Coronavirus and its vaccine
M Sarwar Siddiqui
The writer is an editor and senior journalist.
The world is tirelessly trying to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of millions of people around the world. US President Donald Trump says a coronavirus vaccine will hit the market in a few months, giving pharmaceutical companies a new opportunity. Meanwhile, every airline has made coronavirus test mandatory for passengers going abroad, which has benefited clinical laboratories a lot.
At present, millions of people in India, the world’s second-largest country in terms of population, are affected by the deadly virus. A second wave of the coronavirus is also being feared in Pakistan. In these circumstances, the Punjab University of Pakistan has claimed to have developed diagnostic kits for coronavirus. Virologist Dr Muhammad Idrees has informed that it would take three years for the coronavirus to be completely eradicated.
Apparently, the symptoms in a patient infected with the coronavirus and a person with a cold are the same at first glance, which makes it difficult to diagnose the disease. Therefore, it is emphasized that precaution is very important. There is a popular saying that abstinence from treatment is better. According to a German report, the initial problem with the coronavirus was that it did not have any specific symptoms.
Now the question arises, how can we prevent the deadly virus? In this context, experts say that there are certain symptoms of coronavirus that should be treated immediately. And those symptoms are fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing, muscle aches, fatigue, or lack of energy, while unusual symptoms include phlegm, salivation, headache, coughing up blood, diarrhea.
Coronavirus affects the lower respiratory tract. There is no need to be afraid of it, but since the disease has become epidemic, the common flu should not be ignored. Firstly, Do not go out of the house, avoid crowded places as much as possible, if you have to go, use a mask.
Chloroquine, a drug designed to treat malaria in the 1940s, has certainly benefited some coronavirus patients. Therefore, chloroquine has been included in the treatment of coronavirus in China, South Korea and Belgium, and international experts are seriously considering making the drug more effective and efficient.
American doctors are paying attention to this and Alan Musk, the owner of a well-known technology firm, has also mentioned the usefulness of chloroquine in his tweet. More than a dozen major pharmaceutical companies around the world are in the race for the coronavirus vaccine.
A report published by French experts in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents says that if Chloroquine could be made better and more effective, low-cost treatment for coronavirus could be possible. On the other hand, some American experts have warned that chloroquine has some side effects, including severe eye damage, headaches, drowsiness and stomach ailments. Therefore, under no circumstances should this medicine be used without consulting a doctor.
According to another study, plasma collected from the blood of healthy people infected with the coronavirus improves the patient’s immune system and allows the patient to recover miraculously. Experts are also working on other experiments to protect humanity from this terrible epidemic.
Until the final results of these experiments come out, remember that wearing a mask is better than wearing a ventilator mask, staying at home is better than staying in ICU. We have already lost a lot of lives because of the deadly virus. With care, we can protect everyone around us.
