It finally is happening, scientist came up with the first version of a coronavirus vaccine today.
Namely, forty-five people have volunteered to participate in Seattle. At the moment, an outbreak has started in the area, and these people got the honor to test if the vaccine is safe for global usage.
Nobody will be infected with the dangerous and still unknown Covid-19, the participants are mainly in the range of 18 and 55 years old. And, scientists are planning further testing and trials to see if the vaccine is really safe.
The race to find a way to create a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus is on, and numerous pharma firms and Universities have stated that they will participate in this race.
Leaders all over the world have already stated that this might take anywhere from 12 to 18 months. And, in the meantime, thousands, if not tens of thousands of people might die.
Numerous tracking maps show that 170 000 people all around the world have been infected, and there are 6500 confirmed deaths as of today.
The WHO (World Health Organization) stated that thirty-five vaccines are being developed around the world. One of these vaccines is co-developed by the US government. But, all these vaccines are experimental at this moment.
The development is funded by the National Institutes of Health, and the co-creator is the Massachusetts-based Moderna.
An official has revealed that today is the day that the first volunteer is going to receive the vaccine, despite it being in its earliest development stages.
The official reassured us that nobody will be infected with the virus at this point in time. And, all of the volunteers will be receiving the experimental vaccine in the Seattle-based Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRIS.)
Our source asked us to keep his identity a secret, because of the fact that the whole undertaking was not announced publicly.
Even though human trials are starting as early as now, officials say that the development of a valid vaccine might take up to 18 months.
The official further explained that there isn’t any chance for the patients to be infected by the vaccine because of the fact that the vaccine itself doesn’t contain the virus. These first trials are to show that the vaccine doesn’t come with any worrying side effects. And, once they are clear from this, they can move to further testing.
All of the companies and universities that are trying to develop a vaccine for the Covid-19 have gone with a different route of traditional vaccine techniques
When it comes to developing standard vaccines, a weaker bug is inserted into the vaccine. And, with this, the immune system of the patient adapts to fighting it off. The MMR vaccine is used in this approach.
Moderna’s approach, on the other hand, sends an RNA messenger that stimulates the patient’s immune system and forces it into creating proteins similar to the virus. Then it fights off these proteins.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, say that they would like to start testing their vaccine as soon as next month. They plan on recruiting people from Pennsylvania and Kansas City and move their test to China and South Korea after that.
Our President, MR. Donald Trump has stated that we are getting closer to developing a vaccine, saying that “work’s moving very quickly.”
UK Government has already pumped out more than 50 million pounds to companies and Universities that are trying to develop a vaccine there. They’re hoping that this can save millions of people!
At this time, there aren’t any known treatments to prevent or fight off the Covid-19. But Chinese scientists are trying to develop a way of fighting the coronavirus using HIV drugs.
An experimental drug known as Remdesivir developed to fight Ebola is also being tried by doctors. Namely, the University of Nebraska Medical Center has started testing this drug on American citizens who came back from the Cruise Ship that was stuck in Japan.
Most of the people won’t feel any severe symptoms. Instead, they will experience mild or moderate symptoms of Flu. Fever, cough, and sweating are some of the main symptoms of the virus.
But, the risk group for this virus are the elderly people whose immune system is weakened or busy fighting other severe illnesses such as diabetes, pneumonia, asthma, etc.
Some sources are stating that Donald Trump’s administration is trying to lure in German vaccine maker CureVac. Namely, they’ve made an offer to the company to help them create an experimental coronavirus vaccine, which they would use for Americans exclusively. But the German government has heard about this and made a counteroffer in an attempt to make them stay.
An anonymous German source has stated that Trump is trying to secure a vaccine for Americans, “and Americans only” as the source is putting it.
CureVac didn’t comment on any of these allegations and instead came out with information that they are trying out multiple vaccines for the Covid-19. After a trial, they will choose the two best vaccines, and use them in clinical trials. But, the CEO of the company met with Donald Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force to discuss vaccines. Now, the German government is insisting that no country should have a monopoly on a vaccine.
Coronavirus – What is it actually?
Coronavirus is a virus that infects both people and animals. Once a coronavirus enters a host, it looks for a cell to enter. When it’s in a cell, the virus reproduces itself using the resources from that cell. Once the cell is dead, it moves on to another one. This disrupts the normal functioning of the host’s body, and that’s when symptoms start appearing.
The current coronavirus, the Covid-19, is an unknown virus because, before this outbreak, nobody has ever seen it. The ICTV (International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses) has named it the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2.)
Scientists state that the virus is similar to the SARS one that hit China back in 2002. The virus has been here since December, last year, and it has killed one in fifty patients since its outbreak.
The disease that is caused by the virus is named COVID-19, and it stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019.
One of the first-ever cases of the virus has been reported from China, from the town of Wuhan. Nearly 11 million people have left the city since the first case of the coronavirus and when the medics started going public with the infections.
By January 8th, the officials were suspecting that there are almost 60 cases, and seven people have found themselves in a critical situation. The experts developed tests for testing out for the new virus, and since then, more and more cases started appearing.
The first death was that same week, and by January 16th, there were two confirmed deaths and more than forty confirmed cases of the virus. Scientists guestimated that 1700 to 7000 people might be infected with the virus all around the world.
What was the starting point?
Experts are stating that this virus has originated from a bat. All coronaviruses have originated from animals. The SARS and MERS viruses originated in cats and camels.
And, the first case of the Sars-CoV-2 has originated from an animal market in Wuhan. Since this discovery, the authorities have closed down the market and have done a thorough investigation.
At first sight, the market seems to be a seafood market, but people are selling all kinds of dead and alive animals there. Peacocks, porcupines, camel meat, salamanders, wolf cubs, cats, and other animals were being traded at that market.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has conducted a study. It showed that the genetic makeup of the virus that was found in 96% of patients from China was identical to a virus that they found in bats.
But, the fact that there weren’t a lot of bats on the market shows to scientists that another animal must’ve been the middle-man in the transfer of the virus. So, the animal contracted the virus from a bat, and then, it transmitted it to a human. But, as of today, nobody knows what the “patient zero” of the SARS-CoV-2 was.
Why’s all the Panic if the Fatalities are Low?
Well, experts were honest with us this time, and they stated that the panic is rising not because of the mortality rate of the virus, but because of the fact that so little is known about it. Nobody knows how to stop it, what to do to prevent it, or why it appears to be spreading so quickly all over the world.
Back in 2002, there was a similar virus outbreak that infected nearly eight thousand people and killed eight hundred in Asia. That virus killed 1 in 10 people, and this is far less deadly with it killing only 1 in 50 cases.
Another reason why scientists are really concerned is the fact that nobody is immune to this virus. They know this because nobody has ever encountered it. This means that this virus can cause a lot more damage than the common Flu and the cold.
How Does the SARS-CoV-2 Spread?
Coughs and sneezes are the primary means of spreading for this virus. This means that it is a really contagious infection. And, the fact that the symptoms appear only after 14 days, it means that it can spread even before someone has the symptoms.
Scientists also believe that it can travel through the saliva, and even within the liquid in our eyes. This is why lots of people are trying to limit their direct contact with others. It stays alive on plastic and steel for 72 hours as well, giving us another way to catch it – by touching these surfaces.
In the beginning, scientists believed that people caught it in the Wuhan animal market. But soon after, they found out that it spreads from person to person. Later, people who never visited Wuhan started falling ill from the Covid-19.
What Influence Does the Virus have on your body?
After you’ve caught the SARS-CoV-2, you won’t experience any symptoms for 2 to 14 days (some patients took even longer). However, the virus can still be transmitted during this period.
Once you start experiencing the symptoms, they’re nothing more than some simple seasonal flu symptoms, or some common cold symptoms. Runny nose, fever, headaches, cough, sore throat might be some of the symptoms that you experience.
Lots of people will recover from these symptoms without any problem or complication. Some might not even need any medical help at all.
But this virus is deadly for one group of patients. And this group is the elderly people, those who have long-term diseases. People with the weaker immune system might experience difficulties with the virus as well.
Scientists don’t know the reason why, but numbers say that youngster doesn’t really get affected by the virus. And, experts are baffled as to why.
Is the Virus Really Dangerous?
The SARS-CoV-2 has a death rate of 2%, which makes it almost as deadly as the Spanish Flu, (The Bubonic Plague,) outbreak which back in 1918 killed more than fifty million people.
But experts are really conflicted with the death rate of this virus. This is mainly because of the fact that many people don’t even notice that they have the symptoms, and with some patients having only mild symptoms, it really is hard to notice them. So, this might inflate the death rate of the virus, making it look much scarier than it really is.
Can we Cure the Virus?
As of now, the Covid-19 is not curable, and as today’s state of our world shows, it is really hard to contain as well.
Antibiotics are not a good weapon against viruses, so they drop out of the equation. Antiviral drugs can be developed, but it would take to long to create them, and it costs a lot of money to do so.
A vaccine can be made to fight off the virus, but as of now, there isn’t one, and developing one might take up to 18 months, according to experts.
The US National Institute of Health says that it might have a test vaccine ready. Still, they’ve created it based on what they know about other coronaviruses and information from the 2002 SARS outbreak in China. And, even with this, it might take them more than a year to develop the vaccine for the general public.
At this moment, governments and authorities are trying to contain the virus. They are doing everything they can to do so. They are trying to take care of ill patients and minimize the risk of others getting infected.
People who are suspected of having the disease are quarantined for 14 days. If they’re infected, they are treated for as long as it’s needed before they are released.
Airports and whole borders of countries are being closed off as we speak. Sporting events, movie premieres, social gatherings, and many other events are being postponed. And, authorities are coming up with different measures of “Social Distancing” to contain the virus.
SARS-CoV-2 – An epidemic or a Pandemic?
It was an outbreak for a couple of months, when on March 11th, six days ago, it has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.