THE CONTEXT AND CONSEQUENCES OF COVID19

Contextualization
Pandemics are diseases that are consistent all around the world. Epidemics are diseases that quickly spread in a certain amount of time. There have been many cases in history where pandemics and epidemics have occurred in, such as the Zika Virus from 2014, Ebola from 2014-2016, the Spanish Flu from 1918 (the deadliest pandemic yet), HIV was also considered a pandemic for most of the 20th century but is not referred to as an endemic where professionals have found treatments for it and the rate of it has decreased, but it is still one of the main reasons for early deaths.

Other cases include Smallpox which was from 1633 and lasted for about a year until there was a treatment to be found and the last severe case of it is dated back to 1949, the Yellow Fever was a very big deal and it dates back to 1793 and the vaccine, which you only need once in order to never get the disease, was finally developed in 1935.

During 1832-1866, there was a Cholera outbreak, where the vaccine was created in 1896, but it is still present in Africa and South America. In 1858, the Scarlet Fever rose, there is no vaccine for it but antibiotics can help with the treatment. Typhoid Mary’s outbreak happened from 1906-1907, the vaccine from 1896 was licensed in 1914 and now it is extremely rare.

Diseases Throughout History-
There was a Diphtheria epidemic that was big around 1921-1925, and the licensed vaccine came out in the mid-1920s. Polio had a large outbreak from 1916-1955, most places are Polio free right now, but Asia and Africa still have some cases of it.

Measles had an outbreak for a decade from 1981-1991, vaccines worked safer if you took two doses of it, now it’s still common in areas without the vaccination. In 1993, Cryptosporidium lashed out, though there is not a vaccine, water is free of it but there are around 748,000 cases annually, it has become the largest waterborne outbreak in the U.S., in 2010 and 2014, there were 10,000 cases of the Whooping cough, where 10 infants died, doctors recommended pregnant women to get the vaccine during their 3rd trimester, so the child has a lesser risk of developing the disease. It is still consistent every 3-5 years.

What the Infamous Coronavirus is-
First and foremost, what is the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19)? According to the Farlex Medical Dictionary, the COVID-19 is defined as “any of a family of single-stranded RNA viruses that infect mammals and birds, causing respiratory infections such as the common cold and SARS in humans, and that have spikes of glycoproteins projecting from the viral envelope.” (2012).

Which simplistically means, it’s a highly contagious virus that originated from a single stranded RNA family (genus Coronaviridae), which ultimately targets the respiratory tract systems in humans. Once this virus is exposed and entered the body of an individual, they begin to experience normal symptoms of any common short-lived illness after 5-6 days after the contraction of droplets generated from another infected individual, such as coughing, a fever, or difficulty breathing.

When a healthy individual is mildly affected, they tend to recover after a two-week incubation period. However, the consequences are strikingly worse for people with underlying respiratory diseases, resulting in a suffocating 3-6 weeks with severe/critical conditions.

Treatments-
Many countries globally, such as Italy or Palestine are being left with no other choice but to use wartime medicine tactics, such as only treating the treatable symptoms and letting the elderly, or people in bad conditions to die since there is no other way to keep them alive due to the limited knowledge or equipment that comes with the virus. There is no specific treatment for the virus itself due to the lack of a proper vaccine, there are few treatments for symptoms based on the patient’s clinical condition.

How Everyone Can Help-
While confirmed cases are skyrocketing and deaths are becoming normalized, what can everyone do to help flatten and slow the upturning curve of the pandemic? Both the government and WHO are urging people of all ages to stay inside, wash their hands, maintain social distancing, wear masks in public, donate to nonprofits or local restaurants (if possible) and to constantly clean frequently touched surfaces.

While some jobs and most schools are switched to online in the comfort of an individual’s home, people are urged to stay in quarantine and only go out for essential needs.

• These are some non- profit organizations that could use help are listed in this article by the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/21/how-you-can-help-during-coronavirus/?arc404=true

• While not everyone can access N-95 masks, here is a link provided by CDC that shows a step by step tutorial to create an effective homemade mask: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

• While being stuck at home sounds unproductive, here are 100 activities by USATODAY that you can master by the end of this pandemic: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2020/03/16/coronavirus-quarantine-100-things-do-while-trapped-inside/5054632002/