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The College of Animal Biotechnology (COABT), GADVASU organized an International Webinar “COVID-19 Pandemic: Concerns & Perspectives” in collaboration with Indian Virological Society (IVS). Dr Yashpal Singh Malik, Dean, COABT and Secretary, IVS told that the IVS is a unique scientific body and member of International Union of Microbiological Society to promote research and development in the ?eld of virology. It publishes an internationally reputed journal “Virus Disease” in collaboration with Springer Nature.
Dr R S Sethi, Professor and Head, Department of Animal Biotechnology and organizing secretary elaborated that webinar was organized to update the knowledge of participants on the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar included invited talks and panel discussion by eminent scientists from the national and international academics, research and industry. It was attended by more than 500 participants. It was live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Dr Souvik Ghosh, Director, One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, West Indies elaborated the structure and transmission of COVID-19 virus. Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh, Senior Director (Pathology), Gilead Sciences, USA described the initial efforts for the development of COVID-19 vaccine to future challenges associated with safety, transport and delivery of vaccine. Dr Mohamed Ezzat El Zowalaty, from Zoonosis Science Centre, Uppsala University, Sweden highlighted the interconnection of SARS-CoV-2 with emergence of various infectious diseases. Professor Shailendra Saxena, from King George’s Medical University, Lucknow delivered a talk on “Pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): The unseen and unsaid". Dr Laura Macfarlane-Berry, from Australia shared experiences on role of veterinarian in response to COVID-19 situation. Dr Himanshu Chauhan, Joint Director and Officer In-Charge, National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, highlighted the Indian COVID-19 scenario with interesting data on active cases, growth rate, recovery rate, mortality rate etc.
In the evening session, Dr Scott Napper, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Canada delivered an inaugural talk on “Vaccine Development in the Midst of a Pandemic”. Dr Scott is a team member who developed VIDO COVID-19 vaccine and shared his experiences of selection of animal model and identifying the candidate for the development of vaccine. Dr Panduranga Rao, Vice-President, Biovet, Bangalore described the strategy and timeline for selecting the type of vaccine while developing pandemic vaccine.
Dr Yashpal Singh Malik conducted the expert panel discussion joined by eminent scientist including Dr PK Uppal, Former Advisor, Animal Husbandry, Govt of Punjab, Dr RK Singh, Former Director, IVRI, Izatnagar, Dr MP Yadav, Former President, IVS and Dr Panduranga Rao. The panel discussed the present scenario of COVID-19 epidemic, safety and efficacy of the present available vaccines, myths and advantages of vaccine etc. and recommended to have national level virological institutes and repository of various strains of microorganisms. Dr R K Singh, President, IVS delivered presidential remarks and suggested to establish National level One Health Centre to address the future pandemic situations. Dr R S Sethi delivered the vote of thanks.
Dr. Inderjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor, GADVASU congratulated the entire team for successfully organizing the events and motivated other departments of the university to emulate it.
