As 2020 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the biggest events of the year. It was a tough one, there’s no denying that. Unrest, chaos, and nasty surprises at every turn. By far the biggest of which has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Like a massive hurricane, it uprooted all our lives and forced us into an entirely new world as we forgot socializing and going out and instead became experts on mask-wearing and social distancing. As vaccines now approach completion and the end nears, let’s take a look back at the innovations that helped and are helping us to put a period at the end of the COVID-19 story.
1. Masks
The biggest piece of the puzzle – masks have been the key to helping flatten the curve. Millions and millions of them. And companies innovated on their mask-production processes like never before, managing to produce them at an unprecedented pace while ensuring impeccable quality. Masks save lives – three words we’ll never forget.
2. Sanitizers
The most unexpected of companies jumped into the fray to cease all their production and make sanitizers instead – from car companies to clothing companies! They came up with innovative methods to jury-rig their current production lines into ones that could produce sanitizers quickly and efficiently. And before we knew it, we were all practically drowning in sanitizer!
3. Work from home
The pandemic impacted people’s ability to put food on the table. This was one of the biggest issues that came up with the lockdowns and one that needed to be solved. And solve it we did, with webcams and mics galore! The amount, type, and quality of work that was accomplished over Zoom and Google Meet and Webex and a hundred other services this year would rival any other work at any other time, if not surpass it. We did our jobs and did our best this year even amid all the strife, and best of all – we did it sitting on the couch and in our PJs!
4. No Touching
Touch was one of the biggest factors in this pandemic. No touching your face, no touching anyone else, no touching unsanitized surfaces, and so on. From plain gloves to elevator button pushing keychains to elaborate pedal mechanisms to dispense sanitizer, we came up with new and creative ways to avoid touching just about anything at all!
5. Medicine and Vaccines
And finally, the last piece of the puzzle. The amazing work done by doctors and scientists to beat this pandemic will go down in history. From therapies and ventilators to vaccines and cures, they have been fighting and putting in every waking hour at every step of the way to put on the strongest fight they can. They helped save countless lives, to a degree one cannot even imagine. Who knows, maybe without their sheer dedication, you might not have been here reading this article – or perhaps I might not have ben here to write it.
Looking back on the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, we also see that there was always light shining in the darkness, in the form of boundless strength, determination, optimism, and, of course, innovation.