by Conrad Kullman, MD at FAR UVC AFRICA
Cue post-pandemic where business is back on its feet, we’re meeting new people and shaking hands with the regulars once again. Rewind to a year ago and It felt like a distant dream. People have spent the last year trying to understand what the novel COVID virus is and what will happen today and in the future. However, one year later and after much concern for the COVID vaccines that are currently underway, we’ve still got some way to go. As human beings, we usually only know how to solve a problem once it’s hit us without warning. This is the opportunity that we have to take in order to be prepared for the next big thing.
Big Impact
We’re all in agreement that we’re dealing with something bigger than we’ve anticipated. Looking back at the time when The World Health Organisation confirmed the COVID-19 pandemic in March last year, and unbeknown to us, no one had an idea how we would play a role and we were nowhere near ready. The effects that the COVID pandemic has had on society as a whole has a lot of questions for scientists and policy makers about what comes next and we’re all listening.
This begs the question of how filtered far-UVC light sanitising technology fits into our current situation with COVID-19 and what this could mean for future outbreaks. The vaccine roll out has paved the way towards a hopeful future, however with undecided policies about what works and what doesn’t, we’re looking at a long road ahead. With information changing day-by-day, and as far as vaccines go, it won’t cover new breakouts or infections that we’re likely to face. So what happens next?
Paving The Way
Far-UVC has utilised centuries-old UV tech and reinvented new tactics to combat the way we manage future outbreaks like novel viruses, influenza, and measles. Research authors have described this type of innovation as “game-changing”. The idea is to stay ahead of what we’re fighting against while people feel safe where they are or where they’re going. To get ahead, far-UVC is able to play a part in controlling the spread of COVID-19. It is able to kill all bacteria and pathogens that humans can’t always avoid, and the narrow wave length UV light poses little to no risk when exposed to humans and animals. It also reduces human error when it comes to disinfecting, and one can feel good that the safeguarding is consistent.
There is agreement that this could be the next approach when implementing pandemic tactics. David Brenner, a Professor of Radiation Biophysics from Columbia University says, “Far-UVC takes a fundamentally different tactic in the war against COVID-19. Most approaches focus on fighting the virus once it has gotten into the body. Far-UVC is one of the very few approaches that has the potential to prevent the spread of viruses before they enter the body.”
Far-UVC can only penetrate at a short distance in biological material where the safest level is 222nm, which means that it won’t be so harsh to penetrate living cells, just enough to autonomously clean. This potentially could reduce the need for social distancing and clear contaminated spaces that contain SARS-CoV-2. It’s important to expand such a solution among airports, hospitals, work spaces, schools, restaurants and big businesses. It’s understandable that there will be a time where a new strain or pathogen has changed and adapted, before vaccines have been developed, that infection control is of utmost importance.
With that being said, we’re happy to report as more research is published, we have the opportunity to minimise infections and limit airborne transmissions. It’s officially time to look beyond the conventional ways of sanitising now that we have trialled and tested a solution that will go a long way in keeping us prepared for the current pandemic and other potential outbreaks.
If we could potentially reach widely used occupied public places, far-UVC sanitising light technology has the ability to provide an immediate reaction on future epidemics and pandemics. We know that when the time comes to rolling out all vaccines against the COVID virus, it will not protect against the next novel virus. So, it’s imperative that we reinforce and heed to the next means as this will play a role for the future of business and public health and safety.
In closing, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, President of the African Medical Association, who recently attended and spoke at the FAR UVC AFRICA launch event in Johannesburg added that the far-UVC sanitising light technology is a game changer, and should be used in conjunction with other standard safety sanitisation measures.
About FAR UVC
FAR UVC AFRICA started in South Africa in 2020 after identifying a gap in the market created by COVID-19 and the importance of safe sanitisation. FAR UVC AFRICA provides human safe far-UVC 222nm (nanometre) sanitising light technology products that actively combats airborne diseases (including COVID-19) in various environments such as offices, retail, schools, public transport systems, gyms and shopping centres. For more information on FAR UVC AFRICA, please visit the company website: www.faruvcafrica.com.