UC authorities launch book “Contributions of the UC in times of pandemic”
Through its chapters, with various data and more than 90 interviews, the text seeks to leave a testimony of the collaborative and networking work carried out by the UC during the Covid-19 pandemic that affected Chile and the world. The efforts to promote mass vaccination in the country, the commitment and immediate response of the Health Network, the development of devices and technologies to face the health crisis, and innovation in training are some of the topics that are addressed.
This Tuesday morning in the UC Hall of Honor, the book ” Contributions of the UC in times of pandemic” was presented to the university and national community, a text that aims to leave a testimony of the collaborative and networking work of the UC during the Covid-19 health crisis that affected Chile and the world.
In its five chapters and more than 100 pages, the publication reports on the various efforts made by UC to support during the pandemic . From the participation in the Covid-19 Social Table and other instances created by official organizations, the contributions throughout the vaccination process, management of ethical guidelines, in addition to the development of new technologies and the generation of different projects that directly benefited the Chileans and Chileans.
The book also addresses the efforts to keep the university active, from the implementation of remote classes, the creation of the UC Covid Committee to lead the gradual return , the various prevention and care strategies, among other initiatives.
The book contains the testimony of more than 90 relevant people and actors within the university , who were interviewed by Claudia Anelli and Paula Brown, researchers and editors of the publication.
The rector of the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez, referred to the role played by the institution through its participation in the social table, an instance of collaboration and dialogue, as well as highlighted the response that the house of study had through the work training, but also through its health network. “From the university we provide answers and various solutions for the requirements that were needed, for the university and national community” . Thus, the university authority highlighted innovations in the academic area, in creation and innovation, proposals for national projection in education, economy, employment, mental health, among others.”In a very important way, we made contributions on the subject of vaccines, with clinical studies, led by Professor Alexis Kalergis and his team, through the clinical and prevention activity developed by our UC-CHRISTUS Health Network . “
Rector Sánchez explained that “the book that we are presenting today describes how we lived through this process, leaving a record of a vital period in the history of our university. Facts, activities and testimonials that lead us to know the dedication and commitment that was experienced within the university, the health system, the network, and all the members that we share in our community, in the different areas that are they board” . He especially recognized the great sense of community service and contribution to the country, present at that time, which was key to jointly overcome all the challenges that were presented.
He also pointed out that the book is organized into major themes and areas of work. From how the university transformed its teaching, professional and administrative work, to the systematization of the different lines of research. The publication describes the outstanding work and contribution that UC had in the studies of safety and effectiveness of vaccines, the dedicated and innovative clinical work of academics and professionals and technicians of the UC-CHRISTUS Health Network.
In the instance, two conversations were held on the subject, led by the rector Ignacio Sánchez and the former Minister of Health, Enrique Paris. The latter highlighted the work carried out by the country during the pandemic, recalling the policies promoted and the fact that Chile was the first country in Latin America in tests by people and that “in terms of percentage of vaccination in relation to the population it was the highest in the world on several occasions”.
Regarding the publication, he stressed that “it is evident that this book contributes to leaving a testimony of the collaborative work of the Catholic University, during the serious pandemic by Covid-19. The university had an outstanding participation in this epic fight against an unknown virus, which struck humanity with unusual violence, but which allowed us to bring out the best in the inhabitants of our country and also in many inhabitants of the planet. Chile is a resilient country and every time it has a situation that stresses it and attacks it, it manages to bring out the best strength from its people . “
The two conversations were moderated by the rector Ignacio Sánchez and the former minister Enrique Paris, where each participant was able to present on the areas that he had to lead.
The deputy rector Guillermo Marshall participated in the first of the conversations ; the vice-rector for Communications and Cultural Extension, Magdalena Amenábar ; the Academic Vice Chancellor, Fernando Purcell ; and the Vice Chancellor for Research, Pedro Bouchon .
Provost Marshall referred to the ICOVID Chile initiative, led by the UC, the University of Chile and the University of Concepción, whose purpose was to generate indicators to represent the situation of the pandemic in the country and deliver clear and timely information to authorities , media and citizens. “A significant effort was made to provide credibility to the information and also to be as simple as possible in the delivery of data, for which indicators with traffic lights were delivered in matters such as contagion dynamics, testing, traceability and hospital capacity,” he said. he.
Fernando Purcell, Academic Vice Chancellor, addressed the significant effort made by UC to keep the university active during the pandemic, which involved migrating to remote classes and using platforms such as Canvas and Zoom in a matter of days. ” We took advantage of the pandemic as an opportunity to go beyond what the health crisis required of us to get ahead and keep the university alive” , He added that “everything that was innovation, the conceptualization of hybrid classes, the ability to promoting simulation and innovating in the ways of evaluating, are steps forward and of which we are very satisfied” .
Magdalena Amenábar, Vice Chancellor for Communications and Cultural Extension, referred to the coordinating role that communications played during the health crisis. This is how she highlighted the work of the Communications Department team in terms of social networks, through websites, in the development of press conferences, preparation of internal communications, infographics, frequently asked questions. “The institutional portal played an important role in providing responses to daily events, care campaigns (…) as well as the Visión newspaper, which kept a community of more than 42,600 people informed.” He added the relevance of the audiovisual record of everything that was being experienced and the emotional containment that was promoted through communications, work in which he highlighted the accompaniment that Radio Beethoven carried out , with music and different messages, to people from all over the country. .
Pedro Bouchon, Vice Rector for Research, was the coordinator of an interdisciplinary team that worked in an articulated manner based on various requirements of the Social Roundtable promoted by the government. Bouchon explained that work was done in different lines: traceability, testing, an interdisciplinary table to find solutions and technologies in elements of personal protection or mental health, education, and also in the development of vaccines and immunology. “All the work we did with the ISP , and which involved doing a phase three study, was not only testing a vaccine, but also involved studying the immune response against regulations that were quite initial at that time,” he said . .
Health Efforts
The second discussion was more focused on issues related to health and the efforts made by the university to contribute in this area from various fronts.
The second panel included the Vice Chancellor for International Affairs, Lilian Ferrer ; the dean of the Faculty of Medicine , Felipe Heusser ; the deputy director of the Advanced Center for Chronic Diseases and UC academic, Catterina Ferreccio ; and the director of the Millennium Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy and UC academic, Alexis Kalergis .
In the first intervention of this panel, the vice-chancellor Lilian Ferrer referred to internal efforts in the area of health. She led the UC Covid Committee, a multidisciplinary body that was created during the pandemic and met constantly to make all decisions related to the care and safe return of the UC community. During her presentation, the vice-chancellor highlighted the work of all those who participated in the implementation of these various actions to face the pandemic, the support to deliver the best messages, in screening management, in generating spaces for testing and vaccination, among other actions. “As a community we show how great we are in terms of creating human spaces ,” she said.
In the second intervention, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine Felipe Heusser spoke about the important efforts made by the academic unit during the pandemic period, with therapeutic innovations and the implementation of sanitary measures that played a key role. According to his account, the entire community of the faculty, from academics, academics, directors, students, officials, in addition to the UC-CHRISTUS Health Network, committed to supporting people during the crisis. “We were delivered and turned to what we do to get out of this, with a country look ,” he said. For example, “higher-level students immediately went to clinical fields, to the Health Network, to Sótero Del Río, to the Florida Hospital. There they continued learning and with a look of service”. He highlighted the work of the UC-CHRISTUS Health Network, which played a key role with its public vocation. “We were one of the private centers that received the most patients in intensive care, we quadrupled the beds, other people who did not work in the Network joined, volunteers joined, etc. We saw the best of people,” he recounted . “Beyond regular care, they were concerned about the patients who were alone, they sang to them, they comforted them. Really, there was a mystique that was moving,” she added.
In the third instance, Catterina Ferreccio referred to her participation in the committee of experts, all from her knowledge and her leadership in the area of epidemiology in Chile and within the university. “In my case, I had to dedicate myself to studying everything that was happening, because there was nothing before. Everything had just come out and we had to study it to be able to form an opinion on what was happening,” she said . In addition, Catterina Ferreccio referred to her role in working with the authorities and how she tried to bring the measures closer to people in the best way. “All careers should be able to translate their work into public policy and also communicate it ,” she said. Also, she said she,”I felt very supported because at this university everyone was on the street. From the rector, dean, deans. We all went out, and it was something impressive.”
Finally, Professor Alexis Kalergis spoke about everything that was the vaccination process, all the work he led together with his team from the Millennium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy. During his speech, he highlighted the collaboration with other faculties, academics, with the university authorities, in addition, the great contribution of young researchers who contributed to all the work. “We had a tremendous responsibility, an unknown virus, unknown vaccines and a global problem for which there was no solution. Without a doubt, experience shows that in the history of science and medicine, vaccines can be a way to control situations like these” , explained the academic.
The work behind the book
The book contains the testimony of more than 90 relevant people and actors within the university , who were interviewed by Claudia Anelli and Paula Brown, researchers and editors of the publication. “UC contributions in times of pandemic” has the design and layout of the UC Design Department and photographs by César Cortés and Karina Fuenzalida. The project was directed by the vice-rector for Communications and Cultural Extension, Magdalena Amenábar, and the general coordination of Verónica Guarda, director of Communications.