The time has not yet come for the world to get rid of the deadly virus. The Coronavirus is continuously spreading infections at a steeping rate. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, the world has logged around 175 million active cases and 3.8 million deaths across 200 countries. While most countries thought they had managed to bring the virus under control, the second wave has again resulted in the rapid rise in infections.
Earlier studies showed that older people, patients with serious medical issues like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, are more likely to be infected severely.
But the ongoing second wave is devastating and is impacting young people between 21 to 40 years. This age group has become more vulnerable to this fast-spreading mutated virus of the second wave.
What are the new symptoms of the COVID-19 Second Wave?
Along with the earlier symptoms, including fever, loss of taste and smell, body ache, headache, shortness of breath, dry mouth, sore throat, etc., the new strain of novel Coronavirus reports many new symptoms that one must be aware of. These include:
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Gastrointestinal tract infections
- High fever and cold
- Conjunctivitis
- Impaired hearing
- Extreme tiredness
- Skin rashes
- Fatigue
As the virus continuously changes its form and discovers new variants, doctors notice some unusual and more unique symptoms in the patients. For example, studies show that breathing issues are the most commonly seen symptoms in the 2nd wave of infected patients. This causes a sudden decrease in patients’ oxygen saturation level, which results in multiple organ failure and even deaths.
What causes the Coronavirus to change into a new variant?
Usually, viruses search for opportunities. Once a virus circulates, it spreads more infections. The more opportunities it gets to spread, the more it changes through mutating variants. Then, new variants arise and disappear suddenly.
In Coronavirus, scientists have also observed multiple variants that cause COVID-19 disease. Some variants have allowed the Coronavirus to spread without any difficulty and make it counteractive to vaccines. Therefore, scientists need to monitor these variants more carefully.
What causes a spike in active cases of Coronavirus?
The main reason behind the spike in Coronavirus daily cases is nothing but distinctive human behavior. Yes! You heard it right. From Governments to ordinary people, everybody differs in their perspective to this deadly pandemic. Scientists and doctors constantly urge people to rigorously follow some basic COVID-19 protocols, like social distancing, mask-wearing, and handwashing. But, most people ignore such measures and do not restrict themselves from various high-risk activities.
In some states, the government has put limitations on public gatherings, and in some others, it has fully closed public transport to avoid mass spread. Therefore, it’s evident that there is a close relationship between these precautions and active cases of COVID-19. Coronavirus outbreaks more at “superspreader” events or gatherings, where it takes only one infected person to transmit this deadly virus.
There are very few countries on the globe left untouched by this deadly pandemic.
What preventive measures should the countries take to stop COVID-19?
Scientists across the globe have urged all countries to successfully implement comprehensive measures, including a robust healthcare infrastructure, close observation, testing, tracing, quarantine, lockdown, and responsive care to stop the Variants of the Covid-19 virus.
With the second wave of Coronavirus hitting globally, doctors have started to realize that a more devastating COVID-19 surge is likely to appear. So, without any delay, they, along with the governments and manufacturers, have started to work on stocking up oxygen cylinders, PPE kits, covid special beds, medical equipment, ICU, medicines, and all the necessary things. They are tirelessly working, and at the same time, modifying their policies only to provide the best treatment possible to the people who are infected due to coronavirus.
How to protect yourself from Covid-19 Infections?
Coronavirus continues to spread its new covid-19 strain and variants across the globe. So, it’s only you who can take the ultimate steps to protect yourself from the Covid-19 infections.
Here’s a list of measures you can adopt right now:
- At first, get your COVID-19 vaccine jab as soon as possible.
- Continue to take COVID-19 precautions, including handwash, social distancing, sanitizing, and wearing masks.
- Increase your immunity by eating healthy food and exercising daily.
- Get in touch with local health bodies to get the correct information about active COVID-19 cases in your locality and act accordingly.
- Ensure stocking up all the essential daily goods (food, medicine, and other supplies) of your household for at least two weeks to avoid frequent public exposure.
- Consult with your family physician to ensure that everyone in your house is physically well.
- Don’t ignore if you notice any mental fatigue or depression in your family members. Immediately consult a psychologist as this is more natural in this challenging phase.
- Wear a suitable mask, more specifically a double mask, which will cover your mouth and nose well. It will help you protect yourself from any transmission.
- Maintain social distance when you are in a public place, like a market or medical shop. Stay at least 6 feet away from the unknown persons as asymptomatic patients are everywhere.
- Avoid crowds, air-conditioned space, or any poorly ventilated rooms.
- Wash your hands with soap and water properly, as instructed by WHO. Use hand sanitizer in emergencies.
Is herd immunity effective in Coronavirus?
Herd immunity or population immunity means a community is indirectly protected from an infectious disease. This can be achieved in two ways, either through vaccination or by gaining immunity through former infection.
According to some experts, nearly 70% of the population has to be immune to this deadly virus before herd immunity starts working. But, most doctors don’t want this as it would result in unnecessary deaths.
In this regard, the World Health Organisation (WHO) supports attaining ‘herd immunity with the help of vaccination. Researchers are also trying to determine how long a person stays immune from the deadly virus after recovering from Covid-19.
Why Is Vaccination Must Against Coronavirus?
Studies show that Vaccination helps to reduce transmission, severe illness, and deaths caused by the coronavirus. A vaccine educates our immune systems to create antibodies to fight against infectious diseases. So, getting vaccinated protects us from getting the disease along with breaking the chain of transmission. By now, it’s clear that vaccination is a crucial tool to fight the Coronavirus.
Is Vaccination effective against new variants of the Coronavirus?
In the battle against COVID-19, there is no substitute for Vaccination. Using this tool, we can achieve mass health and lifesaving benefits. We should not miss out on our target of getting vaccinated just because of the emergence of new variants. There are chances of decreased efficacy of the vaccine against some of the new variants of COVID-19, but we can use the available tools and modify them accordingly to the nature of the new strain.
Recently, scientists have detected a new kind of “double mutant” variant of the Coronavirus. Double mutation naturally occurs as a result of constantly mutating viruses. Most variants end up bearing several mutations.
How to prevent future new variants of the Coronavirus?
It’s wise to eradicate the spread at the source. As mentioned earlier, the less we give a chance to the virus, the less it mutates. Yes, our small measures can make a big difference to reduce mass transmission. So, it’s better to follow the preventive measures of physical distancing, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, double masking, well-maintained ventilation, and avoiding public gatherings or functions. Thus, we have to continually fight against future variants by lessening the opportunity of viral transmission.
In this regard, the governments and vaccine manufacturing companies have to take the initiative to increase the production level of vaccines and roll them out as fast as possible to protect people before getting exposed to the new variants of the virus. Besides, every government should prioritize the vaccination of high-risk groups to maximize worldwide protection and minimize the danger of mass transmission. Assuring fair and impartial access to COVID-19 vaccines can challenge this pandemic. We all can win over this deadly virus by getting vaccinated and making the world free of coronavirus.
