Poem by Shreshtha Mondal

Some had it easy; some had it tough
To many, we young adults are just social media posts and meme stuff
Sadly, we have raised our voices yet still dismissed enough
They say you haven’t even lived enough to understand life
Is that to escape because it’s not easy to understand our strife?
For those few who step ahead to hear us, sometimes called our experiences conjured
It simply weighs down our burdens even more to leave us injured
Sometimes we all need you to lend an ear, not your words, to get respite
Sometimes, we need you to say, ‘I am there for you, it’s alright!’
Ask us what we want, we will tell you clearly
We understand all of us are just trying to make it through this life barely
We have tried reaching out to you in multiple ways
But know that someday change will be there, it’s not gonna stay the same always!
We try to look beyond the blacks and whites, knowing there’s a spectrum
All we need is your support to balance all this smoothly in life’s fulcrum
These times have been difficult for most, if not all
Let’s watch each other’s back till the inevitable fall?
Online or offline, seas or hill slope
Can we connect with each other just to hold on to hope?

The post Poem by Shreshtha Mondal first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Making Sense of the Pandemic with Prof Gagandeep Kang

Written by Aishwarya Rohatgi

Interviewed by Aishwarya Rohatgi, Sreshtha Mondal, Vishwadeep Mane

“In a time of uncertainty, facts provide clarity. In a time of anxiety, facts comfort. In a time of misinformation, facts correct. In a time of division, facts unite. In a time of crisis, facts matter most.” — CNN Communications.

In this long-haul pandemic, with undeniable health and socio-economic ramifications worldwide, evidence-based clinical research and implementation of actionable, preventive public health measures have served as the backbone of our fight against Covid-19.

In addition to providing us a platform to share our experiences and views around the pandemic, the Planet Divoc-91 project has also empowered us with opportunities to seek evidence-based information and keep abreast with the best science. To do this, one of the mediums we chose was to interview experts. These interviews allowed us to question, gather perspectives, and develop understanding around the pandemic and its impact.

Months into the pandemic in 2020, we spoke to Professor Gagandeep Kang who is a prominent virologist, vice-chair of the board of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and a professor at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory at the Christian Medical College—a few of the many hats she wears. Professor Kang is also the first Indian woman to be inducted as a Fellow into the Royal Society. It was an exhilarating and humbling experience for all of us to explore the pandemic with her through the dual lens of science and policy.

The pandemic of misinformation

We had quite a long list of questions spanning multiple themes; we wanted to understand the science to address Covid-19. But first things first, we asked her what the best response could be to fake news and misinformation and how should we respond to it amidst the pandemic.

She stated that the problem with a lot of what is happening now in the world is that we are in echo chambers. Our circles reinforce our messages because we can choose who we interact with. To be able to identify what is the truth and what is fake news is a challenge because one has to break into a group into which one doesn’t actually have an invitation and where people may not necessarily want others with differing points of view. “The best methods for communication and for persuasion are not necessarily bringing people around to one’s point of view, but at least making them open up to listen to what evidence is available. The evidence has to be strong enough to convince everyone. But it is a challenge to make people listen to evidence-based information. And pandemics just multiply this problem,” added Professor Kang.

The world has seen pandemics in the past. However, the Covid-19 pandemic is different—a notorious one. We wondered what helped it achieve this status. Professor Kang quickly presented a list of viral outbreaks the world has encountered. In these outbreaks, we either had earlier knowledge of the virus (H1N1, Ebola), or the new viral infections were restricted to a small number of people (Nipah, SARS, and MERS), or the infections subsided in a span of a few months (Zika). The SARS-CoV-2 virus is an unknown virus—never seen before. The initial reports of the disease were frightening and people were constantly bombarded with information in addition to a great deal of uncertainty. Although Covid-19 causes serious illness in many, the mortality rate is much less in comparison to other viral outbreaks. This has not been communicated enough.

Impact of the pandemic

We wanted to understand the foremost challenges in this pandemic. According to Professor Kang, treating people and expanding the testing coverage in India are all challenges to be addressed but the most difficult phase to traverse is the unmitigated damage that the pandemic has unleashed on our social constructs and mental health. In comparison to the direct health impacts of the pandemics, the polarisation of belief systems, misinformation campaigns, constant messaging of gloom, disaster, and death, and dealing with uncertainty has taken a larger toll on our society and everyday lives.

Thoughts on the public health care system

Professor Kang has been a proponent of widespread testing to curb the pandemic. We wanted to understand why people are averse to getting tested. Professor Kang feels people’s trust in the system has a crucial role to play. Education and health are the pillars on which any society is built and until that is realized we will never be fully equipped to handle disasters and health emergencies well. While most countries have been seeing their health systems in shambles, India too has been facing a crisis where our frontline workers, as well as public health infrastructure, have been overburdened. Though the private health institutions have ramped up service and are accessible, not everyone can afford these services. Professor Kang comments that Governments should invest in building efficient public health systems available to everyone. Looking at the world, countries with strong public health systems have been successful in limiting the infections. It’s a futile assumption if, in the middle of a pandemic, we expect people of all classes to reach out and make use of public health facilities for testing, treatment, and vaccination on their own because trust in public health isn’t built on knee jerk reaction.

Thought on vaccines: Development, Ethics and Equity

The world is buzzing with conversations around vaccines and their development, ethics, and equitable distribution, and we wanted to hear from Professor Kang, a pioneer in vaccinology, about the Covid-19 vaccines. She quickly allayed all our fears around its safety and clarified that despite being approved in a shorter span of time on an emergency line of call, Covid-19 vaccines have been proven to work safely in the clinical trials and are adequately efficacious.

She explained the phases of vaccine clinical trials and assured us that we have now come to understand vaccines better than in earlier times when she was working on the Rotavirus vaccines. She reiterated that we must trust scientists in their Covid-19 vaccine endeavour because it’s only the timelines of approval that have been shortened to meet the huge demand worldwide. There has been no compromise in the quality. There has been undeniable collaboration and interdisciplinary engagement in research and development of Covid-19 vaccines globally and Professor Kang seems to take utmost pride in it.

Post the development of vaccines, the important next steps are their distribution and the infrastructural support necessary for it in addition to their acceptance. Interestingly, according to Professor Kang, vaccines are used for two reasons—to prevent people from dying or to prevent spread of infection. The decision of who needs to be vaccinated primarily depends on if a country aims to prevent the spread of infection or curb the severity of the disease. So, if one wants to prevent overburdening of healthcare systems, then high-risk, vulnerable groups should be the focus. And to stop the spread of the infection, the mobile, younger groups should be vaccinated. She firmly asserted that vaccines have started to be considered as the ultimate cure, which is a consequence of misinformed understanding among people at large. It must be communicated effectively that we cannot let our guards down with respect to non-pharmaceutical interventions like handwashing, sanitization, masking, physical distancing, and respiratory hygiene even with the vaccine being around.

Silver lining in the pandemic

There are always silver linings, even in tough times, and the Covid-19 pandemic has been no different. When we asked Professor Kang about the things that gave her hope amidst despair in the pandemic, she was ecstatic to answer this as she believed that this calamity did bring some positive learnings that the world must acknowledge. She commended the science journalists who investigated data and asked the right questions persistently as it ringed in the rise of new age journalism and heightened passion in health literacy. She admired the biomedical and pharmaceutical industry’s unity in these times and willingness to support newer drug development, vaccine research, manufacturing, technological innovations, and distribution; this was a good example of what global cooperation can achieve. Lastly, Professor Kang felt that the coming together of people across all ages and spectrums, volunteering and organizing daily things for the elderly and people in need, was a lesson on hope and togetherness around the world.

Shaping and preparing for the future

To be better prepared for the future, Professor Kang told us that it is important to view such pandemics and health emergencies using a prevention lens. Ramping up our surveillance and strengthening our national health programs will be the way forward.

She highlighted that we shouldn’t expect to build surveillance on a dire demand but focus on groundwork, sustainability, developing an adequate surge capacity that has the bandwidth to deal with all circumstances in the system. Along with surveillance, she emphasised that our human resource should also be well trained and resourceful. We must cancel out noise, which the armchair experts who divert media attention towards false narratives usually generate.

According to Professor Kang, shaping the future from the current pandemic will need communicating issues of science with authenticity, working on preparedness and gathering support in times of need through interdisciplinary collaboration, and building the capacity of health systems worldwide keeping the essence of global solidarity intact.

Youth and the pandemic

As young adults we often wonder if the youth have not been heard and cared for enough in the pandemic and this led us to ask Professor Kang how the young can play a role in guiding the research and policy agenda and feel represented. She answered this by discussing the importance of finding a voice amidst the chaos, a voice that has its own identity—and then building bridges through efficient communication about the issues that affect the youth. She advised us to develop potential solutions to problems that we feel strongly about and offer suggestions in decision making through platforms that we can position ourselves into comfortably and consistently. It’s sad that our society is hierarchical in nature and younger people are not considered partners in the larger scheme of processes and rather viewed as an age group meant to receive directives from peers and elders.

A very significant quality that can help young people in their growth is developing scientific temper and critical thinking; Professor Kang echoed this. She believes that science can only be learnt by doing it every day and eventually it does open a whole new world, a new way of thinking. Professor Kang fuels the need to change and emphatically stated that we, as youth, must not stop communicating and keep persisting on our journeys. We must band together because individual voices can be drowned out, but all voices together in convergence would be harder to suppress.

For Professor Kang, the “one word” that embodied the spirit of fighting the pandemic and traversing the new normal was “Resilience”, which she believed was the foundation of building back better. Her message for young people on how they should deal with this pandemic and the uncertainty around it was about the need to believe that with collective knowledge we will find solutions faster than ever before. However, along with this we must not forget that we have a collective responsibility to do our part and make sure we do not indulge in unnecessarily risky actions and continue supporting those who are affected. In the end, the onus lies on all of us as individuals and as a society.

Finally, Professor Kang thinks that averting emerging diseases and pandemics in the future will require all of us to lead a sustainable life, band together, use our privileges responsibly, and make an impactful case for the things we want to change in the world. If one has a platform as a policymaker, that is a solid ground to use and make a difference. If one is from the field of academia, the power of robust research and its effective communication is enough to reach everyone. On a concluding note, it’s of paramount importance to usher in the realization about the impact that our actions unleash on ecological balance and health of people all over the world and make necessary amends.

The post Making Sense of the Pandemic with Prof Gagandeep Kang by Aishwarya Rohatgi first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Fixing the fracture

Viswadeep Mane

We have been in an evolutionary arms race with the invisible and ubiquitous microbial world since the dawn of this Anthropocene age. To a few, climate change might seem like a hoax, but it is a peril that lingers all over our planet and the consequences of which are apocalyptic. Pandemics are not new to this world but the rate at which they are originating raises questions about the factors that are responsible for it. That is where the question of introspection comes. How much are we collectively responsible for in the reshaping of this modern world? Can we really change the loopholes that are existent in the system to create a sustainable future?

Ideally, yes. 

Turning away from the journey to the heart of the planet we made, we have embarked on a detour. A divisive detour. The pandemic has rather exposed the fracture lines that have been systemically imbibed in our society. The origin of the virus led to a change in perspective of the world towards Asians as animalistic and it became a subject of hatred. For example, the Singaporean student of Chinese ethnicity who was beaten up by a group of men in London and was told that they do not want Coronavirus in their country. This is just one of the many incidents of anti-Asian hate in Europe and the Americas that has been going on since the start of the pandemic which can be linked to influential global leaders like Donald Trump, ex-President of the USA, who took active part in constantly blaming China for the virus and using racist terminologies. This instinct to humiliate, when it is modelled by someone on a public platform, by someone powerful, filters down into everybody’s life, because it gives a kind of permission for other people to do the same thing. 

Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence.

When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose. This pandemic has exposed the systemic fracture lines of racism and other forms of hatred magnified to its glory and blowing impetus into people’s hearts to portray supremacy over each other. In countries like India, this took an uglier turn as people from the North-Eastern part of the country were attacked in many parts of India and they were accused of being the point of origin for coronavirus in the country simply because of their ethnicity. Political divisiveness along the lines of religion was also observed as Muslims were blamed for the spread of coronavirus.

While we have moved far away in one sense, resorting to nationalist ideologies, far away from globalisation, this pandemic has brought people closer too. The importance of social networking portrayed how closely knitted our interactions are. This fabric of social networking connects us all together and it helps in paving the way to expose and work out systemic problems like racism in our world. One of the great movements that would be considered as a serendipity during this pandemic was the Black Lives Matter’ movement. This movement taught us that when we are united, we can uproot the values that erase the morality of this world and bring equality.

In a nutshell, our world is fractured. The winds of change hit the castle in every direction and the tremors of the divisive policies are being exposed radically. The perpetrators behind these divisive policies are taking hold of this rift and magnifying it. We need to identify those fractured lines and seal them. The planet has shown us its healing power when we retract our activities. We need to stop when it is required, and we need to act rationally to provide a sustainable platform for global development.

This pale blue dot on which we stand upon needs a renaissance of equality and sustainability.

By Vishwadeep Mane, a PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.

The post Fixing the fracture by Viswadeep Mane first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

All Aboard the Vaccine Express: The Importance of Agency and Communication to Global Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake by Whitney Love

We started 2021 with high hopes of a return to normality following positive news around the Covid-19 vaccines. As the year progresses, vaccination programmes are set to be a crucial tool in the battle against the pandemic. At the time of writing, half of British adults have been vaccinated against Covid-19; but naturally some people have questions about the vaccine.

Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting an international vaccine workshop with a diverse panel of global experts focusing on the science, psychology, and anthropology behind vaccines. How governments and vaccine manufacturers communicate the importance of vaccine uptake, safety and reliability was a core topic of discussion throughout the workshop.

Dr Giridhar R Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India, stressed the importance of educating and communicating information long before vaccines are approved. In India specifically, he highlighted that up until days before the vaccine rollout began, information about vaccines communicated to the public was severely lacking. This ultimately led to reduced vaccine uptake. Lack of communication around the vaccine meant that people were hesitant about the vaccine. The issue in India is about “the lack of communication much more than people themselves not understanding the vaccine,” says Dr Babu.

A further issue in health communication is transparency. Dr Anant Bhan, a trained medical doctor and global health researcher in India, suggested that governments must put as much information as possible into the public domain to help address concern and misinformation. The public should have opportunities to ask questions to experts to gain clarity and address any gaps in information. Transparency between experts and the public will build trust, ultimately increasing vaccine uptake.

Dr Winston Morgan, a toxicologist at the University of East London, highlighted the importance of agency: “Groups of people who, in the past, have never been offered a vaccine are suddenly being told to take it. And quite naturally, these people are questioning why the government are suddenly insisting them to take the vaccine”. Generally, people will not take the vaccine just because the government has told them to take it. They will use their agency to seek information regarding the vaccine to address any issues they may have. If the public cannot access reliable, informative information, individuals may seek knowledge from other sources, like social media, which could be extremely problematic.

Disparities in vaccine uptake are evident both between and within countries. The world will always stay connected. Dr Bhan highlights that “by only protecting one population at a national level, it won’t necessarily mean that protection will last. At some point the pandemic will come into their borders again”. Governments want to prioritise their own population, but this can lead to global complications. A study by Lazarus et al (2020)¹ found that respondents most likely to take the vaccine were also those who reported high levels of trust in the government. Global acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines is needed to bring back a sense of normality. Evidence-based communication is a strong place to begin.

As the Planet Divoc-91 project comes to an end, I have spent some time reflecting on the key lessons learnt throughout the comic series, and I encourage readers to do so too. For example, chapter 2 explores how Covid-19 could bring an opportunity for change, following the exposure of the harsh realities of social inequality in the UK. Chapters 4 and 5 emphasise that mental health is an important part of our lives that should go hand-in-hand with our physical health. Everyone has a different journey in life and we shouldn’t be afraid of asking for help; there are always people we can talk to. Later in Chapter 6, we tackle misinformation. This is the first pandemic since social media has become an indispensable part of our lives, allowing information to travel globally in seconds. Social media has invited people to share false information. It is through effective, compassionate communication strategies that we can help prevent this misinformation from spreading.

Living through a pandemic as a young adult is tough, to say the least, and a lot of lessons have been learnt throughout the Planet Divoc-91 series. I really hope the brilliant illustrations, explanation of scientific research and policy, and debunking of myths have made it a pleasure for you to read. Most importantly, I hope the message is clear that although our lives have been turned upside down, we can get through this.

1 – Lazarus, J.A. et al. (2020). A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Nature. 27. 225-228.

The post All Aboard the Vaccine Express: The Importance of Agency and Communication to Global Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake by Whitney Love first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Magnifying the Left Out Sections in the Pandemic by Swakshadip Sarkar and Vishwadeep Mane

We started the year 2020 with great aspirations, completely unaware about what the year had in store for us. As the year progressed, we came to know about Covid-19 spreading in different parts of the world. On 22nd March, India went on a nationwide lockdown which left most of us locked in our homes. For many people, it was an exciting idea to be at home and not go to classes or work. People tried learning new things and pursued hobbies that they hadn’t been able to do until now due to their workload. It was a struggle for many, too. Many people went jobless all over the world and many businesses went bankrupt. The pandemic made us realise that viruses are much stronger and more intelligent than human beings. However, when we talk about the hardships faced by people, we often forget a section of society who are otherwise neglected, even in normal conditions, i.e. the transgender community.

In India, the total population of transgender persons is around 487,803 (the identification of transgender or third gender in official certificates came later in 2014 following a National Legal Services Authority, Government of India (NALSA) verdict) with a literacy rate of 46%, according to the 2011 Census, compared to 74% of the general population. The transgender community has been stigmatised, neglected, and abused by different sections of society. They are very often disowned by their families and forced to live in poverty. Many of them cannot even finish school due to bullying and harassment from their peers and even teachers. The lack of gender sensitisation even leads the teachers to bully transgender kids. Even if they finish schooling and go on to higher education, they do not have adequate facilities like accommodation or gender-neutral toilets which creates an additional hurdle for them. Many transgender people lack any form of identification such as an Aadhaar card (like a Social Security Number) or voter IDs, making it hard to gain constitutional rights. It is not easy for transgender people to rent accommodation as most of the letting agencies and landowners refuse them. As per a 2017 report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), 79% of transgender people either live in rented rooms or share accommodation with others.

Many of them are forced into begging or sex work to make ends meet. According to the 2017 NHRC report, 52.06% of transgender people earn below ₹10,000 a month. Although the 2014 Supreme Court in NALSA verdict ruled that transgender individuals are also entitled to the same rights as others, societal barriers and a lack of knowledge about gender identities stand tall in the way of their success. The Transgender Protection Act, 2019, which was passed after many attempts, does not do a lot for the transgender community. Almost all the definitions in the act are either redundant or profuse regarding the community issues. The chapter which prohibits discrimination lacks enforcing authority, remedial measures, and punitive measures. There isn’t a single organised protocol in the act that guides the medical community on the healthcare of transgender people. The National Council for Transgender Persons proposed by the Act has no independence to carry out functions and has a mere representation of 5 persons from the transgender community. Any kind of violence, including sexual abuse, against people from the trans community is punishable by a maximum term of only 2 years. The Act was passed without any transgender representation in Parliament and therefore, it lacks essential input from the transgender community.

Now with the pandemic, few crore Indians have lost their jobs and while it is still easier for cisgender individuals to find employment, it is not so for transgender individuals. Even if they manage to find jobs, their mobility is restricted. One such example is from Kerala state of India, where 23 transgender people were recruited to work at various positions in Kochi Metro railway service. In the first week of their job, 8 of the 23, all trans women, quit. Employed in a variety of roles, from ticketing to housekeeping staff, which paid between ₹9,000-₹15,000 a month, most of them found it impossible to make ends meet, especially since landowners in the city charged them ₹400-₹600 a day for the most basic accommodation if they agreed to rent a place to them at all. Most of them had to go back to sex work or begging and their dreams to make a decent income were crushed.

During the pandemic, many transgender individuals who were working had to return to their family homes and face harassment and discrimination from their relatives. For ‘Hijras’ (a cultural identity under the transgender umbrella) who earn mostly from begging and performing in social functions, it is even worse. They have lost their livelihood opportunities which has resulted in a decline of their socioeconomic conditions and psychological state. Considering the current pandemic situation, Kerala Government has announced they will provide free ration kits to 1,000 transgender individuals and accommodation facilities to the community. However, this appreciable step may not be enough as only a small portion of the transgender community are covered under this initiative. In the recently announced relief package by Central Government for the distressed sections of the population, there was no mention of transgender people as beneficiaries in their propositions. Many of them, especially in cities, are slum-dwellers where social distancing is almost impossible.

Many transgender people in India are afraid of the healthcare system and the pandemic only makes it worse. The sexual health of transgender people is always at the forefront of discussions while other health issues aren’t often thought of. But with the pandemic, even sexual health takes a backseat as the healthcare system is on the brink of a crisis responding to the emergency. This causes a problem mainly for those with a HIV positive status and need monthly doses of antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs, but many don’t have access to such medicines leaving them particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. Many hospitals in India do not have transgender wards, so patients are assigned wards based on their assigned sex leaving them vulnerable inside the hospitals as well. This makes them averse to going into hospitals and getting treated. Many who were going through gender reassignment surgeries had to stop their procedures due to the hospitals becoming containment zones which can have a negative impact on their health.

In conclusion, while the pandemic has hit all sections of the society, the gravity is not the same for everyone. Under normal conditions, the transgender community has been ignored, harassed, and discriminated against by society. They have never had equal access to education or employment like the cisgender population. During the pandemic, their conditions have worsened with little or no access to food, finances, or healthcare. While the economy is recovering, special impetus needs to be given to uplift the transgender community, not only from the government level but also from the societal level, otherwise the impact of this pandemic on this community will be everlasting.

Vishwadeep is a PhD student in Developmental Biology at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. Swakshadip is a Master’s student in Sociology from University of Bristol. Vishwadeep and Swakshadip are partners and identify as non-binary individuals. They work on various issues related to the upliftment of LGBT+ communities and cisgender women.

The post Magnifying the Left Out Sections in the Pandemic by Swakshadip Sarkar and Vishwadeep Mane first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Combating Misinformation by Sophie Ainsworth

Misinformation in healthcare is nothing new. It is an ever-present problem across society, from influencers promoting potentially harmful diet pills to career pseudoscientists falsely claiming to cure cancer with celery juice. Ordinarily, they target specific groups or individuals, but the Covid-19 pandemic has created a mass health crisis, which is increasingly complex and confusing, and this has led to mass misinformation.

This is a problem which this month’s interviewees spend a lot of their time trying to solve. Dr Sylvie Briand is the Director of Global Infectious Hazards Preparedness Department of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, and Alok Jha is a Journalist and Science Correspondent at The Economist. They sat down with us to discuss their concerns, the dangers of misinformation, and the importance of understanding how it starts and spreads in order to tackle the problem.

“Misinformation can kill,” Dr Briand stated clearly. Her role at WHO, in which she supports nations in managing pandemics, now involves managing not only the pandemic but an infodemic, which WHO defines as “an overabundance of information, both online and offline.” They made clear that it is often led by those who are deliberately attempting to undermine correct medical information for their own gain or agenda.

Coronavirus is the first pandemic the world has seen since the mass expansion of social media into every aspect of our lives, which has resulted in a huge increase in the amount of misinformation which is widely available and the speed at which it travels. Social media has the power to spread misinformation around the world “faster than any rational person can deal with it,” said Alok, “I think that’s dangerous.”

While misinformation would spread slowly and in close circles in the past, social media now allows the groups and individuals creating it to spread their information across the world in seconds. Even more concerning is when this seeps into public policy. This is when Alok usually steps in. It is important to him that experts do not stay silent. “I don’t believe silence is a good active response to anything,” he explained.

However, the sheer amount of misinformation out there means he can’t seek out every example. Both experts emphasised need for change in how these platforms work. “Social media companies need to think about how they allow information to spread,” said Alok, arguing that there is a need for a friction to slow down the spread of misinformation while avoiding any sort of censorship. Social media, equally, can be a fantastic tool. But Dr Briand’s key question was “how can we use this tool in a way that is safe for everybody?”

When talking to these experts, what fascinated and surprised me was their openness and kindness. Rather than condemning or eye-rolling at the mention of the anti-vaccine movement, they both responded much more compassionately. One of my key takeaways was that they highlighted the complexity of this ever-evolving situation, and how being confused is completely normal. Added to this, different backgrounds and lived experiences across the world will naturally lead to different outlooks on all aspects of the pandemic. Crucially, we must look at those factors as well as the set of evidence-based facts which we have available and tailor how we communicate those facts depending on different lived experience.

Our discussion highlighted the importance of health organisations and services engaging with the public. The general public may not have access to scientific papers, which are often hidden behind expensive paywalls and filled with scientific jargon that most of us would struggle to understand. Therefore, it should be an essential part of health organisations’ jobs to provide answers to the questions and misconceptions the public may have.

Dr Briand highlighted that if trusted health organisations don’t provide clear answers, people will look for alternative sources, which can often lead to false information. “It’s fine to have questions,” she said, “but if you don’t have answers to your questions, you will look at other sources of information … that’s why sometimes the anti-vaxxers are so powerful, it’s because they provide an answer that makes sense to people.” She continued that she hopes health agencies will take on this challenge to help the public better understand the pandemic.

Ultimately their message was clear: in order to counter misinformation, we have to provide clear, trusted answers to the questions the public have about this confusing and incredibly scary time. And to do that, the most important thing is to listen, sympathise, and work together with patients and the public. It is through compassionate communication that we can help to prevent division, which groups spreading misinformation attempt to create.

The post Combating Misinformation by Sophie Ainsworth, Artwork by Rowan Frewin first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Don’t trust your screen: how the coronavirus lexicon creates confusion by Shanjida Hossain

Whenever I look for symptoms, the internet tells me I’m going to die! In fact, there are millions of Brits who, in the event of minor disturbances, look for information online, in fear of having contracted or wanting information to help prevent the virus. Sadly, a survey conducted in September 2020 by Statista UK shows that 64% of interviewees came across misleading information at least once a day. This fake news is mostly aimed towards a younger audience as the majority is spread through social media. Young people who are more familiar with technology and have greater access to it also often feel embarrassed by showing ignorance or fear getting fully quarantined, therefore fail to seek professional advice and instead look for quick solutions on the internet. “This may look like quick and comfortable first aid but bear in mind that this could put us into a much greater health risk than the virus itself,” says Professor Maria Zambon, director of the virology department of Public Health England.

“Infodemic” costs lives:

Research says that at least 800 people worldwide may have died due to misinformation in the first three months of this year. In addition, people continue to rely on self-medication with so-called “miracle cures” for the virus, such as drinking chlorine dioxide (an industrial bleach), urine, etc. Surfing the internet is like navigating the sea: you need to have reference points and tools. “It is important to pay attention to where the news comes from. It can be reasonably trusted if the information comes from well-known hospitals and medical faculties, from scientific societies with a long tradition, from institutional bodies, such as the World Health Organisation or other health organisations,” advises Professor Zambon. She also adds that, during this pandemic, building trust between various national and international health organisations and citizens has become quite challenging since this “infodemic” took over online platforms. “This could be intentionally or unintentionally but it’s certainty doing more harm than good,” she warns. Indeed, the internet is a double-edged sword. The network offers unimaginable potential, but on the other hand there are also all those dangers we have indicated. Then what to trust?

The five rules for secure information:

• Any site offering medical advice should clearly show the name of its owners or sponsors.
• You should always check the date of the last update or the copyright date so the information is up to date with the current circumstances.
• A website is likely to be more reliable if it explicitly mentions the importance of your relationship with your doctor first and declares that the information provided does not replace the advice your doctor or specialist can provide.
• The site should have an editorial board or an advisory board.
• The provenance of the information must be accompanied by explicit references and, if possible, by links to scientific publications.

Health must always be protected. The use of search engines and social networks should in no way replace a professional’s advice. A degree in medicine and the continuous updating of the doctor’s specialist knowledge with many years of experience cannot be replaced in any way by life experiences lived by real or virtual friends.

False knowledge: it’s more dangerous than ignorance!

Shanjida Hossain is 22 years old and lives in Manchester, UK. She is a first year Law student at the Manchester Metropolitan University who is passionate about article writing.

The post Don’t trust your screen: how the coronavirus lexicon creates confusion by Shanjida Hossain, Artwork by Annabel Carr first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

We, teenagers at the time of the coronavirus’ war

by Shanjida Hossain

Editor & Mentor: Joe Muggs

Being teenagers and going through the most challenging stage of our lives is hard in itself—but now the impact of this new virus is resonating through our lives without any sense of when this will end. She tore from our hands a planned future, our everyday routine and the affection of our loved ones. Having studied hard since the age of five, getting to the very end of our educational journey to face this global pandemic wasn’t something we could ever have planned for, yet here we are, left with nothing but insecurities and confusion.

Mental health support from the Royals and Government

In the two months since Boris Johnson announced the lockdown, more and more young people have been suffering from stress and anxiety. Almost 6,000 people have contacted the Shout line: a helpline founded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to support youngsters during their hard times. A Shout report shows there has been a 10% increase in the number of people with anxiety due to the lockdown. The Government has already taken steps to prioritise mental health, including a £5 million fund for organisations providing mental health support. Will that suffice?

The reassuring words of an expert

To better understand this subject, we interviewed Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific advisor to the Government of the United Kingdom. Despite knowing the impact that these new measures are having on our daily routines, Sir Patrick is mortified about what is going on. But he implored us to stick with it till we are out of danger and continue to cooperate with the government. He said, “Thanks to the measures taken and your cooperation, we’ve got the cases under control and now the UK is in a better position compared to what we had to face at the beginning of this pandemic. But if we release these measures, it will come back.” We all agree that the measures are effective, but I wonder for how long we need to cooperate, and what it will cost us till the end. Will we be able to continue our lives from where we left?

Our well-being

Sir Patrick also shows concern for our mental and physical wellbeing and added that “If everybody stopped exercising and eating healthily, the impact on the overall health of the population might be bigger than that of the virus itself.”

Although the government apparently have their hands tied, they strongly encourage us to:

• Follow our normal daily routine as much as we can
• Exercise at home wherever possible
• Follow a healthy diet and lifestyle
• Stay in contact digitally with friends and family: this will help to reduce isolation and loneliness.

You are not alone

He reassured us youngsters that “Nobody is alone in this.” He added that they are ready to talk about it because avoiding the subject and letting the fear overtake us won’t do any good. The Covid-19 pandemic will surely shake history but in this battle, we are fighting together. And to all readers Sir Patrick says that “We are in this together as the government of the people, supported by the people, it is here for the people.” For a young adult like me, things are changing so quickly. Some of us are insecure about whether or not we will be able to progress into the next academic year. Some have lost their job and are struggling financially. Some have lost family members and friends. During these hard times, I want to be involved in ensuring our voices are heard by the scientists and politicians.

The post We, teenagers at the time of the coronavirus’ war by Shanjida Hossain, Artwork by Annabel Carr first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Artwork by Sevitha V

The post Artwork by Sevitha V first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.

Lockdown Diary: Part 2 by Raghav Pandey

All of these illustrations come from a diary entry I made in the early days of the lockdown.

My family had to move to a new city during the lockdown.

Because we left during the lockdown, my last few memories of my old home city are through a window.

My friends would ask me how the new city is, and eventually, despite spending several weeks there, all I knew of my new city was from inside my house. I might as well have been anywhere.

But soon, the city started coming to me.

My first friend, the white throated kingfisher, reminded me of two things:

First, that a city is not just its places and people but also the birds and bugs. And second, burds have really obvious names.

So, I simply decided to pay attention to some of my friends:

Sparrows are definitely the most confident. Indian White-Eyes are impossibly small and painfully obviously named. I found it unfair that despite their pretty green bodies, Brown Headed Barbets are called that. Red Whiskered Bulbuls have a smooth rolling voice that says “how do YOU do”. Black Winged Kites can somehow hover in mid-air and look like they are stuck in time.

I saw these, and 18 other bird species all without leaving my house!

Several apps that help you with identifying birds also serve as platforms for Citizen Science which really just means that by collecting data on the ground you help keep track of bird movement and behaviours, which inform and guide conservation efforts.

We have multitudes of identities. We identify with our language, our gender, the occupation of our families. At the same time, we associate identities to the spaces, places and things we occupy. Bird watching helped me associate with my new city, but based on an environmental identity. I felt included into the identity of everyone who lives here and around these birds.

Raghav Pandey is 20 years old. He is a graduate in Physics from Azim Premji University, India, and likes to make short films and draw. He is interested in science communication, environmental and social justice. Of late, he has been looking at birds around his house and has already spotted 23 different species.

The post Lockdown Diary 2 by Raghav Pandey first appeared on Planet Divoc-91.