Tag Archives: Corona Virus Vaccine Trials

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Everything You Should know about Corona Virus

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Everything You Should know about Corona Virus

COVID-19:

First case of corona virus was reported in 2019 that emerged in Wuhan, China. COVID- 19 causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and has taken the form of a pandemic. This RNA virus has created a panicking situation.
Symptoms:

Most common observation is that the patients have dry cough, they feel intense pain in their bodies, have problem while breathing and fever. Other less common symptoms include, loss of ability to smell and taste, gastrointestinal issues and headache.
Diagnosis:

If one or more symptoms for corona virus are present or if the person has been exposed to a COVID patient, it is better to get tested. Labs take nose or throat swab samples and carry out PCR based tests to check for presence of virus.
Prevention:

As it is a contagious disease, people should:
1-Wear masks and wash hands after touching a surface.
2-Avoid contact and keep a distance of at least 5 feet.
3-Avoid meeting people who have COVID-19. In case of contact, people must stay in quarantine for at least 14 days.
Treatment:

At the moment, there is no vaccine in market for corona virus but clinical tests are being carried out by different companies. Plasma therapy is one effective way of introducing COVID-19 immunity in patients. In addition, antiviral drugs are also being used.
Myths:

There are some perceptions about corona virus that do not have scientific basis such as,

1-COVID-19 is the deadliest disease
2-Hot weather kills COVID-19
3-Corona virus only infects old people
4-Antibiotics can be used as treatment

In reality, none of this is true. COVID-19 can cause deaths but the greater percentage of people recover. Neither hot nor cold weather can prevent corona virus infection. COVID-19 can infect people of all ages and antibiotics are not used against viruses.

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Vaccine for COVID-19

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Vaccine for COVID-19

Introduction:

Many drugs and treatment strategies have been suggested for COVID-19 but they are not 100 percent effective. COVID-19 vaccine is the ultimate solution. A number of vaccines are being produced worldwide while some are in the phase of clinical trials.
Different companies and institutes are working to find the vaccine that has maximum efficacy and minimum side effects. Companies are taking different approaches for making the vaccine.

Nature of vaccines for COVID-19

Vaccines are divided in various types depending on the virus and immune system. At present, the vaccines that are undergoing clinical trial or are in preclinical stage include various types. University of Oxford is recently running trials on a vaccine that is based on non-replicating viral vector. Similarly, a university in Belgium and Pasteur Institute in France are in preclinical phase of testing their replicating viral vector vaccine. An American company” Moderna” is working on an RNA virus vaccine. These viruses have been successful in the past and are efficiently produced. DNA virus vaccines on the other hand, provide long term immunity and are comparatively inexpensive.
Apart from these, COVID-19 vaccines are also being produced by using inactivated form of the corona virus. Several doses of these vaccines are required to gain the immune response. Contrary to this, live attenuated virus vaccines are also being designed. These vaccines will use weakened viruses to produce fast immune response in human body with few doses.

COVID-19 vaccine: Sole treatment for Corona Virus:

Many treatment strategies are being utilized to get rid of the virus but they all have their own limitations. BCG vaccine has been tested against COVID-19 with no satisfactory results. Similarly, hydroxychloroquine has also proven to be ineffective against this virus. Thus, the fate of corona virus depends on the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccine.

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Obligations of Doctors during Pandemic

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Obligations of Doctors during Pandemic

1– Doctors should give utmost priority to their jobs in a situation of pandemic. The fact that doctors have higher medical knowledge, makes it an obligation for them to perform their duties.
2– In case no medication for the disease exists at the time, doctors should consult other professionals and give alternate medication only by consent of patient.
3– During a pandemic when people are asked to quarantine themselves, doctors should provide advice and care even on phone, social media platforms or emails. This increases the availability of doctors for a large number of patients. The risk to doctor’s health is also eradicated in this way.
4– Doctors are obligated to use their knowledge and advocate for issues related to pandemic such as governments’ responsibilities, legal matters and provision of necessary equipment.
5– It is obligatory for doctors to perform their duties without being partial. As the hospitals are flooded with patients during a pandemic, deciding which patients be given first priority is an important decision. A transparent selection system must be devised.
6- Journalism or media associated doctors have a great responsibility as the people look up to them. They should provide accurate information and remove any confusion among the public regarding the pandemic. Prevention is the key to safety and doctors should brief people about the lifestyle they should adopt.
7– Before the treatments are devised, deaths by the disease are inevitable. Patients who are struggling in the last stages of life must be taken care of on the basis of life dignity and human rights.
8– If the doctors are carrying out clinical trials, they must follow the medical ethics. In case of healthy participants, doctors must make sure that the person is well informed and consents for the trial. The trials should be designed in such a way that they impose minimum risks to the participants.

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CoronaVirus Vaccine Trials

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Coronavirus Vaccine Trials

Development of COVID-19 vaccine would be a turning point in this global pandemic situation. Scientists all around the world are working day and night to make vaccine and to find a treatment for this deadly disease. Countries such as China, USA, Japan, UK and Germany are working on multiple projects and some are already in the clinical trial
phase.
Ongoing Trials:

Different companies and educational institutes have created the vaccine and are carrying out clinical trials. Some USA based organizations include:

1– Novavax in pre-clinical phase

2- Inovio pharmaceuticals in phase 1

3- Moderna, which is currently in phase 2 trial

Chinese companies CanSino Biologics and Sinovac are both in phase 1 of the clinical trials. The Chinese company Sinopharm is in phase 2 of trials in china and has also offered to carry out trials in Pakistan. Similarly, University of Oxford, UK is very confident about the results of vaccine trials and is in phase 2/3.

Multiple Phases of Clinical Trials:

The first phase concentrates on testing on a small number of people to observe side effects. In the second phase the vaccine is given to hundreds of people. Third phase involves effectivity testing of vaccine on thousands of people. At this point if the vaccine shows no side effects and the regulatory agencies approve, it is ready to be introduced in market. But sometimes a phase 4 is also necessary to check long-term effects.

Expected Launch of COVID-19 Vaccine in Market:

As various companies worldwide are carrying out human trials on COVID-19 vaccine it is expected that a vaccine would be launched in 12-18 months. If clinical trials, that are being carried out at the moment, prove that a vaccine is effective and does not impose serious side effects only then it would be made available by mid or late 2021.