HOW DID SCIENTISTS DEAL WITH COVID-19 SO QUICKLY? BECAUSE THEY PULLED TOGETHER

The green numbers around Covid-19 are simply staggering when you consider that this was a disease almost unheard of in December 2019. At the time of writing, this year about 240,000 UK people are being treated with Covid-19, and more than 70,000 people are listed as Covid-19 which is the cause of death on their death certificate.

It started the year 2020 worried about reports from Wuhan: it seems to suggest a non-invasive transmission of a respiratory virus that was serious enough to put patients in intensive care units. I am a clinical student trained in medical and respiratory medicine; I also lead a research program focusing on pneumonia that has caused respiratory illness - for me and others, which was reportedly seen as a major problem.

In response to the emergence of Sars-CoV-2, a World Health Organization clinical study was conducted on 17 January 2020, when the first wave of patients with Covid-19 was admitted to hospitals in England and Wales. This patient observation study was launched in 2013 to ensure that the necessary infrastructure will be available to learn about the rapid spread of novel respiratory infections when needed. The first Covid-19 confirmed patient in the UK was reported on 31 January 2020.

In early February, it became clear that there was a serious problem, and the ICU where I work began to prepare for what might happen to us. We held our first multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss how we will tackle this emerging threat, with our public health partners, virology, microbiology, and all the others who joined us on 12 February. At this point, there were ten reported cases of Sars-CoV-2 in the UK.

Things went quickly, and March was a critical month for the UK's response to the emerging epidemic. There have been concerns that the situation could worsen and the UK will run out of key equipment such as mechanical ventilators, which has led the government to introduce the Ventilator Challenge, to seek, approve and build resources from a variety of sources. Much has been written about this process, but I am sure it was needed - I would not have agreed to help this effort if I had not been.

The Takula case was re-opened in March. It is a testament to the response of the UK research program in the face of the epidemic that by 17 March, the case had been established, received ethical and regulatory approval, and was ready to begin hiring patients. Since then, more than 20,000 people have been involved in helping us understand what treatments work for patients in hospitals with Covid-19 - a great success.

In April we were at the top of a wave of one of these epidemics, and ICUs in many areas were under extreme pressure. On April 12, there were 3,301 people with Covid-19 who needed a small amount of air made in the UK. Happily, by August this figure had dropped to less than 70. By the end of October, however, it had risen to more than 1,000, where it has remained and is currently showing no signs of declining. It is clear that the Covid-19 is far from being made available to us at the moment.

In the fall, data emerged that suggested that what many thought would be almost impossible - many effective anti-Sars-CoV-2 vaccines had been developed in less than 12 months. December 2020 marked the beginning of what will be the UK's largest immunization program starting with 50 NHS hospitals.

Such a difficult and difficult time encourages you to think seriously about events and your role in them. Something I learned especially this year: before the year 2020, I had never written a newspaper article, appeared on TV, or talked to a journalist about my work. Ashamed to admit, I had failed to understand the importance of communicating science to a wider audience. The flood of noise and false information during the epidemic changed my view, and it encouraged me to start trying to explain things clearly. It is not always easy to understand, but we need to clearly state why it is important to have access to health workers (not a bed), and why we need treatment and Covid-19 vaccines to be available to everyone, among many other issues.

This year reaffirmed my view that building resilience globally, nationally, and regionally requires commitment and long-term planning. In the NHS, this means we need to make sure we have the right professional personnel, equipment, and other infrastructure to deal with the storms we may be facing - with coronavirus and beyond. No one can honestly say that the UK sailed by 2020 without making difficult decisions and compromises that we would not have faced - the impact of the epidemic on health care for people with non-COVID-19 conditions has been and continues to be, significant. Many times this year, doctors, patients, families, policymakers, and politicians all face the choice of the worst options under difficult circumstances. No one is immune to this adversity.

Most of the "wins" this year have come from planning and collaboration. One example of this is the significant contribution of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in response to the UK epidemic. It allowed us to quickly learn about Covid-19 by supporting employment in visual studies such as Isaric-4C (WHO Covid-19 study cited above), React (Covid-19 Study Screening Study), and GenoMICC, and it has given thousands of people the opportunity to participate in trials and clinics. This work has helped change the practice of clinics around the world by bringing in important research.

As we look to 2021, I once again find myself worrying about what the new year might be like. However, I am convinced that readiness, flexibility, and commitment to cooperation are all that is needed to deal with the hurricanes we may face in the months and years to come.