COVID-19, Time to Change Course

Oradea Journal of Business and Economics

The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly affected the entire planet. Although artificial intelligence is more and more present in our daily activities, leaving its mark in most fields of activity (education, science, medicine), the coronavirus has managed, to some extent, to slow down or even block the natural evolution of things, forcing a change of the lifestyle and the reality in which we live. Forced isolation, imposed restrictions, activities conducted online, etc. had a negative effect especially on people who were coerced to adapt to a new situation and comply with the rules imposed in order to reduce/eliminate the devastating effect of the Covid-19 virus. The paper presents a brief summary of the evolution of influenza epidemics, especially of the coronavirus, as well as the names associated with human coronaviruses that have occurred in the last 20 years. Furthermore, the paper captures a series of controversies that arose in relation to the measures taken during the Covid-19 pan...

Anaesthesia & Critical Care Medicine Journal , 2020

The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we are facing. The virus has spread to all countries except Antarctica. As of 17 August 2020 2020, more than 22,113,000 people have been infected, and over 778,530 people have lost their lives. The global spread of the virus has overwhelmed health systems, and caused widespread social and economic disruption. Putting societies and economies on hold (lockdown) has helped to limit some of the short-term impacts of the virus. The faster all cases are found, tested and isolated, the harder we make it for this virus to spread. This strategy will save lives and mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. This pandemic requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response. This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and may never go away. Even if a vaccine was found, coping with the disease would require a massive effort. Countries are racing to slow the spread of the virus by testing and treating patients, carrying out contact tracing, limiting travel, quarantining citizens, and cancelling large gatherings. Educational institutions are closed. COVID-19 has the potential to create devastating social, economic and political crises that will leave deep scars. Every day, people are losing jobs and income, with no way of knowing when normality will return. The financial crisis is already having a severe impact on poverty and inequality. The informal sector, a large employer in many EMs, has been highly vulnerable to the lockdowns and demand drops caused by the pandemic. Millions of workers who have abruptly lost jobs and incomes need urgent attention. Currently, there is no vaccine available and there are few specific antiviral strategies. Several potent candidates of antivirals and repurposed drugs are under urgent investigation. There is an urgent need to increase pooled sample testing and also start undertaking anti-body testing. Life and livelihood are crucial. The lockdown must be rolled back in a phased and staggered manner while ensuring that high risk groups are encouraged to stay home. Strict social distancing norms, use of face masks and hyperlocalization to contain hotspots and areas of high risk should be the way forward.

Bangladesh Medical Journal Science, 2021

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 as pandemic on March 11 2020. Since then, there is a lot of unfolding of information daily, which is necessary to study to decide the course of action to contain the disease. Even after seven to eight months after the pandemic of COVID-19 struck, most of the details are still unravelling. Yet another news of possible re-infection somewhat shocked the global community and concerns raised over the current strategy. Besides, the misinformation is spreading like wildfire and adding to the woes of authorities and administration. The testing strategy also needs a relook, as the RT-PCR test missed some positive cases. The mortality rate is also on a downfall, even as cases are increasing rapidly. We are taking the stalk of these factors in this paper and analyse the possible challenges and solutions. Research is still ongoing, and there is a lot to unfold. Scientists have drawn behavioural pattern from previous outbreaks of Severe A...

The Applied Biology & Chemistry Journal, 2021

The coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic is the nastiest public health, economic, and societal crisis of our lifetime. When this global emergency hit, our entire institution quickly pivoted to deliver the actionable science that decision-makers need in times of crisis. The steps taken at the beginning of this crisis to solve the immediate, day-to-day challenges posed by the pandemic and eventually rebuild a healthier, more robust and resilient nation and world. Ensuring strong demand for and endorsing acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines is crucial to accomplishing herd immunity, shielding the most vulnerable populations, and reopening social and economic life. This perspective article highlights the importance of equitable vaccine allocation and public engagement, and message delivery strategies to ensure demand and promote acceptance.

During the 21st century, human beings have encountered three major diseases caused by newly discovered coronaviruses called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization [1], emerged in Wuhan, China in the last days of 2019 and rapidly spread around the world. There are more than 4400000 cases of COVID-19 and 298000 deaths attributed to the disease until May 14, 2020. In Iran, nearly 113000 cases and more than 6700 deaths have been reported to this date [2]. Despite the similarities between the three diseases in terms of the causative agent, the modes of transmission, and the main symptoms, the impact of COVID-19 on public health is very different from SARS and MERS for several reasons. The rapid global spread of COVID-19, the high fatality rate, and the different nature of the virus in terms of persistence in the environment could be considered as the reasons for this difference. To control the disease, various precautions have recommended such as hand washing, social distancing, social isolation, use of personal protective equipment, school/university closure, working at home, cocooning the vulnerable groups such as the elderly, and travel ban [3]. But, these pieces of advice could also have some negative impacts on human life. The social, economic, and cultural consequences of these recommendations could also endanger human public health in the short and long term [4, 5]. Moreover, the main health implications due to implementation of the COVID-19 recommendation are psychological impacts such as psychological distress [6], anxiety [7, 8], depression [9], and insomnia [10] among people, students, and medical staff. As providing qualified care for health service recipients is important, it seems that evaluation and control of the psychological impact among health care professionals have a special priority. There may also be negative public health effects because of the persistence of COVID-19. Indeed, people may fear of potential transmission of the virus while visiting the hospitals, health centers, and health units, even when receiving the required services [11, 12]. Therefore, the necessary services are not received on time, and this could lead to complications in the public health of the community. One of the most important health care services is immunization services [13]. Lack of adequate attention to the immunization program of less than 24-month old children, especially in poor countries and the poor population of rich countries could lead to the loss of all positive vaccination achievements over the past decades. Inadequate attention to immunization can even lead to the return of epidemic-prone diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria, and pertussis. WHO asserts that “if immunization services are compromised due to severe limitation of health-care resources, vaccines for these diseases may need to be prioritized” [14]. Although the sustenance of routine vaccination of the target groups would be vital to maintain public health, health services have an important responsibility to protect all health workers [14, 15]. So, while emphasizing the continuity of the immunization program, providing suitable workspace for immunization with the least risk of contamination to the vaccine recipients, as well as providing effective personal protective equipment for the vaccinators would be essential. Another important group that may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the elderly [16]. Social isolation may protect the elderly from getting COVID-19, but there are serious public health concerns. Indeed, the risk of their cardiovascular, mental health, autoimmune, and neurocognitive problems may increase during cocooning [17]. They may also be deprived of receiving routine services due to isolation, especially those who do not have close family and or friends. To prevent these problems, the health system may need to run an active health care program through health centers or to launch and enhance a voluntary supporting service for the elderly [16]. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life, including public health. We do not know when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. So, proper intervention planning and adequate attention to medical staff as well as vulnerable groups in society, including children and the elderly, are needed to reduce the implications of the pandemic. In this regard, the role of international health agencies and the responsibility of governments as well as researchers to provide credible research evidence for informed decisions would be very vital and significant.

IJSR, 2020

Infectious diseases have affected humans since the first recorded history of man. The world has experienced an increased incidence and transboundary spread of emerging infectious diseases due to population growth, urbanization and globalization over the past four decades. Most of these newly emerging and re-emerging pathogens are viruses. On an average, more than two new species of viruses infecting humans are reported worldwide every year most of which are likely to be RNA viruses. Surveillance System, early detection, identification, characterization, containment, control and ultimately prevention of the emerging infectious diseases will require a good, functional national public health surveillance system. There is an urgent need to develop a network of diagnostic laboratories, especially in countries where epidemic infectious diseases are weak. Need for real-time early detection of disease needs innovations in biomedical technology. Contact-tracking is essential. Rapid testing facilities must be available to all populations in all countries. The COVID 19 pandemic will be a definitive moment in world history and be remembered by us all. The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest global crisis of this century affecting 206 countries. Globally, there are over 1205700 cases and 64980 deaths confirmed (as on 5 April 2020). Italy (15362), Spain (11947), USA (8454), China (3329), Iran (3452), France (7560), and UK (4313), Netherlands (1651), Germany (1444), Belgium (1447), Switzerland (666), Turkey (501), South Korea (183), Brazil (445), Sweden (373), Indonesia (198), India (99), reported more deaths than in other countries. What will also be remembered is how we behave with each other. Tackling nCoV is the biggest challenge to face the World. An effective treatment and development of vaccine must be found on a war-footing.

European Journal of Business and Management Research

The novel corona outbreak that started in Wuhan China in Autumn 2019, has infected and killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. People around the world are scared because a vaccine has not yet been developed to cure this disease. Scientists and health experts around the world are working hard to develop medical countermeasures to control the spread of the COVID 19 outbreak. COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented world crisis to our health and changed the way we perceived our world and our everyday lives. To be able to contain the pattern of transmission of this deadly virus, health experts suggests to each one of us to observe the required safety measures such as social distancing and washing our hands with soap and water in a regular basis and observe a proper hygiene. The role of different mass media channels skyrocketing in our lives on different levels. During this time of the pandemic, mass media have been highly recognized as strongest forces in promoting...

medium, 2020

Five months into the pandemic, it is increasingly clear that coping with Covid-19 is likely to be a long-term current rather than a quick wave. In some way, the disease will be with us until there is either a vaccine available in large quantity or an effective herd immunity, acquired after 65 to 95% of the global population have been infected. As governments everywhere are grappling with the question of how to reconcile health and economic concerns, views will evolve. Governments, stake holders and citizens should begin thinking about what kind of “normal” they want. And diseases are hardly the only shock societies are going to face. Future generations may very well look back to 2020 as a trial run, a good opportunity to learn.

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, 2021