Reasons for Coronavirus Research
Coronavirus is one of the most severe infections that has been reported to cause a global pandemic. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan in December 2019, and since then, all the continents have been affected by the infection (Yuki et al., 2020). Many people died of the disease; the immunocompromised ones experienced the highest death rates. Most nations were forced to go into a lockdown to reduce the alarming spread of the infection. As of April 2020, about 1.5 million cases had been globally reported, and the cases tremendously rose over the period (Yuki et al., 2020). In China, by August 2020, 728,013 people had died from coronavirus infection (Sun et al., 2021). Schools were closed, and business premises were shut as countries went to an economic halt. COVID-19 vaccine development was rampant, and many people followed the interventions laid to help combat the spread of the disease.
Some nations banned traveling to other countries as a measure to contain the microbe. Hospitals were overwhelmed by the number of COVID-19 cases, and even health personnel succumbed to this disease (Sun et al., 2021). Countries worldwide, including China, Spain, India, Brazil, and the USA, lost control of the pandemic, recording higher fatalities globally. The lack of targeted therapy was a significant concern, and the health sector globally went into a panic trying to find a cure and treatment for the virus (Yuki et al., 2020). The management of the illness was primarily supportive rather than curative. The impact COVID-19 had on nations worldwide and its virulence makes one indulge in the topic’s research.
Important Scientific Issues Pertaining COVID-19
Coronaviruses are encapsulated RNA viruses transmitted from person-person by inhalation of viral particles; it causes various respiratory diseases. The full-genome sequencing has shown that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 illness is in a similar subgenus as the severe acute respiratory symptom virus (SARS virus); COVID-19 has been designated SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 mainly affects the lower respiratory system, even though other body systems may be involved. Specific SARS-CoV-2 variants have gained attention because of their rapid emergence and mortalities, causing more significant mortalities in the population. Omicron is an important COVID-19 variant that was reported early in Botswana and then South Africa; it was linked with causing severe infections in the USA (Carreño et al., 2021). Delta COVID-19 was a highly virulent variant first reported in India and rapidly spread to many nations worldwide, including the USA, resulting in high fatalities.
Patients with COVID-19 mainly complained of dyspnea, meaning difficulty in breathing, and dry cough. They reported dizziness, headache, vomiting, and generalized body weakness. In Wuhan, it was observed that the duration between the onset of symptoms and the development of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) was approximately nine days (Yuki et al., 2020). Epidemiological studies demonstrated mortalities were higher in elderly patients compared to children. Blagosklonny (2020) indicated that men faced higher mortality than women because men aged faster, and patients with age-related complications such as hypertension and diabetes faced an increased risk for mortality. Several drugs, such as remdesvir, azithromycin, lopinavir-ritonavir, and hydroxychloroquine, were put under clinical trials, but none proved to be definitive COVID-19 treatment. In Wuhan, the study of fatal coronavirus patients with a median age of 65 demonstrated that most patients died from multiple-organ failures such as shock, respiratory failure, and ARDS (Yuki et al., 2020). These are immunocompromised and thus cannot mount a robust immunological response against the SARS-CoV-2 antigens.
Pharmaceutical companies came up with COVID-19 vaccines to help reduce the transmission rate of the virus. The vaccine development was at an alarming rate as some did not undergo the recommended timeline for the clinical trial. The WHO-approved vaccines included Pfizer-BioNTech, J&J, AstraZeneca, Moderna (mRNA-1273), Sinopharm, COVAXIN, Covovax, Sinovac, and Covovax (Xiaoni et al., 2021). These vaccines help form antibodies and memory immune cells to the COVID-19 antigens, so when a person comes into contact with the COVID-19 virus, the antibodies prevent the COVID-19infection. In combination with other interventions, safe and effective vaccines are crucial in COVID-19 prevention. WHO partnered with governments to ensure the fair distribution and access to these vaccines globally. Yuki et al. (2020) showed that the elderly are more susceptible to severe symptoms, while the children experience milder disease symptoms. The initial recommendations were vaccination of the high-risk groups, such as older persons, health workers, and those with other health concerns.
COVID-19 Mitigation Programs
Various community mitigation programs were planned to help combat the rapid transmission of the illness. These community mitigation programs included physical distancing, COVID-19 education, wearing masks, and contact tracing (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2020). The mitigation strategies to apply in a particular place are determined by many factors, including population size and the education level of the people. In densely populated areas, people were encouraged to use personal controls such as masking to protect themselves (Sayburn, 2020). Public education was carried out on communication media forms such as television so that the population could be sensitized to the transmission of the microbe. Contact tracing measures enabled those who had come into contact with those who had acquired the virus to be put under quarantine.
Governments started movement restrictions were put in place to curb COVID-19 transmission. There were movement restrictions from city to city or nation to nation so the rampant spread of the virus could be contained (Florey, 2020). Adopting the WHO and FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines significantly helped many people globally. People acquired antibodies against the COVID-19 antigens; thus, when they came into contact with the microorganism, the immune cells mounted a solid immune response preventing the infection. Schools and business premises were closed to help mitigate highly infectious coronavirus disease. Workers were encouraged to work from home using online technological platforms, and meetings were organized virtually to reduce coronavirus disease transmission. These government policies significantly helped in mitigating the spread of the virus.
Governments recommend wearing masks to their citizens to prevent inhaling the viral particles in the air. Personal protective equipment (PPE) that encompasses particulate filter respirators, goggles, gloves, face shields, aprons, gowns, and surgical masks, were proposed to be worn by healthcare personnel to protect them from the virus (Sayburn, 2020). The choice of PPE was impacted by the risk assessment, as the health personnel had to take more caution in areas with high virus cases. Patients were given or advised to wear surgical masks if they were kept in quarantine, suspected or had confirmed COVID-19 disease, or had similar symptoms to COVID-19 disease. The PPE significantly helped in reducing the transmission of the disease.
References
Blagosklonny, M. V. (2020). From causes of ageing to death from COVID-19. Aging, 12(11), 10004–10021. Web.
Carreño, J. M., Alshammary, H., Tcheou, J., Singh, G., Raskin, A., Kawabata, H., Sominsky, L., Clark, J., Adelsberg, D. C., Bielak, D., Gonzalez-Reiche, A. S., Dambrauskas, N., Vigdorovich, V., PSP/PARIS Study Group, Srivastava, K., Sather, D. N., Sordillo, E. M., Bajic, G., van Bakel, H., & Simon, V. (2021). Activity of convalescent and vaccine serum against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron. Nature. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). CDC COVID-19. Global response. Web.
Florey, K. (2020). COVID-19 and Travel Restrictions. Available at SSRN 3634118. Web.
Sayburn, A. (2020). Covid-19: PHE upgrades PPE advice for all patient contacts with risk of infection. BMJ, m1391. Web.
Sun, S., Xie, Z., Yu, K., Jiang, B., Zheng, S., & Pan, X. (2021). COVID-19 and healthcare system in China: Challenges and progression for a sustainable future. Globalization and Health, 17(1). Web.
Xiaoni, C., Pengxiang, W., & Zhun, W. (2021). Emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as of June 2021. Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics. Web.
Yuki, K., Fujiogi, M., & Koutsogiannaki, S. (2020). COVID-19 pathophysiology: A review. Clinical Immunology, 215(1), 108427. Web.