COVID-19 needs no introduction. In 20 months, the disease has caused 4.5 million deaths, infected 219 million people and spread across every continent on earth. Practically nobody has remained unaffected as lockdowns, social distancing, and masks have become part of everyday life. The news is unsurprisingly inundated with COVID-19 content and bows to our demand for data on the worst pandemic in living memory. New cases, deaths, tests, recoveries, R number, vaccination rates, the list of recorded data goes on, each being measured against many variables. This data is obviously critical in recording, tracking and fighting the pandemic and therefore needs to be unequivocally accurate.
How can we ensure that data is unequivocally accurate? The clue is in the title!
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome of Coronavirus Disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 as the world knows it was first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The virus quickly escaped lockdowns in surrounding cities within the Hubei Province and spread throughout China and the world within weeks. This rapid spread of the virus resulted in the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring a Global Pandemic on 11th March 2020.
Seven known types of Coronavirus can infect humans; SARS-CoV-2 is one of them. The subsequent respiratory disease that SARS-CoV-2 causes was named by the WHO on 11th February 2020 as COVID-19, an abbreviation for Coronavirus Disease 2019.
COVID-19 can cause a wide range of reactions, with some experiencing very mild symptoms or none at all. However, it can lead to respiratory failure, nervous system problems, permanent lung, heart and kidney damage or death.
If you have a fever or any of the above symptoms, please phone a doctor or health care provider and seek help. In the event of severe shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, call your region's emergency telephone number and request an ambulance.
5.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, enough to fully vaccinate a third of the global population. However, the vaccination rate is much higher in the developed world as poor nations struggle to acquire vaccines. This disparity is a major thorn in the side of global vaccination. At the current rate of around 37 million vaccinations per day, it will be another 5 months before 75% of the world is vaccinated.
The impact of COVID-19 has been truly global and felt by everyone. School children have been forced to learn from home, adults lucky enough to keep their jobs have worked remotely, and the vulnerable have been isolated. Major events have been cancelled or postponed, businesses closed, and supply chains clogged up as the impact of lockdowns and social distancing has upturned normality. The global health crisis has resulted in millions of deaths, and the ensuing global recession has pushed many more into extreme poverty. The effect of this double whammy is yet to be felt fully and may linger for generations to come.
Various methods have been used around the world to try and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. In the early days, a particular emphasis was placed on personal hygiene and social distancing with masks initially not deemed necessary. However, as the pandemic's scale has exploded, more and more extreme measures have been taken, with lockdowns, curfews, quarantine, and school and business closures becoming the norm. Technology has played a vital role with certain apps for traveling and contact tracing. PCR testing has also been relied upon heavily to track the spread of the virus.
Blockchain is the revolutionary, record keeping technology behind Bitcoin. It is essentially a type of database but is unconventional and ground breaking for several reasons.
Blockchain technology can ensure that the data we capture to help us fight the spread of COVID-19 is reliable, enabling enhancement in all areas of healthcare.
At LifeHash our mission is to provide ownership and security of data with blockchain solutions. By enabling industries to adapt their processes to be more accurate and accountable we can ensure that critical data is delivered with 100 percent reliability.
Based on existing, tried and tested Bitcoin and DigiByte blockchains and utilising IPFS, LifeHash has created a revolutionary method of data handling that can be utilised across the health industry in the fight against COVID-19. Solutions can range from supply chain applications that ensure authenticity of vaccines to secure document verification of testing reports.
Since we believe in individual data-ownership and self-sovereignty, we will not support any solutions that may limit human rights.
Please Contact Us for more information.
Blockchain is a type of database that is used for recording data in a secure way. Famous for being the technology behind Bitcoin within cryptocurrency it acts as a ledger providing an immutable record of transactions.
Technology has been used within the health industry in the fight against COVID-19 from the very start of the pandemic. Track and Trace apps, PCR testing, and electronic registers are just a few common examples. However, there are emerging technologies such as AI and Blockchain that have yet to be used to their potential.
LifeHash is founded on the ideas that blockchain technology is an enabler for freedom. We will not support any solutions that have a potential for abuse.
LifHash provides blockchain solutions for all aspects of life, from insurance, personal data security, logistics, and copyright protection.
