Covid vaccine: Where are our scientists?

What you need to know:

  • The question is, are we likely to see a Noble prize scooped by a Ugandan or other African Scientists for discovering cure or formula for the Covid-19 or is it just business as usual - of praising the importance of our scientists? What have they contributed to the world of science?

The outbreak of coronavirus has literally turned to be a blessing in disguise for scientists in particular, and to the health sector in many countries in general.

In Uganda, for instance, the scientists handling the Covid-19 pandemic patients and related issues have had their allowances enhanced and the health sector budget has greatly increased. Besides, donations have been coming to support the fight against the pandemic.

Today, the health sector is receiving attention more than it has ever done before. This brings me to one of the issues that President Museveni has been highlighting in his addresses to the nation in Covid-19.

Many of the speeches tend to be punctuated by praises of scientists. The President often gives people hope that his scientists are in the race and are likely to be among the first to develop Covid-19 vaccine.

However, whenever, the scientists are given a platform to update the nation or are interviewed on matters regarding the pandemic, there is something that I pay attention to, and that is their tone. With the increase in Covid-19 cases in Uganda, the scientists have been more passionate on issuing threats to wananchi.

However, when they are asked how far they have gone in terms of developing Covid-19 drug or vaccine, they give no answer. This gives the impression that these scientists are largely preoccupied with mainly testing for the virus.

This leaves people from the Western and Eastern world to carry out research aimed at developing Covid-19 vaccine.
Our scientists merely play the observer role in the grand scheme of things in as far as developing Covid-19 virus is concerned.

Ugandan and African scientists should wake up and start participating more in complicated science innovations instead of waiting to test or prescribe to patients what other scientists have developed.

Some of the Nobel Prize winners since its inception in 1901 in three areas of Science - physics, chemistry and medicine - scientists who have won this prestigious prize have had to do things ranging from discovering things like radioactivity and conductive polymers to the invention of transistors.

The question is, are we likely to see a Noble prize scooped by a Ugandan or other African Scientists for discovering cure or formula for the Covid-19 or is it just business as usual - of praising the importance of our scientists? What have they contributed to the world of science?

Kennedy Musekura,
[email protected]