Coronavirus has not been contained or tamed as yet. This undeniable truth has to be hammered into the heads of the unruly creatures that have added horrifically to the Covid misery. Corona is a relatively new virus, which is characteristically much more virulent primarily because it is an RNA virus, not a DNA one that can be tamed. Once in decades, such viruses do appear and cause havoc to different species differently. The RNA virus has only a single strand of the genetic material which is capable of mutating much faster. The virus alone doesn’t do all damage itself. It essentially creates an environment for many opportunistic pathogens, including bacteria and fungus, to do grave damage by creating diseases of many kinds. So, black fungus sets in; so does pneumonia and more, including ailments in the digestive system.
The first wave all over the world brought in panic. The second wave failed to frighten most people and Governments as it was erroneously believed that the virus had fled for good. But the second wave was ten times more severe. The scientific community knew that fairly well but could not transmit the message that the second wave of every pandemic is frighteningly more dangerous.
Now that the devastation is nearly over, the human species is repentant and has got on guard only because the third wave’s arrival bells have been rung. Most fortunately, vaccines have come up meanwhile and there is full effort to bring in herd immunity by vaccinating a majority of the human population around the globe.
All nations have come together at least for once to fight a common enemy, which is invisible and also fragile. Every nation knows that even the bitterest enemy has to be vaccinated for remaining safe because leaving others unsafe means grooming spreaders.
All vaccines are good. Perhaps, as top scientists share secretly to avoid ire of the multi-billionaire drug barons, the original Indian jab called Covaxin is being ignored on purpose with a view to safeguarding the interests of a few vaccine makers.
Their highly-influential lobby has so far ensured Covaxin is not recognised for long. They keep reaping incalculable profits as once the uniqueness of Covaxin is made public, most of the other vaccines may have to close shop. It is rumoured that much money is spent in defaming Covaxin as not fit enough to be declared a safe vaccine. But the truth has ultimately been out: Covaxin is one jab that can encounter 600 variants of the novel coronavirus. Not surprisingly, the Bharat Biotech’s US collaborator has been put to big trouble for long, during which the Western vaccines are left free to scoop as much profit as possible.
Incidentally, Covaxin is a full virus-based jab that would recognise any variant as enemy and kill or cripple it instantly. The Western vaccines are only spike protein-based that can be rendered impotent if the virus mutates furiously from inside. Even Western media carry stories about Covaxin as suspect on quality and most Indian media outfits copy verbatim and report damagingly without going into details. Because Covaxin is a fantastic vaccine, Odisha is setting up a jab plant in Bhubaneswar.
That has happened only because Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s guiding officials tipped him correctly right in time. Governments must look before leaping for any reason or purpose because a tiny wrong move can cause big damage on several fronts including money and lifesaving critical healthcare. The Government of India kept beating drum for quite some time about a wonder drug called 2 DG. No one knows where and how it vanished in thin air before seeing the light of day.
All the same, good-enough research is on and pinpointed inferences have led to great medical decisions on treatment protocols.When the virus first came, chloroquine was the drug of choice. US President Trump scooped the enti4Indian stuff in one go. Then, it was discovered that the virus was causing blood clots and similar other problems. They bombarded anticoagulants and managed patients’ woes. Delay in getting medical support remains a big problem even today. Pneumonia caused by lungs infection is the obvious symptom as the virus eventually settles in pulmonary zone of the body. The medical scientific community also realised that oxygen and steroids were critically required to keep oxygenating patients by having blood vessels dilated and pushing oxygen from machines for the lungs were failing.
Anti-virals that came by were all experimental drugs. Actually, steroids prevented cytokine storms which mean the battling soldiers of the body suddenly multiply and turn furious causing more self-damage than killing the pathogen.
By now, the ultimate protocol is quite in place. The vaccines have begun alerting and sensitising the antibodies to grow in number and swoop in on the target fast enough saving lives of the hosts. A third wave may or may not happen depending upon how alert and cautious the people are. Children have robust immune systems gifted by God. So, there ia no reason why a panic scream should be made. Even if the third wave comes, it will be mild provided a majority of the people have taken at least one of the two doses and are following strictly the recommended Covid prevention behaviour.
What has not been made crystal clear is that one has to remain extra-careful for 90 days after full vaccination. The booster dose may be pushed after 28 or 84 days, but 90 days after vaccination is the antibody developing period.
So, when the second dose is through, people jump out of houses in gay abandon believing the virus would get destroyed if it ever entered the jabbed body. Besides, all bodies are not equally fit to fight. Co-morbidities apart, each individual is uniquely weak or strong against pathogenic invasion.
Most of the vaccinated people have been afflicted due to a phenomenon called ‘breakthrough infection’, which occurs because the antibodies have not been grown or made to the optimum level. Ninety days of Covid- appropriate behaviour will ensure 95 safety. And by 95 experts do not say 5 out of 100 would catch the virus. The vaccinated people are 95% safe from being severely sick from infection.
All vaccinated people have to keep wearing masks, maintaining social distance and hand-hygiene and avoiding crowds, sleeping well for at least eight hours avoiding closed, poorly-ventilated interiors, exercising to sweat or doing yoga, eating fresh fruits and vegetables and keeping in cheers, which boost immunity beyond limits.
Unfortunately, smart countries like Israel, the USA and Britain threw off the masks, merrily hugged one another and declared the people safe from the pathogen to eventually witness the second wave and currently the third only due to lack of guidance by super-brain medico scientists. India has done remarkably well on the vaccination front despite the huge population. God is of course taking care!