Understanding COVID 19 And Vaccine Updates

Shatabdi Mazumder
Sep 2, 2020  
Understanding COVID 19 And Vaccine Updates
Image source: Google

The Coronavirus outbreak has taken over the world. All we had in our mind these past months was the nature of it, the cure of it, the risks of it and how to end it!

The virus is now known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease it causes is called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

Public health groups, including the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO, are monitoring the pandemic and posting updates on their websites. These groups have also issued recommendations for preventing and treating the illness.

Here’s an attempt to understand the disease more intricately:

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may appear two to 14 days after exposure. This time after exposure and before having symptoms is called the incubation period. Common signs and symptoms can include:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Tiredness

Early symptoms of COVID-19 may include a loss of taste or smell.

Other symptoms can include:

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Muscle aches
  • Chills
  • Sore throat
  • Runny nose
  • Headache
  • Chest pain

This list is not all-inclusive. Other less common symptoms have been reported, such as rash, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have mild illness.

The severity of COVID-19 symptoms can range from very mild to severe. Some people may have only a few symptoms, and some people may have no symptoms at all. Some people may experience worsened symptoms, such as worsened shortness of breath and pneumonia, about a week after symptoms start.

People who are older have a higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and the risk increases with age. People who have existing chronic medical conditions also may have a higher risk of serious illness. Serious medical conditions that increase the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 include:

  • Serious heart diseases, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy
  • Cancer
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Severe obesity
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Weakened immune system from solid organ transplants

Other conditions may increase the risk of serious illness, such as:

  • Asthma
  • Liver disease
  • Chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis
  • Brain and nervous system conditions
  • Weakened immune system from bone marrow transplant, HIV or some medications
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • High blood pressure

This list is not all-inclusive. Other underlying medical conditions may increase your risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

When to see a doctor?

If you have COVID-19 symptoms or you've been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, contact your doctor or clinic right away for medical advice. Tell your health care team about your symptoms and possible exposure before you go to your appointment.

If you have emergency COVID-19 signs and symptoms, seek care immediately. Emergency signs and symptoms can include:

  1. Trouble breathing
  2. Persistent chest pain or pressure
  3. Inability to stay awake
  4. New confusion
  5. Blue lips or face

If you have signs or symptoms of COVID-19, contact your doctor or clinic for guidance. Let your doctor know if you have other chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease or lung disease. During the pandemic, it's important to make sure health care is available for those in greatest need.

The virus appears to spread easily among people, and more continues to be discovered over time about how it spreads. Data has shown that it spreads from person to person among those in close contact (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters). The virus spreads by respiratory droplets released when someone with the virus coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can be inhaled or land in the mouth or nose of a person nearby.

It can also spread if a person touches a surface with the virus on it and then touches his or her mouth, nose or eyes, although this isn't considered to be the main way it spreads.

Risk factors

Risk factors for COVID-19 appear to include:

  1. Close contact (within 6 feet, or 2 meters) with someone who has COVID-19
  2. Being coughed or sneezed on by an infected person

Complications

Although most people with COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms, the disease can cause severe medical complications and lead to death in some people. Older adults or people with existing chronic medical conditions are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.

Complications can include:

  • Pneumonia and trouble breathing
  • Organ failure in several organs
  • Heart problems
  • A severe lung condition that causes a low amount of oxygen to go through your bloodstream to your organs (acute respiratory distress syndrome)
  • Blood clots
  • Acute kidney injury
  • Additional viral and bacterial infections

Prevention

  1. Although there is no vaccine available to prevent COVID-19, you can take steps to reduce your risk of infection. WHO and CDC recommend following these precautions for avoiding COVID-19:
  2. Avoid large events and mass gatherings.
  3. Avoid close contact (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters) with anyone who is sick or has symptoms.
  4. Stay home as much as possible and keep distance between yourself and others (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters), especially if you have a higher risk of serious illness. Keep in mind some people may have COVID-19 and spread it to others, even if they don't have symptoms or don't know they have COVID-19.
  5. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
  6. Cover your face with a cloth face mask in public spaces, such as the grocery store, where it's difficult to avoid close contact with others, especially if you're in an area with ongoing community spread. Only use nonmedical cloth masks — surgical masks and N95 respirators should be reserved for health care providers.
  7. Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw away the used tissue. Wash your hands right away.
  8. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  9. Avoid sharing dishes, glasses, towels, bedding, and other household items if you're sick.
  10. Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs, light switches, electronics, and counters, daily.
  11. Stay home from work, school, and public areas if you're sick unless you're going to get medical care. Avoid public transportation, taxis, and ride-sharing if you're sick.

If you have a chronic medical condition and may have a higher risk of serious illness, check with your doctor about other ways to protect yourself.

Travel

If you're planning to travel, first check the CDC and WHO websites for updates and advice. Also, look for any health advisories that may be in a place where you plan to travel. You may also want to talk with your doctor if you have health conditions that make you more susceptible to respiratory infections and complications.

COVID-19 clinical trials target at least five stages of the disease process:

  1. Pre-exposure prophylaxis
  2. Post-exposure prophylaxis
  3. Outpatient treatment
  4. Hospital admission
  5. Late-stage critical care (admission to an intensive care unit).

More clinical stages for COVID-19 arguably exist if looking at subgroup manifestations of COVID-19.

Despite the overwhelmingly large number of trials being done for COVID-19, it is important to note that the majority of these trials (1134 [61·6%] of 1840) involve patients who have been admitted to hospital.

Tata Group has started a good initiative, by providing free doctors consultation online through chats.

This facility is started for you so that you need not go out for doctors and you will be safe at home. It has numbered three stages of the infection:

1. Covid only in nose - recovery time is half a day. (Steam inhaling), vitamin C. Usually no fever. Asymptomatic.

2. Covid in throat - sore throat, recovery time 1 day (hot water gargle, warm water to drink, if temp then paracetamol. Vitamin C, B-complex. If severe than an antibiotic.

3. Covid in lungs- coughing and breathlessness 4 to 5 days. (Vitamin C, B complex, hot water gargle, oximeter, paracetamol, cylinder if a severe, lot of liquid required, deep breathing exercise.

Advice from inside isolation hospitals, we can do at home

Medicines that are taken in isolation hospitals

1. Vitamin C-1000

2. Vitamin E

3. sitting in the sunshine for 15-20 minutes.

4. Egg meal once.

5. take a rest/sleep a minimum of 7-8 hours

6. drink 1.5 liters of water daily

7. All meals should be warm (not cold).

And that's all we do in the hospital to strengthen the immune system

Note that the pH of coronavirus varies from 5.5 to 8.5

Therefore, all we have to do to eliminate the virus is to consume more alkaline foods above the acidity level of the virus, such as:

Green lemon - 9.9 pH

Yellow Lemon - 8.2 pH

Avocado - 15.6 pH

Garlic - 13.2 pH

Mango - 8.7 pH

Tangerine - 8.5 pH

Pineapple - 12.7 pH

Watercress - 22.7 pH

Oranges - 9.2 pH

The COVID 19 Vaccine Trials

The novel coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca has started phase-3 clinical trials in the United States. The vaccine is already undergoing phase-3 testing in several countries, including India, Brazil, England, and South Africa. The company said trials were soon likely to start in Japan and Russia.

In the US trials, about 30,000 participants are likely to be enrolled. Globally, the Oxford vaccine trials are expected to involve 50,000 participants. In India, phase-2 trials of the vaccine began last week, and about 1.600 participants are likely to be enrolled for the combined phase-2 and phase-3 trials.

The US government has been reported to have reached an understanding with AstraZeneca to grant emergency use authorisation to its vaccine if the initial data from phase-3 is favourable. The company has denied these reports. But in the last few days, there have been several suggestions that the United States might be moving towards getting an early vaccine, even before the entire process of phase-3 trials and analysis of its data was completed. The Food and Drug Administration, the country’s drug regulator, has also said that it was open to grant emergency authorisations to suitable vaccine candidates even before the completion of phase-3 trials if it felt that benefits of doing so outweighed the risks involved.

Another leading contender to build the coronavirus vaccine, pharma giant Pfizer, is also reported to have said that early data from its phase-3 trials would be available by October. The vaccine being developed by Pfizer, along with its partner BioNTech, is also undergoing phase-3 trials right now.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that AstraZeneca had expanded an existing manufacturing deal with UK-based Oxford Biomedica to mass-produce its vaccine, in expectation of a fast-track approval in the United States. It did not say how many doses were supposed to be manufactured under the expanded agreement.

As reported earlier, the pandemic has created an unprecedented public/private partnerships. Operation Warp Speed (OWS) is a collaboration of several US federal government departments including Health and Human Services and its subagencies, Agriculture, Energy, and Veterans Affairs, and the private sector. Within OWS, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has partnered with more than 18 biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of drug and vaccine candidates for COVID-19 (ACTIV). The COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network (COVPN) has also been established, which combines clinical trial networks funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium (IDCRC), and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group.

The US government has chosen three vaccine candidates to fund for Phase 3 trials under Operation Warp Speed: Moderna’s mRNA-1273, The University of Oxford, and AstraZeneca’s AZD1222, and Pfizer and BioNTech's BNT162. Members of ACTIV have suggested developing safe controlled human infection models (CHIMs) for human trials that could take 1-2 years. A sponsor would need to provide data from placebo-controlled trials indicating their vaccine is at least 50% effective against COVID-19 in order to be authorized for use, according to FDA guidance issued and effective 30 June.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has earlier entered into a new landmark partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and low and income countries, said SII.

The collaboration will provide upfront capital to SII to help them increase manufacturing capacity now so that, once a vaccine, or vaccines, gains regulatory approval and WHO prequalification, doses can be produced at scale for distribution to India and LMIC as part of the Gavi COVAX AMC mechanism as early as the first half of 2021.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 24th August said that some 172 countries are engaging with the COVAX facility designed to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, but more funding is needed and countries need to make binding commitments.

The WHO had earlier urged countries to join a global pact aimed at ensuring less wealthy countries have access to Covid-19 vaccines, warning about the risks from so-called ‘vaccine nationalism.’

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said initially when there will be a limited supply of Covid-19 vaccines, it’s important to provide the vaccine to those at the highest risk around the globe. He said this included health workers on the front lines of the pandemic, who were “critical to saving lives and stabilising the overall health system”.

The COVAX global vaccines facility is a plan designed to pool funds from wealthier countries and non-profits to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and distribute it equitably around the world. Its aim is to deliver 2 billion doses of effective, approved Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.

The plan is led by the WHO, along with the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

COVAX is part of a bigger plan, called the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, that works to ensure that vaccines, treatments, diagnostic tests, and other healthcare resources are broadly available to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

WHO officials said nations wishing to be part of the global COVAX plan have until August 31 to submit expressions of interest with confirmation of intention to join due by September 18, and initial payments due by October 9.