Dear Colleagues,

The landscape of COVID 19 is evolving every day and as it changes, we have had to face some terrible situations that have caused disruptions across all sectors. Events of the last few months have given us a perspective of the thin line of association between life and death and a stark reminder of how public health and policies play a major role in our everyday lives. We have also come to realize the role of science and technological advances and their impact on our health from prevention and screening to early diagnostics and fast track therapeutics. We believe that through collaborative effort between health care professionals and technology experts, our community will brave the challenges and solve the growing problems through dissemination of education, sharing of knowledge and power of passion. To that end, we have organized a unique set of manuscripts written by experts in their fields that will address the Interoperability of IOS, health care Apps, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) apps to address contact tracing issues, aspects of privacy, transparency and consenting, role of A.I and algorithm development using big data in wearable technology for health status monitoring of multiple populations at risk. A few other papers will address telehealth, virtual technology, and role of social media at this time of pandemic. There are focused articles on Disparities in COVID 19, comorbidities and their impact on health and wealth. prevention of hospitalization as well as genomic exploration, lab testing and their imperfections, challenges in treatment strategies and in development of vaccines. A couple of papers on preventive strategies using non pharmacological approaches and exercise programs through virtual reality will add significant value to our knowledge base around this pandemic. Another article on mental health at time of COVID will allude to the anxiety, social isolation, and complications thereof and discuss opportunities for alleviation and healing. During this time, while we continue to grasp the nuances of the virus and gain knowledge on anticontagion strategies, early detection, control and developing therapies to attack the condition and comorbidities, let us not forget some of the most powerful values that are already embedded in each and every one of you and has sustained over time. These values include love and kindness, compassion and service to others, inclusion, and impact as well as innovation and creativity. When all is said and done, we all should be asking the question, “how can I help, as an individual and as someone who is part of the larger community, in playing my role in this pandemic and perhaps in the next one and fundamentally improve all aspects of medical care for one and all.” We hope that the manuscripts presented in this special issue will satisfy our goal in creating informed committed health care professions ready to solve the most pressing problems. We hope that the insightful messages in this issue would have cut through the ice, debunked some of the myths, and invoked a sense of passion and courage in you to communicate the knowledge gained in pursuit of a healthier, more equitable world.

Prof. Dr. Krishnaswami Vijayaraghavan and Dr. Snehil Dixit

Guest Editors