Hon. H.E. Sir. Dr. Raphael Louis
Plagues and epidemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, often changing the course of history. Throughout the course of history, disease outbreaks have ravaged humanity, sometimes changing the course of history and, at times, signalling the end of entire civilizations. In late December 2019, the world was introduced to a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), a pathogen that causes COVID-19. Just over two months later, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, meaning the virus had spread across several countries and sickened many people reaching the global pandemic level.
Three influenza pandemics occurred at intervals of several decades during the 20th century, the most severe of which was the so-called "Spanish Flu" (caused by an A(H1N1) virus), estimated to have caused 20–50 million deaths in 1918–1919. Milder pandemics occurred subsequently in 1957–1958 (the "Asian Flu" caused by an A(H2N2) virus) and in 1968 (the "Hong Kong Flu" caused by an A(H3N2) virus), which were estimated to have caused 1–4 million deaths each.
Researchers and public health experts are continuously learning more about the influenza virus, vaccines and response measures, and this knowledge is used to improve capacities related to both seasonal and pandemic influenza. From curing diseases to studying the sun, innovative uses of analytics are changing the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has once again shown that we need everyone to get involved in a massive global effort to keep the world safe and humanity healthy