Thursday, March 28, 2024

What’s New In Covid-19

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Dear Doc,

It’s over a year now since the COVID-19 virus was discovered. What is the latest thing to be discovered about this virus that has caused a pandemic? Have people who have had it early fully recovered to good health, or does it have any lingering effects? – Charlene

Dear Charlene, Information on COVID-19 is continually unfolding each day. COVID-19 is an abbreviation for SARS-COVID 19 (Systemic Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Coronavirus Infectious Disease, discovered in 2019.) There are over 60 million confirmed cases worldwide in over 200 countries.

There have been over 1 million deaths and 18 million active cases.

COVID-19 in most individuals is asymptomatic; however, it can present with mild to severe symptoms.

Complications vary from respiratory failure, to irregular heartbeats, blood clots and changes in mental health.

Recovery may be two weeks in mild cases to six weeks or more in severe cases.

Most individuals who experience lingering symptoms are those who had a severe presentation; that is, they were treated with mechanical ventilation (a machine to help them breathe), as a result of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Some individuals experience Post-Intensive Care syndrome, a possible complication of those who have had to undergo intensive care unit management. This involves impaired brain, mental and physical function.

There are many studies ongoing with regards to treatment, none of which have been proven efficacious and safe in mild to moderate cases. In severe case there are some antiviral and antiinflammatory treatments being used, but these have not yet been approved by the World Health Organisation.

Lack of return to baseline health was reported in many individuals who had severe cases and those individuals with prior underlying conditions or the elderly. The main persistent symptoms included fatigue, shortness of breath, joint pain and intermittent chest pain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) implemented Access to COVID tools accelerator in April 2020. Its purpose is to help in the development, production and distribution of tests, treatments and vaccines globally.

There are three types of vaccines, one with a small dose of a live virus (vector vaccines), a second with small fragments of the virus (protein subunit) and a third with the material to make the virus (mRNA). The role of all three types is to cause the body’s defense, that is the immune system, to activate and create a fighting response (antibodies) to infection.

Currently, there are a number of companies developing vaccines for global distribution. The two closest to approval in the United States are being produced by the companies Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer’s vaccine has been approved for use in the United Kingdom from the first week in December 2020.

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