Covid-19 update — 10 important facts worth taking note of!

SARS COV 2 infection leading to the disease called COVID 19, has taken a new Avatar. . This is clearly more infectious, is spreading much too quickly and tends to attack a greater number of people through index cases in comparison to its previous form. This is conspicuously different as it easily involves children, young adults and females in large numbers and at times critically too!

As we know it is the spike protein S2 of the virus, which attaches to human ACE receptors thus allowing its entry into the body cells and consequently damage the system.

Vaccines generate antibodies against the spike proteins and therefore don’t allow foothold to the virus. Multiple mutations at critical locations within the spike proteins create a variant which generally change their character reflected both in their infectiousness and lethality.

This unprecedented speed of the illness now reclaiming densely populated areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal in a short time is a matter of great concern. Now it is upstaging our infrastructure preparedness with much larger death numbers. Such is the situation that only three days back one of my friend had to literally struggle to find a bed in hospitals across the capital city of Jharkhand for one of his COVID infected family members.  Such helplessness has never been seen in our lifetime and deserves thorough understanding.

Let us update ourselves on this pandemic

• In order to acquire “ herd immunity “against this virus , we must get vaccinated in large numbers and as quickly as possible by expanding the base for vaccine accessibility  . Those who are obese and suffering from co-  morbidities such as diabetes and high blood pressure even if they are younger than 45 should be made eligible without much delay.
• We are witnessing COVID disease even amongst those who have taken vaccine. They often forget that proper antibodies are not achieved until two to four weeks following second dose of the vaccines has been taken .
• This is now very evident that some of those who have taken both vaccine dose successfully have developed covid . Most likely these cases are as  a result of significant mutations of the original virus which has found foothold at our surroundings .
• Don’t miss the second dose even if you developed covid 19 before you could get the second dose . Complete the second dose by scheduling vaccination after 28 th day of the illness. Remember antibodies produced by the vaccine last longer than the infection generated antibodies.
• Only today we have received genome sequencing results of RTPCR positive cases from Jharkhand as circulating in our state .
• It is now established that four out of thirty nine patients which constitute around 10% (4/39) of the studied samples are harbouring dangerous double mutants ( B.1.617 lineage ) , an Indian variant, which are highly infectious ,lethal and partially refractory to available vaccines.

• 9/20 patients (approx 20%) Studied patients whose nasopharyngeal swab were subjected to genome sequencing,  had famous UK variant ( B.1.1.7 lineage )which is relatively more infectious than the original strain of the virus but less infectious than the aforesaid Indian variant, is better contained by vaccine produced antibodies.
• However dangerous South African and Brazil variants have not been found yet in latest genome study conducted at Regional centre for genomic studies at Bhubaneswar,for Jharkhand published on 14 th April 2021
• However there is some good news too. The sero survey done a month and half back shows that around forty five percent population of Jharkhand have developed antibodies against the SARS COV 2 virus and if it can be believed than we are not far away from reaching a stable state if the above national sero - survey is to be really believed.
• Wearing a mask  , keeping adequate distance preferably in open and ventilated surroundings and regular hand washing continues to be as important a way to protect each and all . At the end Every one has to trust that it is a temporary phase of disruption and very soon we will overcome this too. Keep your faith intact!!

The author is former Professor and Head,Department of medicine, RIMS, Ranchi.