Not to adulate too much following Merck's announcement that they will share their COVID-19 drug royalty free in LMICs, but I think their longstanding philanthropic leadership in global health deserves a bit of recognition. Have you ever seen this statue in real life? The statue is called the Gift of Sight. It depicts a young boy leading an older blind man – once a common sight in parts of Africa due to onchocerciasis, or River Blindness. One of my first jobs was to develop strategies to treat disease like trachoma and River Blindness.

A thread: We are now about a month into the massive social distancing experiment Hong Kong introduced to mitigate impact of #COVID19. I thought I would share some thoughts for other academics about the effects it has had on my life. #AcademicTwitter As the world prepares for a pandemic, many are asking what they should do to get ready. Yes - buy facemasks, hand rub, and extra food. But academics also need to prepare for the possibility that universities and other schools close for weeks on end.