Challenges Faced by the Human Beings
Vaccine Research and DevelopmentEvery nation invested a profuse amount of human and financial resources in vaccine development as the epidemic spreads. The goal is to minimize the damage to human life and put an end to the virus to restore normal life and operation.The huge disparity in global vaccination, unequal vaccine distribution, doubts about the vaccines, questioning the vaccination for the minor group, and whether the vaccine can stop the spread of the virus, these factors are preventing the world to reach herd immunity.“Herd immunity”, a.k.a. “community immunity”, is indirect protection against infectious disease. Such protection is formed when the immunity for the population is obtained through mass vaccination or prior infection of the disease. The medical field considered that at least 60% of the population in a country or region should have antibodies to form “community immunity”.A paper published in “Nature” claimed that it is unclear if the COVID-19 vaccine can protect people from infection or the spreading of the virus. The uncertainty casts a shadow over the efforts to achieve herd immunity.“Nature” quoted Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., “Herd immunity is only relevant if we have a transmission-blocking vaccine. If we don’t, then the only way to get herd immunity in the population is to give everyone the vaccine. Vaccine effectiveness for halting transmission needs to be ‘pretty darn high’ for herd immunity to matter, and at the moment, the data aren’t conclusive”.At the same time, more focus has turned to long-term COVID symptoms, or “long COVID” in adult and minor patients.Long-term data is lacking as COVID virus appeared at the end of 2019 and the global epidemic didn’t start until the beginning of 2020. Current findings can only be based on small samples and short-term follow-up observations.Will the long-term COVID condition disappear itself? Will the patient recover? How long will the aftereffects last? These questions remain unanswered. One of the reports published “Lancet,” a world-renowned medical journal, in August 2021, stated that long COVID is the number one challenge in modern medicine.Long-term COVID conditions are COVID aftereffects. According to the clinical definition published by the World Health Organization in October 2021, the symptoms may occur in people who tested positive or were infected with the COVID-19 virus. The symptoms usually appear “three months from the onset of COVID-19 with symptoms and that last for at least 2 months and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis”.There is no universally accepted standard on the length of time for “long-term.” A UK study claimed a 25-year follow-up period. More than 2 years have passed since the discovery of the COVID-19 virus. More time is needed for observation and the accumulation of relevant data.The UK medical guidance considered symptoms that continue well over 12 weeks and cannot be explained with other reasons should be considered as “long COVID.” These symptoms may include:Extreme tirednessShortness of breath, chest pain or tightnessMemory and concentration issues (“brain fog”)Changes in taste and smellJoint painThe symptoms, severity and medical history may differ from every individual. Currently, lethargy is one of the most common symptoms.Others include: muscle pain, hearing and visual disorders, headache, taste and smell disorder, damages to the heart, lungs and kidneys, loose stools, psychological issues including depression, anxiety, lack of concentration and absent-minded.In addition, vaccine research and inoculation speed need to catch up with virus mutation. From the Alpha variant in the UK, Beta variant in South Africa, Gamma variant in Brazil, and Delta variant in India, the virus because more infective as it mutates. The unknown effectiveness of current vaccines complicates the matter, which requires more study and time to solve.At this time, all we can do is prevent infection and vaccinate more people so the virus does not have a chance to mutate quickly. It is hard to know when and in what way the COVID-19 virus can be subdued so we can return to our normal lives.Learning to Live with the Virus PeacefullyThe only thing we can do is to learn how to live with the virus peacefully when we cannot eliminate the virus.The SARS epidemic caused chaos in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Canada, and made its mark in Taiwan’s history with nearly 800 mortalities. The epidemic was controlled in one year through strict isolation and preventive measures. History also tells us, that even though we are ravaged by infectious diseases from time to time, the world always creates opportunities to end the pandemic through the development of new technology, effective isolation, and transmission preventive measures.