The hustling world we all have so comfortably lived in, without fear of it ever retaliating back despite all our exploitation has been under a severe threat of covid-19 pandemic for the past 8 months.
Though the world has undergone severe global changes in the last decade. In form of a rise in temperature, droughts, acid rains, floods. As well as the melting of the glacier because we have conveniently exploited the world’s resources. Without giving anything substantial back to nature. We have never been this worried about controlling the damage ever before.
Why:
The world is more concerned because we don’t have any vaccine yet to stop the spread of coronavirus. So, the world after almost a year is still in a state of fear. With people becoming the victim of this novel virus every day around the globe.
The COVID-19 Affected World
No one in their wildest imagination could have predicted the disastrous effect of this virus on the global society. We have had pandemics before, but never has society acted as forcefully as now. When China quarantined an entire megacity in January, people said ‘only China can do that.’
Then we saw similarly drastic measures in several democratic countries. According to Matti Sällberg, an American vaccine developer, people today have trust in medical solutions. Because scientists can develop vaccines againts different diseases in a way they couldn’t in the past.
What is Coronavirus?
A coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in the nose, sinuses, or upper throat. Most coronaviruses aren’t dangerous. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses known for containing strains that cause potentially deadly diseases in mammals and birds.
Covid turned into a Pandemic
In early 2020, after a December 2019 outbreak in China, the World Health Organization identified SARS-CoV-2 as a new type of coronavirus. The outbreak quickly spread around the world and soon affected the entire world. WHO announced COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
How is the Virus COVID-19 Transmitted?
COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger respiratory tract infection. It can affect the upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs). It spreads the same way other coronaviruses do, mainly through person-to-person contact. Infections range from mild to deadly.
SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 is one of seven types of coronavirus. Including the ones that cause severe diseases like the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The other coronaviruses cause most of the colds that affect us during the year. But they aren’t a serious threat for otherwise healthy people.
Symptoms of COVID-19
The main symptoms include Fever, Coughing, Shortness of breath, trouble breathing, Fatigue, Chills. Sometimes with shaking, Body aches, Headache, Sore throat, Congestion/runny nose, loss of smell or taste, Nausea, Diarrhea.
The virus can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure, heart problems, liver problems, septic shock, and death. Many COVID-19 complications may be caused by a condition known as cytokine release syndrome or a cytokine storm. This is when an infection triggers your immune system to flood your bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They can kill tissue and damage your organs.
Coronavirus Vaccine
Vaccines typically require years of research and testing before reaching the clinic. But scientists are racing to produce a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine by next year. Researchers are testing 54 vaccines in clinical trials on humans. At least 87 preclinical vaccines are under active investigation in animals.
When Will Vaccine Be Available For Covid-19
We’ve been waiting on one or more COVID-19 vaccines for months. Unsure of not only when they would arrive but how effective they would be when they did. Now it appears the two vaccines that will most likely be the first to receive Food and Drug Administration authorization. And they might get here before 2021.
Not only that, but clinical trials have demonstrated both are over 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections. That means at least nine out of 10 people who receive those vaccines will likely not contract COVID-19. Even if they’re exposed to SARS–CoV–2, the virus that causes the disease, after being inoculated.
Will Pfizer And Moderna be Game Changers
Last week, US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced it has a vaccine that demonstrated 90% efficacy. In tests conducted on 43,538 people in six countries, with no serious safety concerns. Moderna, a US biotech firm, announced this week that its vaccine has been demonstrated to be almost 95% effective. They claim it is also relatively safe in a trial that included over 30,000 people. Each vaccine requires an initial dose plus a subsequent “booster” dose several weeks later.
Other Vaccine Trails
Pfizer and Moderna represent only the tip of the iceberg. Currently, there are 67 coronavirus vaccines in various stages of clinical trials. With a handful almost ready to apply for authorization. Most experts believe we’ll have several more ready to distribute by early 2021. But it may not be until 2022 that life starts to get back to normal.
Scientists are using different platforms to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Some vaccine candidates in clinical trials exploit mechanisms already used in other vaccines. Others are based on innovative approaches that have never been tested before. Here is an overview of the different types of vaccines.
Why Do We Need a Vaccine?
If you want your life to get back to normal, then we need a vaccine. Even now, the vast majority of people are still vulnerable to coronavirus infection. It’s only the restrictions on our lives that are preventing more people from dying.
But a vaccine would safely teach our bodies to fight the infection. It would either stop us catching coronavirus in the first place or at least make Covid less deadly. Having a vaccine, alongside better treatments, is “the” exit strategy.
Which COVID-19 Vaccine Is Likely To Succeed?
Pfizer/BioNtech is the first pharmaceutical company to share information from the final stages of vaccine testing. The data suggests the jab could prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid-19. About 43,000 people have been given the vaccine, and no safety concerns have been raised.
Who Will Get the Vaccine First and When Can You Have It?
The trials are under process in several countries. Pakistan has also made its advanced booking for the vaccine today. According to the notification it will first be given to front-line doctors and adults above 65-year-old.
Bottom Line
Now we have to wait till the vaccines complete their trial and are available in the market. In addition to introducing new dynamics, the pandemic has confirmed what scholars have known about social inequality. Theories about Intersecting forces of race, class, and gender on disparate life chances is also coming true. The disproportionate and life-threatening impact of the coronavirus on different social communities is a symptom of the deeper structural inequality.
Summing it all,
Social scientists have long known that socioeconomic opportunity and educational access have everything to do with health and wellbeing. We have yet to witness the social inequality availability of the vaccine causes for the world in the future.
