Any crisis in the world has an impact on the society at large. Visuals and news that we see and hear, on the crisis, sometimes emotionally devastate – be it a war or a genocide or any natural calamity that costs many a destruction. If the crisis is closer to home, it makes it that much more intense.

This second wave COVID surge has hit many of us hard, emotionally. Many have lost their near and dear and paying attention to the social media isn’t helping either.

Helplessness is a frustrating emotion to have; and leaves one angry, upset and frustrated. It may also lead an individual to depression – and that’s what this current pandemic seems to have landed many of us into – not all the time, thank god!!

In the midst of all the not so positive news of surge in cases, shortage of beds, oxygen tanks and that of many a fatality across the country, there is a lot of positive news also.. news of people pitching in to help those in isolation in their homes, those in hospital – by sending food or organizing for any emergency resources, calling and enquiring about the well-being of the family of those who have tested positive for COVID. The other positive news is the increasing number of people getting themselves vaccinated. News of the efficacy sounds promising indeed!!! The after effects of the vaccination appears to vary from individual to individual; and information of the after effects may trigger a fear to those who haven’t yet vaccinated themselves (like me :-).. If the nurse is like the one who gave me my first dose, the fear certainly vanishes at the time of the vaccination. She had a pretty smile on her face when she looked at me. As she took the syringe and saw my petrified face, she said, “Madam, just smile when the needle touches your arm.” Her statement made me smile and the first dose was done!! It certainly gave me a lot of confidence as though I was given the qualification to join the army of people, to battle an invisible and uninvited guest who made itself the host (no pun intended!!) in no time at all, much against our knowledge, let alone our permission.

As days pass and more and more is heard about the surge in cases and the impact of the surge leading to a lockdown, the helplessness increases. Gosh!! an extended period of masking, social distancing, sanitising, minimal social interactions, hearing not so good news etc etc etc.. The mind mutters a constant prayer for the recovery of all those affected and for the others to stay safe. As though in answer to the prayer, a friend shares a video made by three second-year medical students (Adithi Ramakrishnan, Chandana Bhaskaran and Aswathy Mariam Varghese), one of whom is my friend’s daughter..

This video is about how our body’s Immune system plays a role when exposed to the infection, and how Vaccines come into the picture.. These three smart young medicos begin the video by describing the virus, how it enters the human body and its journey from there. As they say, there is no prescribed medication for this virus. They suggest the possible ways we can minimise the impact of the virus and go on to explain about the two ways – one of them being the vaccination..

Knowledge is power!!! Knowledge dispels ignorance!! Knowledge brings awareness!! Awareness helps in understanding!! Understanding gives energy!! Personally to me, this video was a much needed positive energy. The way these three medical students have gone about describing the biology of the virus, how the virus enters the human body, what happens after that and what we can do to help ourselves, is just amazing. They have used simple vocabulary, great visuals and powerful analogies to explain the virus and the vaccination effect; making it easy for a lay person to understand what is essentially a difficult concept.

Watching and listening to the video also gave me moments of sheer admiration for the creator of this universe, for creating intelligent beings be it in the form of a virus or a human. As much as we say that the first impression is the best impression, it is also said that the final impression stays for a long long time as it leaves an impactful residue behind!! In my case the impactful residue has led to this blog, with the desire for this video to reach many people.

I have read and heard that every cell in the human body possesses an intelligence. As though to echo that, this video so beautifully elaborates how cells within our body communicate with one another to wage a war against what they consider as the enemy. Watching this video, it seemed to me as though the cells within our body communicate with each other singing, “We shall overcome.. we shall overcome.. We shall overcome one day… Oh! Oh! deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome one day!!” What a way to start a day!!

P.S – This video can be viewed at https://www.instagram.com/tv/COkgk23jA9C/?igshid=z3loo8ot0wpt