations Leading to Primary Care Management in India: A Review

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VII, Issue VIII, August 2020 | ISSN 2321–2705

COVID-19 Pandemic Kindled Innovations Leading to Primary Care Management in India: A Review

Vasi A. E. Shaikh^1*, Ishrat V. Shaikh^2
1 School of Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry Research Laboratory, MIT World Peace University, Kothrud, Pune 411038, India
²Department of Zoology, Abeda Inamdar Senior College, Azam Campus, Camp, Pune 411001, India

Abstract: COVID-19, a new disease of the coronavirus family, has engulfed the entire world. While developed countries suffered the most; India, despite its high population density, has managed to keep the number of deaths relatively low. ‘Innovation challenges’ were given by the government, its intermediaries and corporate to crowd source the ideas and to empower the citizen innovators, on the onset of a pandemic. Government and the corporate supported them by testing, prototyping help, translating their relevant ideas into products and recognition. A large number of participants including individual citizens to students, startups, traders, and entrepreneurs responded to the challenge through their simple and frugal innovations when there was an acute shortage and urgent need of creative solutions in terms of personal protection equipment (PPE), medical equipment and accessories and other health and welfare tools to aid the personal hygiene as well as a safe environment for humans. Some innovations were impromptu attempts by citizen innovators. This communication summarizes notable instances of timely innovations at various levels in the society during the crisis. Various sources such as journal articles, news articles, commercial enterprises, as well as academic and research institutions have been reviewed for the collection of the information. The relevance of these practical innovations to COVID-19, which helped the society, underlines the people’s belief that innovation can indeed help the nation conquer the crisis and if empowered, a common man is capable of converting the crisis into opportunity. The active participation by various sectors of the society and the last person from the weaker section of society, including ‘women self-help groups’ have highlighted a good example of the ‘quadruple helix model of innovation’ which emphasizes on constant interactions between academia, industry, government and public. There is a need to sustain, support and encourage this inquisitive mindset to create the next wave of innovation to fight any such calamity and support socioeconomic development in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Innovation; Society; India.

I. INTRODUCTION

Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is the world’s most challenging crisis since the Second World War. The virus originated in bats and was transmitted to humans through yet unknown intermediary animals in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019 [1]. The symptoms are usually fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, fatigue, malaise among others. Though many people are asymptomatic [2]; elderly and those with comorbidities may face fatal respiratory complications.

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