Coronavirus also known as Covid19 is an infectious disease that causes infection in the respiratory tract. According to World Health Organization (W.H.O), Coronavirus is caused by a causative agent called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV-2(SARS-CoV-2) originating from bats. At first, it was emerged in China, Wuhan during the later part of 2019.

As with the other viruses, it is also transmitted from one person to another person physically. It is similar to severe diseases like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MARS) and SARS. It affects both the upper and lower respiratory tract such as the throat, nose, lungs, windpipe. It can be mild as well as fatal. The covid-19 complication is mainly due to cytokine deficiency syndrome. When the infection occurs in our body, then it affects the flow of blood in our immune system, which results in a lack of synthesis of cytokine protein and ultimately leads to damage of organs and tissues. 

SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 :

There are various symptoms of covid-19 and they are:

1. Fever, which can be mild, moderate, or high.
2. Cough.
3. Runny nose.
4. Shortness of breath.
5. Breathing problem.
6. Chest pain.
7. Chills.
8. Diarrhea.
9. Body ache.
10. Pain between joints.
11. Lost in smell.
12. Tasteless.
13. Mental confusion.
14. Skin discoloration.
15. Conjunctivitis.
16. Sore throat.

 If you experience any above symptoms, then you should visit the nearest hospital and have a test. Sometimes it may cause severe health complications such as heart failure, pneumonia, septic shock, and ultimately death of the patient. If you or your loved ones suffer from the below mention symptoms then you should immediately go to the hospital as it is an emergency case: 

1. Chest pain.
2. Pneumonia.
3. Mental confusion.
4. Unable to walk properly.
5. Difficulty in breathing.

COVID-19 PRECAUTION:

As we know that prevention is better than cure, so we should maintain all the precautions assigned by World Health Organization (W.H.O) carefully and they are:

1. We should maintain social distancing carefully.
2. Wear a mask (double mask if possible), whenever we go outside our home.
3. Sanitize your hand frequently whenever go outside.
4. Try to stay at home and don’t go outside unless it is urgent.
5. Keep washing your hand with soaps or hand wash even if you stay at home.
6. Avoid eating outside food instead eat some homemade food.
7. Eat foods that are rich in protein such as meat, fish, soybean, paneer, etc.
8. Keep yourself hydrated.

MUTATION OF CORONA VIRUS

It is normal for a virus to get mutate. So, right now there are many mutants of viruses based on the places such as the U.K strain, Russian strain, Britain strain, etc. Recently, a double mutant variation is found in India, which is creating havoc. This mutant is much more powerful than the older ones and it is more infectious. As compared to last year’s cases, this time it is almost double it. Last year the peak was around 100K, but this year it is already 400K cases per day and still, the peak was not attained.  

COOVID-19 VACCINATION

As the cases of Covid-19 are increasing day by day in large numbers, so the first way to get rid of this virus is to take the vaccination as soon as possible. There are around 4 vaccines produced all around the world such as Covaxin, Covishield, Sputnik V, and Pfizer.

HOW DOES COVID-19 VACCINE WORK?

After we have been exposed to the infection our immune system starts synthesizing antibodies. These are the proteins that circulate in the blood and throughout the body. They recognize and disable the virus thereby preventing or minimizing illness. Likewise, the vaccine mimics this process encouraging the body to produce antibodies. Some of the Covid-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines and can incorporate the genetic blueprint of the virus and inactivate the virus in our body.

Though the only way to get rid of this virus is vaccination, there are several mistrusts going on among the people. The reasons behind it could be the lack of confidence among the people that the vaccines are 100% effective or not to fight against the virus. But, slowly people are becoming aware of the fact that vaccines are safe and by getting vaccinated we can protect ourselves as well as our community from getting infected.

There are two doses of vaccine. The first dose is called the prime dose. It primes our immune system to build some antibodies. But these antibodies do not last for a long period. Hence the second dose is important which is known as the booster dose. This dose helps to boost our immune system to produce a large number of antibodies. It also stimulates the memory cells so that the body remembers the infection for the long term and if we get infected later on then it can produce antibodies again. So, the two doses are very important if we want to get 100% effectiveness of the vaccine.

CONCLUSION

Right now, the whole world is fighting against this pandemic. In these tough times, we have to remember that unity is the greatest strength. So, we should help each other to finish this virus. We have to help the frontline workers who are working24*7 for the sake of the people. We have to obey all the rules and regulations assigned by the government.