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Summary
- Efforts are in full swing worldwide to beat the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.
- Despite various vaccine campaigns in several countries, the virus cases are rising, especially in developed countries like the US and the UK.
- A WHO team has landed in China for investigating the source of coronavirus.
At the end of 2019, a devastating monster virus sneaked into our lives. First, it gripped the emerging global superpower China, and before any country could sense the danger, the virus had spread across the world.
Extensive lockdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing norms brought the world economy to its knees. The businesses worldwide were hit hard due to the sudden drop in demand for their respective offerings, supply chain disruptions and other unfavourable conditions induced by the pandemic.
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As per the WHO data, the deadly and prolonged pandemic claimed 1,963,169 lives worldwide till midday 14 January 2021. Also, confirmed cases of COVID-19 stood at 90,759,370.
After the initial lockdowns, governments across the globe continued efforts to keep the economy on track in 2020, while also implementing precautionary measures. Finally after a long wait, two of the vaccines for coronavirus saw the light of day.
Also Read: FDA Greenlights Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine
Coronavirus Continues to Haunt
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The pandemic seems far from getting over, at least for now. Even as few COVID-19 vaccines are now available, many countries including the US and the UK, are reporting high death tolls. Meanwhile, several countries have commenced vaccination campaigns.
What is more worrying is that the virus is developing new variants across the world. Countries like the UK, South Africa and Japan have reported new strains of the coronavirus. Some of these variants have been reported to be more contagious than the previous version.
Must read: New Mutant Strain Reaches Japan; State of Emergency in Tokyo
The UK is currently undergoing its worst wave of the virus. Though the recently implemented restrictions have led to positive outcomes in some parts, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has highlighted an extremely tough situation for the staff and the National Health Service (NHS).
He recently stated that the country was working towards a 24X7 a week vaccination program. However, the country has a shortage of supply which is not enough to implement such a huge vaccination campaign.
©Kalkine Group 2020
Also read: Is the UK finding hard to revive from the hard blow of COVID-19's new variant?
Synairgen inhaler-based treatment trial in full swing in the UK: At the UK hospitals, an inhaler-based treatment for serious patients of coronavirus is undergoing trial.
Synairgen's SG018 trial includes inhaling a protein, interferon beta-1a (SNG001), which the body produces when it catches a viral infection. The intention is to boost the body's immune system and prime cells enough so as to fight well against the deadly virus.
WHO Team Lands in China for Investigating the Virus Source
The coronavirus crisis started from the Wuhan city of China and then spread across the world. And ever since then, China has been facing immense criticism for its mishandling of the crisis during the pandemic’s onset.
Now, after over a year, a team of 10 scientists from the WHO has reached Wuhan to understand how the virus got transmitted from animals to humans. The investigation will be crucial to avoid another pandemic next time.
As the worldwide efforts are going on in full swing to emerge out of the crisis, several public health officials and infectious disease experts have indicated that this pandemic is turning into an endemic disease.
It means that the virus will remain in all communities, though might be in lower levels. Echoing similar sentiments, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has stated that the virus is not going away, and we might have to live with the relentless virus forever.
However, the significance of scientific achievements can not be overstated. The future might not be anything like the past but let us keep the faith and hope that world would survive this pandemic and our lives will be back to normal. This too shall pass!
Must Read: Are antibiotic-resistant superbugs more fatal than COVID-19?
