A year since the first case of COVID-19 virus in Malta, Malta Café  Scientifique is organising a discussion on Wednesday at 7pm with epidemiologist Dr Raquel Mediadela, looking back at the recent history of pandemics and how our scientific understanding has changed over the past decade. The event will be hosted live at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, and will also streamed live on Malta  Café  Scientifique’s  Facebook page below.

Dr Mediadela worked extensively on the Ebola and Zika viruses, and is currently working with the World Health Organisation COVID-19 Intelligence Team. She will talk about her previous research and how it relates to the current pandemic. This will be followed by questions from the physical and online audience.

Pandemics are not a novelty. Over the past decade, the emergence of deadly viruses, such as Zika virus (2015), Ebola (2013) and SARS (2002), have taken their toll, but did we heed the warnings of these outbreaks, and will we learn our lessons from COVID?

Dr Mediadela will talk about her previous research and how it relates to the current pandemic

For now, Malta appears to have dealt with this pandemic better than most – ranking 14th in a study conducted by the Lowy Institute, but how will we cope with the next deadly pandemic? Are we ready?

The event provides an occasion where people can pause and reflect on what we have learned so far. We have all shared the hardships of living through a pandemic that has ravaged the world.

With the development of a number of effective vaccines,  the end seems to be in sight, but this is not the time to be complacent. We need to reflect on how we got to where we are now, and how we can prevent another pandemic from happening again.

A very limited audience will be allowed to attend the event at Spazju Kreattiv due to COVID-19 safeguard precautions. Those who would like to attend in person, should book early as spaces are limited.

The event is being organised with the assistance of the  STEAM  project, the University of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Scientists and hosted by Spazju Kreattiv.

For booking and more information visit http://bit.ly/MCSCIweb, https://www.facebook.com/Malta.Cafe.Scientifique, or https://www.kreattivita.org/en/event/malta-cafe-scientifique-pandemics/

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.