Covid 19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 which is severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2. It was first identified in Wuhan, china in early December 2019 and it has spread quickly all over the world.
SYMPTOMS:
Common Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Tiredness
- Dry Cough
- Body pains and aches
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Loss of Taste or Smell
- Diarrhea
Serious Symptoms include:
- Difficulty in breathing or Shortness of Breath
- Pain in the Chest
- Loss of speech or movement
- Bluish lips or face
PREVENTION:
- Wear face mask and face covering
- Maintain 6 feet distance between each others
- Frequently sanitize your hands
- Frequently touched objects, surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected regularly
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Avoid large gatherings
- Cover your mouth with tissue while coughing or sneezing and discard the tissue in trash
- Don’t touch your eyes, mouth and nose often
- Wash your hands with soap frequently
VACCINE:
How Does Vaccines work?
Certain molecule from the pathogen triggers the immune system when they enter the body. Vaccines work by giving training the immune system for recognizing such molecules from the pathogen. These molecules from the pathogen are called as antigens, and are present in all viruses and bacteria.
By injecting the antigens into the body, the immune system will safely learn to recognise them, remembers them for future and start producing antibodies against it. And if the bacteria or virus reappears then the immune system recognises them immediately and attacks them.
TYPES OF COVID 19 VACCINES:
There are four main types of Covid 19 vaccines in clinical trials:
- Whole virus – Uses the whole virus to trigger an immune response
- Protein subunit – Uses piece of the pathogen mostly fragments of proteins for triggering the immune response
- Viral vector – Uses a harmless virus which is different from the one vaccine is targeting for delivering genetic instructions to the cell
- Nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) – Uses genetic materials such as DNA and RNA for triggering an immune response.
LIST OF VACCINES DEVELOPED IN INDIA:
- Covishield – By University of Oxford and AstraZeneca in collaboration with SII
- Covaxin – By Barath Biotech in Association With ICMR and NIV
- ZyCoV-D – By Zydus Cadila
- Biological E – By Biological E
- Mynvax –By Mynvax IISc
- HGCO 19 – By Gennova Biopharmaceuticals
SIDE EFFECTS OF VACCINE:
- Pain and swelling at site of injection
- Fatigue
- Fever and chills
- Headache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Delayed swelling with redness or rash at the site of injection