facts about covid 19 for essay

Facts about coronavirus

What kids need to know

Coronavirus (or, as doctors and scientists call it, COVID-19) has been part of everyone’s life since mid-March 2020, when most schools, businesses, and communities quickly changed how they operated to prevent the spread of the virus. Because the disease infected a large number of people all over the world, experts call this a pandemic.

For over a year, many kids attended school at least partly from their houses; their parents might’ve worked from home, too. This was all to avoid catching the virus from other people outside the home.

Lots of people helped their neighbors throughout the pandemic. First responders, like healthcare workers, police officers, and firefighters, kept people healthy and safe; essential workers such as grocery store employees, delivery drivers, and postal workers worked in-person to make sure other folks had what they needed to live.

Nearly 190 million people in the world have been infected by COVID-19, and more than four million people have died. But the good news is that the number of people getting the virus in the United States is going way down, thanks to testing, vaccines, and other preventative measures, like wearing masks and social distancing.

Here are answers to some questions you might still have about coronavirus.

So … what is COVID-19? And what’s a "coronavirus?"

The term "coronavirus" actually refers to a family of viruses that causes many different types of diseases, including the common cold. COVID-19 is a "novel coronavirus," which means it’s a new disease unfamiliar to scientists and doctors. Its name is actually a mash-up of three words: CO stands for "corona," which means "crown" in Latin, and the viruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface; VI stands for "virus"; and D is for "disease." The "19" comes from the year 2019, when the disease was first detected.

How did COVID-19 start?

Scientists don’t know the exact origin of COVID -19, and they might never have all the answers. But they do know that some diseases start in animals before spreading to humans. These types of diseases are called zoonotic (pronounced zoh-uh-NAH-tik). Cows, bats, and camels are among the animals that have spread diseases to humans in the past. The COVID-19 disease is also zoonotic, with the first cases popping up in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The affected humans were all connected to a nearby market that sold live animals.

How does someone catch COVID-19?

COVID-19 can be transmitted by little droplets from coughs or sneezes, which is why doctors say unvaccinated people should wear masks when they’re indoors or close to others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there's no evidence that a dog, cat, or any other pet can transmit COVID-19. But more studies are needed to understand how COVID-19 could affect different types of animals.

How can I protect myself?

Kids older than 12 can now get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. For older kids who aren’t vaccinated, as well as kids 11 and younger, research shows that taking small steps—like staying six feet (about two arm lengths) from others, wearing face masks that cover the mouth and nose, washing hands often, and seeing friends outside—can make a big difference in stopping the spread of the virus. (Vaccines for kids under 12 are expected to be available later in 2021.)

Learn how vaccines work and why they’re so effective .

OK, but what happens if I do get it?

Most people—including kids— who catch COVID-19 get better, and their illness is usually mild. But if you do catch COVID-19, you might have a dry cough, a fever, and shortness of breath. But just like when you’ve had a cold, the best treatment is to stay in bed—and away from anyone who might catch it from you. (Like your grandparents! Older people are more at risk for catching and getting sick from COVID-19 .) You might also not even know you have it, so keep washing your hands and wearing a mask, just in case. Masks work best when everyone wears one.

Will it go away?

Researchers expect that as more people are vaccinated and become immune to COVID-19, the number of cases will continue to go down. Immunity to the virus means the body can fight it off and won’t spread it to another person. When enough people are immune to COVID-19 so that the illness is no longer a serious threat, that’s called herd immunity . Experts say that for herd immunity to work in a community, between 75 and 85 percent of people need to be vaccinated. Almost 60 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, depending on where you live: Some places are higher, and others are lower.

The majority of new cases in the United States are in unvaccinated people. They can also transmit the coronavirus to others, which is why the CDC recommends they still wear masks indoors and at crowded outdoor events.

What about school?

The latest guidelines from the CDC say that students and teachers who are fully vaccinated—meaning it’s been two weeks since their second COVID-19 shot—can be in class without masks. For students too young to get the vaccine, the recommendation is to keep doing what you’ve been doing in school: wear masks and social distance. Scientists say that keeping just three feet indoors in school is enough to keep kids safe.

This story has been updated with new information about vaccines for children.

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Covid 19 Essay in English

Essay on Covid -19: In a very short amount of time, coronavirus has spread globally. It has had an enormous impact on people's lives, economy, and societies all around the world, affecting every country. Governments have had to take severe measures to try and contain the pandemic. The virus has altered our way of life in many ways, including its effects on our health and our economy. Here are a few sample essays on ‘CoronaVirus’.

100 Words Essay on Covid 19

200 words essay on covid 19, 500 words essay on covid 19.

COVID-19 or Corona Virus is a novel coronavirus that was first identified in 2019. It is similar to other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, but it is more contagious and has caused more severe respiratory illness in people who have been infected. The novel coronavirus became a global pandemic in a very short period of time. It has affected lives, economies and societies across the world, leaving no country untouched. The virus has caused governments to take drastic measures to try and contain it. From health implications to economic and social ramifications, COVID-19 impacted every part of our lives. It has been more than 2 years since the pandemic hit and the world is still recovering from its effects.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world has been impacted in a number of ways. For one, the global economy has taken a hit as businesses have been forced to close their doors. This has led to widespread job losses and an increase in poverty levels around the world. Additionally, countries have had to impose strict travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the virus, which has resulted in a decrease in tourism and international trade. Furthermore, the pandemic has put immense pressure on healthcare systems globally, as hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients suffering from the virus. Lastly, the outbreak has led to a general feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, as people are fearful of contracting the disease.

My Experience of COVID-19

I still remember how abruptly colleges and schools shut down in March 2020. I was a college student at that time and I was under the impression that everything would go back to normal in a few weeks. I could not have been more wrong. The situation only got worse every week and the government had to impose a lockdown. There were so many restrictions in place. For example, we had to wear face masks whenever we left the house, and we could only go out for essential errands. Restaurants and shops were only allowed to operate at take-out capacity, and many businesses were shut down.

In the current scenario, coronavirus is dominating all aspects of our lives. The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc upon people’s lives, altering the way we live and work in a very short amount of time. It has revolutionised how we think about health care, education, and even social interaction. This virus has had long-term implications on our society, including its impact on mental health, economic stability, and global politics. But we as individuals can help to mitigate these effects by taking personal responsibility to protect themselves and those around them from infection.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Education

The outbreak of coronavirus has had a significant impact on education systems around the world. In China, where the virus originated, all schools and universities were closed for several weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the disease. Many other countries have followed suit, either closing schools altogether or suspending classes for a period of time.

This has resulted in a major disruption to the education of millions of students. Some have been able to continue their studies online, but many have not had access to the internet or have not been able to afford the costs associated with it. This has led to a widening of the digital divide between those who can afford to continue their education online and those who cannot.

The closure of schools has also had a negative impact on the mental health of many students. With no face-to-face contact with friends and teachers, some students have felt isolated and anxious. This has been compounded by the worry and uncertainty surrounding the virus itself.

The situation with coronavirus has improved and schools have been reopened but students are still catching up with the gap of 2 years that the pandemic created. In the meantime, governments and educational institutions are working together to find ways to support students and ensure that they are able to continue their education despite these difficult circumstances.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Economy

The outbreak of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the global economy. The virus, which originated in China, has spread to over two hundred countries, resulting in widespread panic and a decrease in global trade. As a result of the outbreak, many businesses have been forced to close their doors, leading to a rise in unemployment. In addition, the stock market has taken a severe hit.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Health

The effects that coronavirus has on one's health are still being studied and researched as the virus continues to spread throughout the world. However, some of the potential effects on health that have been observed thus far include respiratory problems, fever, and coughing. In severe cases, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death can occur. It is important for people who think they may have been exposed to the virus to seek medical attention immediately so that they can be treated properly and avoid any serious complications. There is no specific cure or treatment for coronavirus at this time, but there are ways to help ease symptoms and prevent the virus from spreading.

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Introduction

Horrific history

The early days, health and medicine.

What was the impact of COVID-19?

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Table Of Contents

Recent News

On February 25, 2020, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided it was time to level with the U.S. public about the COVID-19 outbreak. At the time, there were just 57 people in the country confirmed to have the infection, all but 14 having been repatriated from Hubei province in China and the Diamond Princess cruise ship , docked off Yokohama , Japan .

The infected were in quarantine. But Nancy Messonnier, then head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, knew what was coming. “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness,” Messonnier said at a news briefing.

“I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and that disruption to everyday life may be severe,” she continued. “But these are things that people need to start thinking about now.”

Looking back, the COVID-19 pandemic stands as arguably the most disruptive event of the 21st century, surpassing wars, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks , the effects of climate change , and the Great Recession . It has killed more than seven million people to date and reshaped the world economy, public health , education, work, social interaction, family life, medicine, and mental health—leaving no corner of the globe untouched in some way. Now endemic in many societies, the consistently mutating virus remains one of the leading annual causes of death, especially among people older than 65 and the immunosuppressed.

“The coronavirus outbreak, historically, beyond a doubt, has been the most devastating pandemic of an infectious disease that global society has experienced in well over 100 years, since the 1918 influenza pandemic ,” Anthony Fauci , who helped lead the U.S. government’s health response to the pandemic under Pres. Donald Trump and became Pres. Joe Biden ’s chief medical adviser, told Encyclopædia Britannica in 2024.

“I think the impact of this outbreak on the world in general, on the United States , is really historic. Fifty years from now, 100 years from now, when they talk about the history of what we’ve been through, this is going to go down equally with the 1918 influenza pandemic , with the stock market crash of 1929 , with World War II —all the things that were profoundly disruptive of the social order.”

What few could imagine in the first days of the pandemic was the extent of the disruption the disease would bring to the everyday lives of just about everyone around the globe.

Within weeks, schools and child-care centers began shuttering, businesses sent their workforces home, public gatherings were canceled, stores and restaurants closed, and cruise ships were barred from sailing. On March 11, actor Tom Hanks announced that he had COVID-19, and the NBA suspended its season. (It was ultimately completed in a closed “bubble” at Walt Disney World .) On March 12, as college basketball players left courts mid-game during conference tournaments, the NCAA announced that it would not hold its wildly popular season-ending national competition, known as March Madness , for the first time since 1939. Three days later, the New York City public school system, the country’s largest, with 1.1 million students, closed. On March 19, all 40 million Californians were placed under a stay-at-home order.

By mid-April, with hospital beds and ventilators in critically short supply, workers were burying the coffins of COVID-19 victims in mass graves on Hart Island, off the Bronx . At first, the public embraced caregivers. New Yorkers applauded them from windows and balconies, and individuals sewed masks for them. But that spirit soon gave way to the crushing long-term reality of the pandemic and the national division that followed.

Around the world, it was worse. On the day Messonnier spoke, the virus had spread from its origin point in Wuhan , China, to at least two dozen countries, sickening thousands and killing dozens. By April 4, more than one million cases had been confirmed worldwide. Some countries, including China and Italy, imposed strict lockdowns on their citizens. Paris restricted movement, with certain exceptions, including an hour a day for exercise, within 1 km (0.62 mile) of home.

In the United States, the threat posed by the virus did not keep large crowds from gathering to protest the May 25 slaying of George Floyd , a 46-year-old Black man, by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin. The murder, taped by a bystander in Minneapolis , Minnesota , sparked raucous and sometimes violent street protests for racial justice around the world that contributed to an overall sense of societal instability.

The official World Health Organization total of more than seven million deaths as of March 2024 is widely considered a serious undercount of the actual toll. In some countries there was limited testing for the virus and difficulty attributing fatalities to it. Others suppressed total counts or were not able to devote resources to compiling their totals. In May 2021, a panel of experts consulted by The New York Times estimated that India ’s actual COVID-19 death toll was likely 1.6 million, more than five times the reported total of 307,231.

An average of 3,100 people—one every 28 seconds—died of COVID-19 every day in the United States in January 2021.

When “excess mortality”—COVID and non-COVID deaths that likely would not have occurred under normal, pre-outbreak conditions—are included in the worldwide tally, the number of pandemic victims was about 15 million by the end of 2021, WHO estimated.

Not long after the pandemic took hold, the United States, which spends more per capita on medical care than any other country, became the epicenter of COVID-19 fatalities. The country fell victim to a fractured health care system that is inequitable to poor and rural patients and people of color, as well as a deep ideological divide over its political leadership and public health policies, such as wearing protective face masks. By early 2024, the U.S. had recorded nearly 1.2 million COVID-19 deaths.

Life expectancy at birth plunged from 78.8 years in 2019 to 76.4 in 2021, a staggering decline in a barometer of a country’s health that typically changes by only a tenth or two annually. An average of 3,100 people—one every 28 seconds—died of COVID-19 every day in the United States in January 2021, before vaccines for the virus became widely available, The Washington Post reported.

The impact on those caring for the sick and dying was profound. “The second week of December [2020] was probably the worst week of my career,” said Brad Butcher, director of the medical-surgical intensive care unit at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. “The first day I was on service, five patients died in a shift. And then I came back the next day, and three patients died. And I came back the next day, and three more patients died. And it was completely defeating,” he told The Washington Post on January 11, 2021.

“We can’t get the graves dug fast enough,” a Maryland funeral home operator told The Washington Post that same day.

As the pandemic surged in waves around the world, country after country was plunged into economic recession , the inevitable damage caused by layoffs, business closures, lockdowns, deaths, reduced trade, debt repayment moratoriums , the cost to governments of responding to the crisis, and other factors. Overall, the virus triggered the greatest economic calamity in more than a century, according to a 2022 report by the World Bank .

“Economic activity contracted in 2020 in about 90 percent of countries, exceeding the number of countries seeing such declines during two world wars, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the emerging economy debt crises of the 1980s, and the 2007–09 global financial crisis,” the report noted. “In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy shrank by approximately 3 percent, and global poverty increased for the first time in a generation.”

A 2020 study that attempted to aggregate the costs of lost gross domestic product (GDP) estimated that premature deaths and health-related losses in the United States totaled more than $16 trillion, or roughly “90% of the annual GDP of the United States. For a family of 4, the estimated loss would be nearly $200,000.”

In April 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 14.7 percent, higher than at any point since the Great Depression. There were 23.1 million people out of work. The hospitality, leisure, and health care industries were especially hard hit. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the U.S. economy, plunged.

With workers at home, many businesses turned to telework, a development that would persist beyond the pandemic and radically change working conditions for millions. In 2023, 12.7 percent of full-time U.S. employees worked from home and 28.2 percent worked a hybrid office-home schedule, according to Forbes Advisor . Urban centers accustomed to large daily influxes of workers have suffered. Office vacancies are up, and small businesses have closed. The national office vacancy rate rose to a record 19.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Moody’s Analytics , which has been tracking the statistic since 1979.

Many hospitals were overwhelmed during COVID-19 surges, with too few beds for the flood of patients. But many also demonstrated their resilience and “surge capacity,” dramatically expanding bed counts in very short periods of time and finding other ways to treat patients in swamped medical centers. Triage units and COVID-19 wards were hastily erected in temporary structures on hospital grounds.

Still, U.S. hospitals suffered severe shortages of nurses and found themselves lacking basic necessities such as N95 masks and personal protective garb for the doctors, nurses, and other workers who risked their lives against the new pathogen at the start of the outbreak. Mortuaries and first responders were overwhelmed as well. The dead were kept in refrigerated trucks outside hospitals.

The country’s fragmented public health system proved inadequate to the task of coping with the outbreak, sparking calls for major reform of the CDC and other agencies. The CDC botched its initial attempt to create tests for the virus, leaving the United States almost blind to its spread during the early stages of the pandemic.

Beyond the physical dangers, mental health became a serious issue for overburdened health care personnel, other “essential” workers who continued to labor in crucial jobs, and many millions of isolated, stressed, fearful, locked-down people in the United States and elsewhere. Parents struggled to care for children kept at home by the pandemic while also attending to their jobs.

In a June 2020 survey, the CDC found that 41 percent of respondents said they were struggling with mental health and 11 percent had seriously considered suicide recently. Essential workers, unpaid caregivers , young adults, and members of racial and ethnic minority groups were found to be at a higher risk for experiencing mental health struggles, with 31 percent of unpaid caregivers reporting that they were considering suicide. WHO reported two years later that the pandemic had caused a 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression worldwide, young people and women being at the highest risk.

The rate of homicides by firearm in the United States rose by 35 percent during the pandemic to the highest rate in more than a quarter century.

A silver lining in the chaos of the pandemic’s opening year was the development in just 11 months of highly effective vaccines for the virus, a process that normally had taken 7–10 years. The U.S. government’s bet on unproven messenger RNA technology under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed paid off, and the result validated the billions of dollars that the government pours into basic research every year.

On December 14, 2020, New York nurse Sandra Lindsay capped the tumultuous year by receiving the first shot of the vaccine that eventually would help end the public health crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Things Everyone Should Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak

BY KATHY KATELLA January 6, 2023

Experts watch the Omicron strains as cases rise again.

Pipette adding fluid to one of several test tubes, possibly to test for COVID-19

[Originally published: Jan. 29, 2020. Updated: Jan. 6, 2023]

Note: Information in this article was accurate at the time of original publication. Because information about COVID-19 changes rapidly, we encourage you to visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and your state and local government for the latest information.

COVID-19 has been upending daily life in the United States for almost three years as SARS-CoV-2, the virus spreading the disease, has caused surges in infections across the country. In some ways, the virus is under better control since the first cases were identified here in January 2020. But COVID-19 is still a threat—no one can predict when a new strain might surface, and many questions remain.

In early 2023, the Omicron variant continued to drive cases with the rise of a new subvariant called XBB.1.5. Experts are still learning about this new strain of the virus, which they believe may be the most transmissible one so far.

While the vaccines that are available in the U.S. were designed to protect against the original strain of the coronavirus, scientists have designed a booster that has shown to be effective against the Omicron variant and BA.4/BA.5 subvariants, and they continue to work on updating it.

Four vaccines are being administered from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) endorses a clinical preference for the Pfizer and Moderna shots over J&J, based on evidence of vaccine effectiveness, safety, and rare adverse events. Vaccines are available for infants, children, and adults ages 6 months and older, and almost everyone ages 6 months and older can get a Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster shot that protects against both the original virus and two Omicron strains. A Novavax booster is available for adults who cannot take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, but it may not protect against recent Omicron variants.

Scientists and public health officials continue to work as quickly as possible to address key questions such as how COVID-19 affects the body; why some people have Long COVID (or continuing symptoms the CDC calls “post-COVID conditions”); and the best ways to improve upon the vaccines, test for COVID-19, and treat people who are infected.

Below is a list of nine things you should know about the coronavirus.

1. COVID-19: By the numbers

The number of people who have died from the disease in the U.S. passed one million in 2022. By late August of this year, the number of people who have been infected with the virus here had surpassed 98 million. The CDC provides numbers in a COVID Data Tracker that refreshes every weekday. But those numbers are based on modeling and could be revised with new data; the true numbers are more difficult to track, since not everyone who gets the virus gets tested, and home test results aren’t included in the CDC data.

COVID-19 surges can vary by location. The CDC offers a COVID-19 by County tool that can help people determine the level of risk in their county or one where they are traveling.

2. The virus can spread in multiple ways.

According to the CDC, COVID-19 is spread in three main ways :

Breathing in air when close to an infected person who is exhaling small droplets and particles that contain the virus
Having these droplets and particles land on the eyes, nose, or mouth
Touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with hands that have the virus on them

In addition, droplets can land on surfaces, and people may get the virus by touching those surfaces, although, according to the CDC, this is not thought to be the main way COVID-19 spreads.

Anyone who is infected with COVID-19 can spread it to other people, even if the infected person does not have symptoms, according to the CDC. In general, the more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. Indoor spaces are more risky than outdoor spaces.

3. The virus continues to change.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 have come in waves in which a surge of new cases typically is followed by a decline in infections. A loosening of restrictions on mask-wearing and other mitigation efforts can precipitate a wave, as can an event or celebration period such as the winter holidays, when people are more likely to travel and gather indoors.

New variants of the virus have also prompted waves. Over the last two years, the variants Alpha, Beta, Delta (named by the World Health Organization after the Greek alphabet), and others have caused increases in cases, and illnesses ranging from mild (with no reported symptoms in some cases) to severe.

While Omicron and its subvariants have appeared to be less deadly than variants that preceded them, they have still had the ability to cause severe illness and death in some people.

Even when a virus strain is associated with mild illness, some people will get very sick, and experts worry that large outbreaks could overwhelm health care systems—and provide more opportunities for the virus to mutate, laying groundwork that could become a breeding ground for more new variants.

4. Long COVID is still not well understood.

Another challenge is what the CDC has called “post-COVID conditions,” also known as Long COVID. It is now estimated that nearly 1 in 5 adults and children, including healthy ones who had mild or no symptoms during their initial COVID-19 infection, experience Long COVID, which is when new, returning, or ongoing symptoms last for weeks, months, or years. These usually start four or more weeks after the initial infection, and range from fatigue and muscle pain to—in extreme cases—serious respiratory, digestive, and neurological symptoms, as well as autoimmune conditions and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) , in which different body parts become swollen.

Experts still don’t know why this occurs. While there is still a lot to learn, dedicated post-COVID condition clinics around the country are working to help treat patients with long-COVID symptoms.

5. Vaccines are key to preventing severe illness and hospitalization.

Vaccination remains a key strategy for preventing severe disease. (Breakthrough infections have increased as immunity from the vaccines wanes over time and as new variants emerge, making infection prevention difficult.)

Each person should be able to choose the vaccine and booster—or boosters if eligible—for their situation, taking into account that recommendations on timing, dosage, and number of shots vary based on such factors as age and health status . More information on where to get COVID-19 vaccines and boosters is available on Vaccines.gov .

6. There are steps you can take to prevent infection.

There are other things you can continue to do to protect yourself. The CDC recommends the following preventive actions:

Wear a mask when appropriate: Anyone 2 and older should wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public if they live in an area where there is a high level of COVID-19, or in indoor areas of public transportation or transportation hubs. Also wear a mask if you are caring for someone who has COVID-19 or are sick yourself. Talk to your provider about the best use of a mask if you or someone you spend time with is at increased risk, if you are pregnant, or if you are unvaccinated or taking medication that weakens the immune system. The CDC provides a guide to masks and guidance for choosing a mask on its website.
Maintain a social distance: Do this inside your home when you have close contact with people who are sick, and indoors in public, especially if you are at risk for severe illness. Try to avoid poorly ventilated spaces and crowds.
Test yourself: There are different types of tests available, including tests that are sent to a laboratory and tests that can be done at home. If a test result is positive, you should isolate from others and let people you have had close contact with know.
If you are pregnant: In August 2021, the CDC urged pregnant people to get vaccinated . Pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to those who aren’t pregnant. They have a higher risk for preterm birth (delivering the baby earlier than 37 weeks), and possibly other poor pregnancy outcomes, according to the CDC.

There are other preventive strategies that could be helpful, depending on your situation. Further guidance for preventing infection is available on the CDC website.

It’s important to know that local rules may vary, and fully vaccinated people must follow local business and workplace guidance, and take precautions as directed in health care settings.

7. Experts continue to work on COVID-19 treatments.

There are also a growing number of treatments that can prevent severe illness from COVID-19, especially in people with underlying health conditions. Some are given intravenously or by injection, while others are available in pill form. So far, the National Institutes of Health has prioritized Paxlovid , which is the first antiviral pill to be given an FDA emergency use authorization (EUA). The drug, which must be started within five days of symptoms, had 89% efficacy in preventing severe illness in infected people in its clinical trial (which included only unvaccinated participants).

Remdesivir was the first and is still the only COVID-19 therapy to get full FDA approval; it was initially used only in hospitalized patients, but the most recent data has shown that it can help outpatients at high risk for severe disease.

8. If you feel ill, here's what you should do.

Everyone should watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, whether or not they are fully vaccinated. Anyone who thinks they have been exposed should get tested and stay home and away from others. Symptoms can appear anywhere between 2 to 14 days after exposure. According to the CDC, symptoms may include:

Fever or chills
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Muscle or body aches
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting

This list does not include all possible symptoms. The CDC will continue to update its symptoms list as it learns more about COVID-19.

You should call your medical provider for advice if you experience these symptoms, especially if you have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or live in an area with ongoing spread of the disease. The CDC has a Coronavirus Self-Checker that may help you determine whether you should seek help .

While most people will have a mild illness and can recover at home without medical care, seek medical attention immediately if you or a loved one is at home and experiencing emergency warning signs, including difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to stay awake, or bluish lips or face. This list is not inclusive, so consult your medical provider if you notice other concerning symptoms.

9. Be aware of the information and resources that are available to you.

The pandemic has been stressful for everyone, and this can have serious impacts on mental health. If you, or someone you care about, are feeling overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, depression, or anxiety, or feel like you want to harm yourself or others, call 911, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. (TTY 1-800-846-8517). You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (TTY: 1-800-787-3224.)

Note: Information provided in Yale Medicine articles is for general informational purposes only. No content in the articles should ever be used as a substitute for medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Always seek the individual advice of your health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition.

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About COVID-19

What is covid-19.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. It can be very contagious and spreads quickly. Over one million people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

COVID-19 most often causes respiratory symptoms that can feel much like a cold, the flu, or pneumonia. COVID-19 may attack more than your lungs and respiratory system. Other parts of your body may also be affected by the disease. Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, but some people become severely ill.

Some people including those with minor or no symptoms will develop Post-COVID Conditions – also called “Long COVID.”

How does COVID-19 spread?

COVID-19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. Other people can breathe in these droplets and particles, or these droplets and particles can land on their eyes, nose, or mouth. In some circumstances, these droplets may contaminate surfaces they touch.

Anyone infected with COVID-19 can spread it, even if they do NOT have symptoms.

The risk of animals spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to people is low. The virus can spread from people to animals during close contact. People with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should avoid contact with animals.

What are antibodies and how do they help protect me?

Antibodies are proteins your immune system makes to help fight infection and protect you from getting sick in the future. A positive antibody test result can help identify someone who has had COVID-19 in the past or has been vaccinated against COVID-19. Studies show that people who have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can improve their level of protection by getting vaccinated.

Who is at risk of severe illness from COVID-19?

Some people are more likely than others to get very sick if they get COVID-19. This includes people who are older , are immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system), have certain disabilities , or have underlying health conditions . Understanding your COVID-19 risk and the risks that might affect others can help you make decisions to protect yourself and others .

What are ways to prevent COVID-19?

There are many actions you can take to help protect you, your household, and your community from COVID-19. CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance provides actions you can take to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. These actions include steps you can take to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission (catching and spreading COVID-19) and lower the risk of severe illness if you get sick.

CDC recommends that you

Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
Practice good hygiene (practices that improve cleanliness)
Take steps for cleaner air
Stay home when sick
Seek health care promptly for testing and treatment when you are sick if you have risk factors for severe illness . Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness.

Masks , physical distancing , and tests can provide additional layers of protection.

What are variants of COVID-19?

Viruses are constantly changing, including the virus that causes COVID-19. These changes occur over time and can lead to new strains of the virus or variants of COVID-19 . Slowing the spread of the virus, by protecting yourself and others , can help slow new variants from developing. CDC is working with state and local public health officials to monitor the spread of all variants, including Omicron.

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Impact of COVID-19 on people's livelihoods, their health and our food systems

Joint statement by ilo, fao, ifad and who.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.

Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food.

The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.

Millions of agricultural workers – waged and self-employed – while feeding the world, regularly face high levels of working poverty, malnutrition and poor health, and suffer from a lack of safety and labour protection as well as other types of abuse. With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labour. Migrant agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable, because they face risks in their transport, working and living conditions and struggle to access support measures put in place by governments. Guaranteeing the safety and health of all agri-food workers – from primary producers to those involved in food processing, transport and retail, including street food vendors – as well as better incomes and protection, will be critical to saving lives and protecting public health, people’s livelihoods and food security.

In the COVID-19 crisis food security, public health, and employment and labour issues, in particular workers’ health and safety, converge. Adhering to workplace safety and health practices and ensuring access to decent work and the protection of labour rights in all industries will be crucial in addressing the human dimension of the crisis. Immediate and purposeful action to save lives and livelihoods should include extending social protection towards universal health coverage and income support for those most affected. These include workers in the informal economy and in poorly protected and low-paid jobs, including youth, older workers, and migrants. Particular attention must be paid to the situation of women, who are over-represented in low-paid jobs and care roles. Different forms of support are key, including cash transfers, child allowances and healthy school meals, shelter and food relief initiatives, support for employment retention and recovery, and financial relief for businesses, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In designing and implementing such measures it is essential that governments work closely with employers and workers.

Countries dealing with existing humanitarian crises or emergencies are particularly exposed to the effects of COVID-19. Responding swiftly to the pandemic, while ensuring that humanitarian and recovery assistance reaches those most in need, is critical.

Now is the time for global solidarity and support, especially with the most vulnerable in our societies, particularly in the emerging and developing world. Only together can we overcome the intertwined health and social and economic impacts of the pandemic and prevent its escalation into a protracted humanitarian and food security catastrophe, with the potential loss of already achieved development gains.

We must recognize this opportunity to build back better, as noted in the Policy Brief issued by the United Nations Secretary-General. We are committed to pooling our expertise and experience to support countries in their crisis response measures and efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We need to develop long-term sustainable strategies to address the challenges facing the health and agri-food sectors. Priority should be given to addressing underlying food security and malnutrition challenges, tackling rural poverty, in particular through more and better jobs in the rural economy, extending social protection to all, facilitating safe migration pathways and promoting the formalization of the informal economy.

We must rethink the future of our environment and tackle climate change and environmental degradation with ambition and urgency. Only then can we protect the health, livelihoods, food security and nutrition of all people, and ensure that our ‘new normal’ is a better one.

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Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) and COVID-19

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Understanding COVID-19

How To Protect Yourself During the Pandemic

Illustration of two men wearing masks while sitting on park benches six feet apart

COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives around the world. But we learn more about this disease every day. Scientists are developing tools that promise to slow and eventually help us overcome the pandemic.

COVID-19 is caused by a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. There are many types of coronaviruses. Some cause the common cold. Others have led to fatal disease outbreaks. These include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012, and now COVID-19.

Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. (Corona means crown.) The viruses use the spikes to help get inside your body’s cells. Once inside, they replicate, or make copies of themselves.

Scientists have learned how to turn these spikes against the virus through vaccines and treatments. They’ve also learned what you can do to protect yourself from the virus.

Protecting Yourself

You’re most likely to get COVID-19 through close contact with someone who’s infected. Coughing, sneezing, talking, and breathing produce small droplets of liquid. These are called respiratory droplets. They travel through the air and can be inhaled by someone else.

“COVID-19 is spread mainly through exposure to respiratory droplets that tend to drop within six feet,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. That’s why it’s important to stay at least six feet (about two arm lengths) away from people who don’t live with you.

“Surfaces can be contaminated. But it is likely that this is a less common cause of infection rather than person-to-person directly,” Fauci says.

You can protect yourself and others by wearing a mask. Choose one that has at least two layers of fabric. Make sure that the mask covers your mouth and nose and doesn’t leak air around the edges.

“There’s very little transmission in places where masks are worn,” says Dr. Ben Cowling at the University of Hong Kong who studies how viruses spread. Cowling found that infections were most often spread in settings where masks aren’t worn.

“Masks work. But even with mandatory masking, you still need social distancing as well,” he says. You can lower your risk by avoiding crowds. Crowds increase the risk of coming in contact with someone who has COVID-19.

What to Look For

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, headaches, fatigue, and muscle or body aches. People with COVID-19 may also lose their sense of smell or taste. Symptoms usually appear two to 14 days after being exposed to the virus.

But even people who don’t seem sick can still infect others. The CDC estimates that 50% of infections are spread by people with no symptoms. While some with this virus develop life-threatening illness, others have mild symptoms, and some never develop any.

Catching the virus is more dangerous for some groups of people. This includes older adults and people with certain medical conditions. These medical conditions include obesity, diabetes, heart and lung disease, and asthma. About 40% of Americans have at least one of these risk factors.

Getting Treatment

Better COVID-19 treatments mean that fewer people now get severely sick if they catch the virus. Scientists have been working to test available drugs against the virus. They’ve found at least two that can help people who are hospitalized with the virus.

A drug called remdesivir can reduce the time a patient spends in the hospital. A steroid called dexamethasone helps stop the The system that protects your body from invading viruses, bacteria, and other microscopic threats. immune system from reacting too strongly to the virus. That can damage body tissues and organs.

Antibody treatments are also available. Antibodies are proteins that your body makes to fight germs. Scientists have learned how to make them in the lab. Antibody treatments can block SARS-CoV-2 to prevent the illness from getting worse. They seem to have the most benefit when given early in the disease.

“Antibody treatments really do have the potential to help people, especially for treating individuals who are not yet hospitalized,” says Dr. Mark Heise, who studies the genetics of viruses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Heise is working to develop mouse models to test treatments and vaccines.

Studies are now testing combinations of treatments. “Combining drugs that target both the virus and the person’s immune response may help treat COVID-19,” says Heise. Scientists are also looking for new drugs that better target the virus.

A Shot of Hope: Vaccines

It used to take a decade or more to develop a new vaccine. In this pandemic, scientists created COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year.

The first two vaccines approved for emergency use are from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Moderna’s vaccine was co-developed with NIH scientists. Both are a new type of vaccine called mRNA vaccines. mRNA carries the genetic information for your body to make proteins.

The vaccines direct the body’s cells to make a piece of the virus called the spike protein. These proteins can’t cause illness by themselves. But they teach your immune system to make antibodies against the protein. If you encounter the virus later, the antibodies provide protection against it.

The mRNA vaccines now available were shown to be more than 90% effective in large clinical trials. They can cause side effects—such as fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, and headache. But both vaccines were found to be safe in the clinical trials.

“Get vaccinated. The vaccines are safe. They’re incredibly effective,” says Dr. Jason McLellan, an expert on coronaviruses at the University of Texas at Austin. McLellan’s research was critical in developing these vaccines. His team, along with NIH scientists, figured out how to lock the shape of the spike protein to make the most effective antibodies.

As the pandemic has gone on, new versions of the virus, or variants, have appeared. “We’re all very confident that vaccines will continue to work well against these variants,” McLellan says. “Vaccination also helps stop the development of new variants, because it provides fewer opportunities for the virus to change as it replicates.”

Many people will need to be vaccinated for the pandemic to end. Fauci estimates that 70% to 85% of the U.S. population will need to be vaccinated to get “herd immunity.” That’s the point where enough people are immune to the virus to prevent its spread. That’s important because it protects vulnerable people who can’t get vaccinated.

“It is my hope that all Americans will protect themselves by getting vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available to them,” Fauci says. “That is how our country will begin to heal and move forward.”

Questions and answers on COVID-19: Basic facts

1. what is sars-cov-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, China in 2019. SARS-CoV-2 is a new strain of coronavirus that had not been identified in humans before.

2, What is COVID-19?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

3. Where do coronaviruses come from?

Coronaviruses can infect and circulate among different animal species, such as pigs, cats or dogs. Some groups of coronaviruses also circulate among humans and cause seasonal epidemics, mostly during the winter months. Coronaviruses that circulate among humans are thought to originate from animal reservoirs.

Bats are also considered natural hosts of these viruses and have been the source of coronaviruses that have transmitted to humans and caused severe disease. Sometimes this happens through an intermediate host. For example, the first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) originated in bats and was transmitted to humans via civet cats, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in humans in 2003. About 30% of people who get SARS die; however, no human cases have been reported since 2004.

Similarly, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can transmit from camels to humans, causing MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). The first transmission was observed in 2012 and human infections are mostly limited to the Arabian Peninsula.

The precise way in which SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from animals to humans is currently unknown.

Factsheet on COVID-19

4. is sars-cov-2 comparable with sars or with the seasonal flu.

The novel coronavirus detected in China in 2019, SARS-CoV-2, is closely related to the original SARS-CoV. These viruses cause respiratory diseases known as COVID-19 and SARS, respectively. Influenza, also known as the flu, is a respiratory illness that has similar symptoms but is caused by influenza viruses, not coronaviruses.

SARS, the respiratory illness caused by the original SARS-CoV, emerged in late 2002 in China and caused more than 8 000 cases in 33 countries over the course of eight months.

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, emerged in late 2019 and spread very quickly across the globe. As SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus, most people did not have immunity against it, so the entire human population was potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection at the start of the pandemic.

Within the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 450 million cases were reported worldwide, with more than 100 million in the EU/EEA alone. Due to the nature of the disease, where some infected individuals may not have symptoms and not all individuals with symptoms will be tested, it is assumed that there are many undiagnosed cases.

The likelihood of death from COVID-19 depends on vaccination status, age and the presence of certain underlying conditions. Older age is the strongest contributing factor.

It is impossible to know when an influenza virus first infected humans, but convincing reports of influenza pandemics date back several hundred years. In a normal influenza year, about 1 in 1 000 people who develop seasonal flu die. The highest burden of disease for seasonal influenza is among children below the age of five years and in individuals older than 65 years of age.

The viruses that cause COVID-19 and seasonal flu can spread between people who are in close contact with one another. Both are mainly spread by virus-containing particles that are expelled when infected people cough, sneeze or talk. The virus that causes COVID-19 seems to spread more easily than influenza and much more easily than SARS.

Vaccines against COVID-19 have only recently become available, while influenza vaccines were developed as early as the 1930s. No vaccine is available for SARS.

5. How does SARS-CoV-2 spread?

SARS-CoV-2 is mainly spread via virus-containing particles from an infected person who sneezes, coughs, speaks, sings or breathes in close proximity to other people. Virus-containing particles can be inhaled or deposited in the nose and mouth or on the eyes.

More rarely, infection may be due to contact with surfaces contaminated with virus-infected particles.

The virus can survive on some surfaces for a few hours (copper, cardboard) and on others for up to a number of days (plastic and stainless steel). However, the amount of viable virus declines over time and it is rarely present on surfaces in sufficient amounts to cause infection.

Infection may occur when a person touches their nose, mouth or eyes with their hands if their hands have been contaminated by fluids containing the virus or by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus.

An infected person can transmit the virus up to two days before they experience symptoms, as well as while they have symptoms.

6. When is a person infectious?

SARS-CoV-2 can be detected one to three days before symptoms begin. However, detection of the virus does not necessarily mean that a person is infectious and able to spread the virus to others.

Evidence indicates that people become infectious around 48 hours before symptoms start, but are most infectious when experiencing symptoms, even if the symptoms are mild and non-specific.

Available data indicate that adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 remain infectious no longer than 10 days after symptoms begin. This estimate has been the same for variants of concern, such as Delta and Omicron. Most adults with severe to critical illness or severe immune suppression may remain infectious for up to 20 days after symptoms begin.

Evidence shows that fully-vaccinated individuals who become sick with COVID-19 (referred to as ‘breakthrough infections’) can carry comparable amounts of virus as non-vaccinated people.

7. How severe is COVID-19 infection?

Some people infected with SARS-CoV-2 will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and most will recover without requiring special treatment. COVID-19 can sometimes be a severe disease with respiratory insufficiency requiring intensive care and potentially leading to death.

Older people and those with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

Vaccinated individuals are less likely to have severe disease or to be hospitalised. The severity of COVID-19 also varies according to variant and pre-existing immunity, developed after vaccination or recovery from a prior infection.

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COVID-19 Pandemic

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 11, 2024 | Original: April 25, 2023

The outbreak of the infectious respiratory disease known as COVID-19 triggered one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history. COVID-19 claimed nearly 7 million lives worldwide. In the United States, deaths from COVID-19 exceeded 1.1 million, nearly twice the American death toll from the 1918 flu pandemic . The COVID-19 pandemic also took a heavy toll economically, politically and psychologically, revealing deep divisions in the way that Americans viewed the role of government in a public health crisis, particularly vaccine mandates. While the United States downgraded its “national emergency” status over the pandemic on May 11, 2023, the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will reverberate for decades.

A New Virus Breaks Out in Wuhan, China

In December 2019, the China office of the World Health Organization (WHO) received news of an isolated outbreak of a pneumonia-like virus in the city of Wuhan. The virus caused high fevers and shortness of breath, and the cases seemed connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, which was closed by an emergency order on January 1, 2020.

After testing samples of the unknown virus, the WHO identified it as a novel type of coronavirus similar to the deadly SARS virus that swept through Asia from 2002-2004. The WHO named this new strain SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2). The first Chinese victim of SARS-CoV-2 died on January 11, 2020.

Where, exactly, the novel virus originated has been hotly debated. There are two leading theories. One is that the virus jumped from animals to humans, possibly carried by infected animals sold at the Wuhan market in late 2019. A second theory claims the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research lab that was studying coronaviruses. U.S. intelligence agencies maintain that both origin stories are “plausible.”

The First COVID-19 Cases in America

The WHO hoped that the virus outbreak would be contained to Wuhan, but by mid-January 2020, infections were reported in Thailand, Japan and Korea, all from people who had traveled to China.

On January 18, 2020, a 35-year-old man checked into an urgent care center near Seattle, Washington. He had just returned from Wuhan and was experiencing a fever, nausea and vomiting. On January 21, he was identified as the first American infected with SARS-CoV-2.

In reality, dozens of Americans had contracted SARS-CoV-2 weeks earlier, but doctors didn’t think to test for a new type of virus. One of those unknowingly infected patients died on February 6, 2020, but her death wasn’t confirmed as the first American casualty until April 21.

On February 11, 2020, the WHO released a new name for the disease causing the deadly outbreak: Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19. By mid-March 2020, all 50 U.S. states had reported at least one positive case of COVID-19, and nearly all of the new infections were caused by “community spread,” not by people who contracted the disease while traveling abroad.

At the same time, COVID-19 had spread to 114 countries worldwide, killing more than 4,000 people and infecting hundreds of thousands more. On March 11, the WHO made it official and declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

The World Shuts Down

New York City's famous Times Square is seen nearly empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, 2020.

Pandemics are expected in a globally interconnected world, so emergency plans were in place. In the United States, health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) set in motion a national response plan developed for flu pandemics.

State by state and city by city, government officials took emergency measures to encourage “ social distancing ,” one of the many new terms that became part of the COVID-19 vocabulary. Travel was restricted. Schools and churches were closed. With the exception of “essential workers,” all offices and businesses were shuttered. By early April 2020, more than 316 million Americans were under a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order.

With more than 1,000 deaths and nearly 100,000 cases, it was clear by April 2020 that COVID-19 was highly contagious and virulent. What wasn’t clear, even to public health officials, was how individuals could best protect themselves from COVID-19. In the early weeks of the outbreak, the CDC discouraged people from buying face masks, because officials feared a shortage of masks for doctors and hospital workers.

By April 2020, the CDC revised its recommendations, encouraging people to wear masks in public, to socially distance and to wash hands frequently. President Donald Trump undercut the CDC recommendations by emphasizing that masking was voluntary and vowing not to wear a mask himself. This was just the beginning of the political divisions that hobbled the COVID-19 response in America.

Global Financial Markets Collapse

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with billions of people worldwide out of work, stuck at home, and fretting over shortages of essential items like toilet paper , global financial markets went into a tailspin.

In the United States, share prices on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted so quickly that the exchange had to shut down trading three separate times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually lost 37 percent of its value, and the S&P 500 was down 34 percent.

Business closures and stay-at-home orders gutted the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, particularly in the service sector (restaurant and other retail workers). By May 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 14.7 percent, the highest jobless rate since the Great Depression .

All across America, households felt the pinch of lost jobs and lower wages. Food insecurity reached a peak by December 2020 with 30 million American adults—a full 14 percent—reporting that their families didn’t get enough to eat in the past week.

The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, like its health effects, weren’t experienced equally. Black, Hispanic and Native Americans suffered from unemployment and food insecurity at significantly higher rates than white Americans.

Congress tried to avoid a complete economic collapse by authorizing a series of COVID-19 relief packages in 2020 and 2021, which included direct stimulus checks for all American families.

The Race for a Vaccine

A new vaccine typically takes 10 to 15 years to develop and test, but the world couldn’t wait that long for a COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration launched “ Operation Warp Speed ,” a public-private partnership which provided billions of dollars in upfront funding to pharmaceutical companies to rapidly develop vaccines and conduct clinical trials.

The first clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine was announced on March 16, 2020, only days after the WHO officially classified COVID-19 as a pandemic. The vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer were the first ever to employ messenger RNA, a breakthrough technology. After large-scale clinical trials, both vaccines were found to be greater than 95 percent effective against infection with COVID-19.

A nurse from New York officially became the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine on December 14, 2020. Ten days later, more than 1 million vaccines had been administered, starting with healthcare workers and elderly residents of nursing homes. As the months rolled on, vaccine availability was expanded to all American adults, and then to teenagers and all school-age children.

By the end of the pandemic in early 2023, more than 670 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the United States at a rate of 203 doses per 100 people. Approximately 80 percent of the U.S. population received at least one COVID-19 shot, but vaccination rates were markedly lower among Black, Hispanic and Native Americans.

COVID-19 Deaths Heaviest Among Elderly and People of Color

In America, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone’s lives, but those who died from the disease were far more likely to be older and people of color.

Of the more than 1.1 million COVID deaths in the United States, 75 percent were individuals who were 65 or older. A full 93 percent of American COVID-19 victims were 50 or older. Throughout the emergence of COVID-19 variants and the vaccine rollouts, older Americans remained the most at-risk for being hospitalized and ultimately dying from the disease.

Black, Hispanic and Native Americans were also at a statistically higher risk of developing life-threatening COVID-19 systems and succumbing to the disease. For example, Black and Hispanic Americans were twice as likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than white Americans. The COVID-19 pandemic shined light on the health disparities between racial and ethnic groups driven by systemic racism and lower access to healthcare.

Mental health also worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The anxiety of contracting the disease, and the stresses of being unemployed or confined at home, led to unprecedented numbers of Americans reporting feelings of depression and suicidal ideation.

A Time of Social & Political Upheaval

Thousands gather for the ''Get Your Knee Off Our Necks'' march in Washington DC USA, on August 28, 2020.

In the United States, the three long years of the COVID-19 pandemic paralleled a time of heightened political contention and social upheaval.

When George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020, it sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and energized the Black Lives Matter movement. Because so many Americans were out of work or home from school due to COVID-19 shutdowns, unprecedented numbers of people from all walks of life took to the streets to demand reforms.

Instead of banding together to slow the spread of the disease, Americans became sharply divided along political lines in their opinions of masking requirements, vaccines and social distancing.

By March 2024, in signs that the pandemic was waning, the CDC issued new guidelines for people who were recovering from COVID-19. The agency said those infected with the virus no longer needed to remain isolated for five days after symptoms. And on March 10, 2024, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center stopped collecting data for its highly referenced COVID-19 dashboard.

Still, an estimated 17 percent of U.S. adults reported having experienced symptoms of long COVID, according to the Household Pulse Survey. The medical community is still working to understand the causes behind long COVID, which can afflict a patient for weeks, months or even years.

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“CDC Museum COVID Timeline.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . “Coronavirus: Timeline.” U.S. Department of Defense . “COVID-19 and Related Vaccine Development and Research.” Mayo Clinic . “COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Race/Ethnicity: Current Data and Changes Over Time.” Kaiser Family Foundation . “Number of COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. by Age.” Statista . “The Pandemic Deepened Fault Lines in American Society.” Scientific American . “Tracking the COVID-19 Economy’s Effects on Food, Housing, and Employment Hardships.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities . “U.S. Confirmed Country’s First Case of COVID-19 3 Years Ago.” CNN .

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The COVID-19 pandemic as a scientific and social challenge in the 21st century

Vassilios zoumpourlis.

1 Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 11635 Athens, Greece

Maria Goulielmaki

Emmanouil rizos.

2 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, 2nd Department of Psychiatry, University ‘ATTIKON’ General Hospital, 12462 Athens, Greece

Stella Baliou

Demetrios a. spandidos.

3 Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece

Associated Data

Not applicable.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has spread around the globe with unprecedented consequences for the health of millions of people. While the pandemic is still in progress, with new incidents being reported every day, the resilience of the global society is constantly being challenged. Under these circumstances, the future seems uncertain. SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has spread panic among civilians and insecurity at all socio-political and economic levels, dramatically disrupting everyday life, global economy, international travel and trade. The disease has also been linked to the onset of depression in many individuals due to the extreme restriction measures that have been taken for the prevention of the rapid spreading of COVID-19. First, the socio-economic, political and psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic were explored. Substantial evidence is provided for the consequences of the pandemic on all aspects of everyday life, while at the same time we unravel the role and the pursuits of national regimes during this unforeseen situation. The second goal of this review is related to the scientific aspect of the pandemic. Hence, we explain why SARS-CoV-2 is not a so-called ‘invisible enemy’, and also attempt to give insight regarding the origin of the virus, in an effort to reject the conspiracy theories that have arisen during the pandemic. Finally, rational strategies were investigated for successful vaccine development. We are optimistic that this review will complement the knowledge of specialized scientists and inform non-specialized readers on basic scientific questions, and also on the social and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Introduction

What we have experienced during the current pandemic is an unprecedented situation with World War characteristics. For younger generations who have heard about the World War II only through the stories of our parents and grandparents, books, movies and documentaries, the current situation will be recorded in our memories as a modern form of a new World War.

2. Death and the solitude of the dead

For many people, this period of the pandemic will be recorded in their memory as a tragedy, as they have lost either loved ones or their jobs and look forward to the future with great uncertainty. ‘ Everyone dies like dogs, like pigs, I'm not ashamed to admit that. It's not fair that dad died like that. People say they were old, they were sick. But he was my father, he was not old and he was not sick […]. Here in Val Seriana you can only hear the sirens of ambulances and the bells of mourning ’ ( 1 ). This was the testimony of a young lady from the tormented Italian city of Bergamo. Italy is one the seven largest International Monetary Fund (IMF)-advanced economies in the world, which comprise the Group of 7 (G7). Such a ‘major advanced economy’ could not provide its doctors with safe masks, such a ‘great industrial power’ ran out of gloves and consumables, like most other affluent countries in the world, resulting in the infection and death of doctors and nurses, the frontline fighters who had been discredited and insulted before the pandemic and praised and applauded during its progression. Tragedies were the suicides of nurses due to their inability to cope with the insurmountable pressure and the burden of many patient deaths. Furthermore, lamentable news of unclaimed dead people in USA and Italy reminded the inhumanity of the society. The sense of unbearable solitude has been overwhelming as if their death did not matter to anyone. No one cared, at least not enough to pay their last respects to the dead.

3. Many questions arise from the words ‘cost-profit’

There are many questions concerning the frequency of zoonotic virus-related epidemics and pandemics in the last twenty years, the strengths and weaknesses of various health systems around the world and the weakness of the ‘developed’ world to cope with the ‘invisible viral invaders - enemies’ of public health, in the 21st century and during the so-called 4th industrial revolution. However, if one was to take into account all of these questions together, one basic question would emerge; how much is the life or death of a fellow human worth in the 21st century? In the era of the current pandemic, the answer to such a question, and all types of questions related to it, is defined by a ‘cost-benefit’ assessment, entangled with the existing social system. The current prevailing approach of minimising expenditure and maximising profit, limits the potential of the public health sector, with consequences that have become evident during the current pandemic.

The Latin-American revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, physician by training, stated that ‘ the life of a single human being is worth a million time more than all the property of the richest man on earth ’ and he continued: ‘ medicine will have to convert itself into a science that serves to prevent disease and orients the public toward carrying out its medical duties. Medicine should only intervene in cases of extreme urgency, to perform surgery or something else which lies outside the skills of the people ’ ( 2 ).

In the antipodes of these views, lie the statements made by the Bundestag president and former finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. While Germany was mourning the deaths of more than 5,600 people from the new coronavirus, and was yet to calculate the damage caused by the quarantine to the state's economy, Schäuble warned that the state cannot solve all the problems and argued that he did not consider politics obliged to plan everything out in order to protect human life. Referring to the relaxation of restrictive measures, Schäuble stated that ‘ we cannot trust the decision exclusively to epidemiologists, but we must also weigh the significant economic, social, psychological or other consequences. If we close everything for two years, the consequences will be terrible ’. And he concluded: ‘ When I hear that everything is receding in front of the protection of human life, I must say that this is not absolute. The basic human rights have to be restricted on both sides. If there is one absolute value in our Constitution, it is human dignity. This is inviolable. But that doesn't rule out that one day we will die ’ ( 3 ).

4. The ‘invisible enemy’ from a scientific perspective

The two-month confinement due to the restrictive measures, formed the basis for us to reflect on ourselves our friends and family and society, and appreciate the concepts of solidarity, volunteering and sacrifice. Member of the scientific community were also concerned about news reports describing the new coronavirus as an ‘invisible enemy’.

The phrase ‘invisible enemy’ sounds almost metaphysical to scientists. In a way it takes us back to the dark ages, when mankind lacked scientific knowledge and technological tools. Such expressions deconstruct rational thinking when one tries to identify the causality of a phenomenon, reinforcing conspiracy theories about new biological weapons or secret and uncontrollable forces. They support the idea that the world is falling apart and that we are unable to reverse this process and, most importantly, to envision a new world that has mankind in its focal point. They give us the impression that invisible enemy forces are conspiring against us, while the confinement measures which isolate us from the community, reinforce these existential crises. Terrifying television news reports are enhancing these effects: In Russia, civilians have been monitored by cameras in every building block and the offenders have been tracked down in real time by the nearby police ( 4 ). Dozens of robots have been released in the centre of Tunis, patrolling and checking whether civilians comply with the COVID-19 restrictive measures ( 5 ): pedestrians are no longer inspected by police officers, but by robots, the so-called P-Guards, which behave exactly like officers, stopping pedestrians and asking for personal documents. Robots, of course, function through an intercom system. The officers at the Ministry of Interior are the ones giving the orders that are executed by the robots. In the streets of Israel, armed soldiers have been inspecting whether the measures against the coronavirus are being followed by the residents ( 6 ). To many, the coronavirus pandemic serves as an excuse for a global-scale exercise, aiming to control social consciousness. A variety of weapons from the quiver are used: conspiracy theories regarding the construction of SARS-CoV-2 in a secret laboratory in Wuhan, China, a special phraseology regarding an ‘invisible enemy’, which is unfortunately adopted by some science spokesmen, the constant display of images that reinforce fear and panic by the media, the presentation of the state as consistent with its duties, and most importantly, the notion that the course of the pandemic is being defined by the responsibility of the individuals instead of the establishment of a robust public health system. The results of this exercise will be manifested in the post-epidemic era and in the context of a new global economic recession that is already taking place.

The dynamics and connotations of words and images, can influence or even transform the consciousness of each individual to a certain extent and, consequently, affect social consciousness. Rarely is a word neutral. It carries our energy and our aim with it. Modern science (neurology, biology, anthropology, linguistics, etc.) can confirm this notion, as every single word is a process of thoughts that are the result of hormonal, biochemical and metabolic alterations, and electrical charges or discharges of our neurons ( 7 ). We should not forget that the main goal of the targeter is to look indeterminable, incomprehensible, inaccessible, powerful, invincible, and invisible if possible (here we are not referring to SARS-CoV-2, but to the economic elite that define global social policies). When the root of the problem is traced within the DNA of the targeter, in our attempt to defend ourselves to survive the attack and to confront the enemy, we must come up with a plan for its total elimination. It is important to first record and then analyze the targeter's plan. We must study its purpose, what it seeks from its target, which in this case is us. Marx has already answered these questions as early as mid-19th century, with the phrase ‘ The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it ’ ( 8 ). For such a change it is necessary for the targeter to become the target and for the target to become the targeter, in the context of a scientific plan for social transformation that will move us, excite us and, as a shining star, guide us into the future. And in these imprinted thoughts we must search where they come from and where they may lead us to. Only then will we be able to understand whether they are good or bad. As Hölderlin wrote in ‘Patmos’: ‘ But where there is danger, Salvation also grows’ . It is a nice expression of the Heraclitean struggle of the opposites ( 9 ), which at the socio-political level may be translated as the struggle of the social classes.

5. Is SARS-CoV-2 indeed invisible?

The total number of publications on the new coronavirus (nCoV-2019) since the first reported case in China, is impressive. Notably, until the 16th June 2020, 22,792 articles related to COVID-19 had been published in PubMed-indexed journals ( Fig. 1 ), as well as 5,244 pre-prints in medRxiv and bioRxiv. These numbers give a very important message: The scientific community is alert, and most importantly, that SARS-CοV-2 is not ‘invisible’ and, hopefully, not invincible for too long.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
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Graphic presentation of the total number of publications per month regarding SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Presentation is of the monthly number of publications that were recorded in PubMed, from the 1st of December 2019, i.e., the first recorded case, until the 16th of June 2020.

Surely, when it first emerged, the virus was unknown, and so was its relation to the human immune system, and its general pathophysiology. Today, however, following the identification of more than 11 million cases through the use of specific molecular tests and the recovery of millions of patients, we know that the immune system reacts adequately in the vast majority of the cases. The clinical manifestations of the virus and its unique behaviour towards various vulnerable groups have been recorded in detail. There are asymptomatic and slightly symptomatic people who do not get sick, but act as carriers and reservoirs for the disease. A large number of data already exists on the genetic identity of the various strains of the virus. The genomes of many thousand different viral strains have been sequenced. SARS-CoV-2 is the 7th coronavirus to be historically recorded and using bioinformatic tools, it has been classified as a member of the Coronaviridae β family ( 10 ). The coronaviruses responsible for the SARS and MERS epidemics ( 10 – 12 ), that were discovered in 2002 and 2012, respectively, also belong to the group of β-coronaviruses; SARS-CoV-2 genome is composed of 30,000 bases, harbouring approximately 10 genes, with functions that are implicated in viral structure and function ( 10 ). Viral spike proteins interact with their receptors on the surface of epithelial cells ( 10 – 12 ). A study including SARS-CoV-2 genomes from 7,666 patients with COVID-19 from around the world, identified 198 recurrent genetic mutations of the virus, which appear to have occurred independently, more than once ( 13 ). The main conclusions from this study highlight the following: i) A large portion of the global gene diversity of the new coronavirus has been recorded in all countries affected by the pandemic. This finding indicates that there has been an extensive transmission of the virus on a global scale since the very early stages of the epidemic, which also means that in most countries there has not been a single ‘patient zero’, but more likely, the virus has intruded independently several times and via different routes. ii) New phylogenetic findings confirm that the virus emerged towards the end of 2019, before it began its rapid global transmission. iii) All coronavirus genomes from patients around the world appear to have originated from a common ancestor that seemed to emerge between 6th October and 11th December 2019. At that point, the new coronavirus must have been transmitted from an animal to the first human and to have caused an infection in that human. iv) Researchers believe it is highly unlikely that the coronavirus had been circulating among humans for a long time before it was detected in Wuhan, China, last December. v) Although the number of the detected mutations is large, this cannot thus far be correlated to the virulence and the severity of the virus. Several research teams around the world, including Greece, are conducting similar studies ( 14 ). The collection of a large number of genomic data and its correlation with the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 will lead to more accurate conclusions regarding the possibility of increased virulence due to frequent mutations, to the design of safe vaccines and therapeutics, as well as to our preparation for the possibility of an impending second wave of the pandemic. vi) A large number of mutations (15 in total) have been identified in the gene that encodes for the spike protein S (the protein that comes into contact with the target cell, e.g., lung epithelial cells), while other sites are far less frequently mutated and could, according to researchers, be much better targets for the development of effective therapeutics and vaccines ( 15 ).

6. The right strategy for vaccine development

Genomic analyses and the identification of highly conserved sequences will determine the right strategy for the design of vaccines and drugs with long lasting effects, which will not be easily evaded by the virus. For this purpose, Academic professionals of various scientific expertise (Molecular Biologists, Doctors, Epidemiologists, Statisticians, Pharmacists, Immunologists, Structural Biologists, Bioinformaticians, etc.) must work together in harmony in order to achieve the best possible result, i.e., an effective treatment against the new coronavirus. It is important to determine whether the already known viral mutations are beneficial or neutral or whether they contribute to the aggressiveness of the disease. This information can be reliably deduced from collaborative studies that combine clinical and demographic data with the type of mutations, the dynamics of mutations in the structure of the S protein, and the correlation of the altered S protein structure with the receptor protein of the host cell ( 15 ). Of particular interest are the 15 already known mutations in the gene that encode for the viral spike protein S which is essentially regarded as the tip of the viral spear, the first to come in contact with the receptor of the host cell. In this battle for viral replication, i.e., in the battle of ‘opposite pursuits’, some will be victorious and some will be defeated. For the patient, this is phenotypically translated into being asymptomatic, slightly symptomatic and symptomatic (diseased). Evolutionary Biology has taught us that mutations can be either beneficial, neutral, or harmful to the organism. This depends on how the mutation affects the survival and reproduction of each organism, including the new coronavirus. A more aggressive type of the new coronavirus has been found to account for approximately 70% of the 30 analysed strains, while only 30% of the analysed strains were associated with a less aggressive viral subtype. The most aggressive and deadly strain was identified in the early stages of the Wuhan epidemic, the Chinese city that the coronavirus first appeared in, and now scientists are trying to decode all possible mutations and to determine which strains have emerged in each geographic area ( 16 ).

Based on these data, the statement that the virus is ‘unknown’ or, even worse, an ‘invisible enemy’, is at the very best a statement made out of habit or, in the worst case scenario, a statement which could become offensive to the research scientists that are working on it.

Interestingly, more than 1,000,000 scientists are currently estimated to be involved in basic and clinical-epidemiological research on the new coronavirus worldwide. Plenty of information regarding the biology and the pathophysiology of the virus has already become available and this is perhaps the most optimistic message for a rational and effective design of therapeutics and vaccines against COVID-19. At least 40 putative drugs are currently under evaluation in 500 clinical trials worldwide. Remdesivir and two immunomodulatory antibodies used in other diseases are already being tested against the coronavirus, and ongoing clinical trials will undoubtedly shed more light on the effectiveness of these drugs. The clinical trials on monoclonal antibodies that target the viral proteins (mainly the S protein) and inactivate the virus are also of significant interest, as they have been proven to be effective in many pre-clinical studies.

Based on the existing experience, it seems that one cannot apply the same anti-COVID-19 treatment to all patients; the type of treatment is highly dependent on the stage of the disease. In the early stages, antiviral factors that inhibit the viral reproduction enzymes, such as remdesivir, favipiravir, EIDD-2801, as well as antibodies against the viral proteins or the viral cellular receptor, ACE2, play a major role in effectively clearing the disease before it can progress to more advanced stages. In the advanced stages of the disease, however, immunomodulatory drugs, such as antibodies against IL-6, CCR5, and C5a receptors, as well as anti-coagulation drugs and drugs used in microvascular inflammatory disease, appear to be more effective ( 17 ).

In addition to the above therapeutic approaches, immunotherapy may also constitute another effective means against COVID-19, with significant research experience already gained in this field. People who have recovered from a coronavirus infection are being encouraged to donate their plasma for the treatment of other patients. Such studies are being conducted all over the world ( 17 ).

The high degree of initiative of a significant number of companies around the globe for the development of an effective vaccine against the new coronavirus is impressive. The very form of this pandemic, with its especially devastating consequences for global economy, the uncertainty of a new disease outbreak, and the small percentage of recorded immunity in the world's population ( 18 ), have put several companies of the most developed countries in a race of relentless competition. In such cases, there can only be one winner to receive the gold medal, although the rest may actually not lose too much, as the majority of these ‘losers’ will have received state funding; in this case the tax payers' money will have been used to ‘cushion’ the imminent recession they themselves will have caused with their laws of economy. The demand for the vaccine will be huge, the profit will exceed every expectation, and will therefore provide a secure investment ‘for the sake of humanity’.

Today, on 28th June 2020, there are as many as 40 programs on vaccine development, out of which 7 vaccines are already being tested in humans all over the world. Among the leading companies are CanSino Biologics (Beijing), which uses an adenoviral vector, and Sinovac (Beijing), which uses an inactivated virus (PiCoVacc). In the United Kingdom, researchers at the University of Oxford are testing the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine which includes an adenoviral vector and the spike protein S. In the United States, Inovio Pharmaceuticals is testing a DNA type vaccine. The American company Moderna has also developed an RNA vaccine in collaboration with NIH. There is also BNT162, a four-vaccine program developed by the German biotechnological company BioNTech and Pfizer pharmaceutics; the four vaccines represent different viral mRNA antigens that are used as targets ( 17 ). In addition, in early April, Veronika Skvortsova, the head of Russia's Federal Biomedical Agency (FMBA), announced that Russia had created seven novel anti-coronavirus vaccines ready to enter clinical trials ( 19 ). Experience with influenza virus has shown that vaccines are usually effective for 40–60% of the people who get vaccinated, but this rate is sufficient to control the infection fully within the community. In addition, anti-flu vaccines are modified yearly, in an effort to effectively protect against new strains.

7. The ‘competitive nature’ of man and reality

Those who dream of another, humanistic world, know very well that if all scattered scientific forces that are currently dealing with the vaccine against the coronavirus were united for a common purpose, i.e., to serve the supreme good of human health, in a continuous exchange and sharing of scientific knowledge, the goal of the vaccine would be realised much sooner, spending much less effort and funds. Others believe that competition acts as a catalyst for the realisation of the ultimate goal, which in this case is the production of the vaccine. Many also believe that competition is a basic characteristic of human nature. But there is another apprehension. Competition is not a characteristic of human nature as projected by certain socio-biologists who like to compare, and even equate, human societies with animal communities. Competition is not something that man carries since birth as a biological evolutionary trait. It appears only when the necessary social structures and relationships are formed, when a person or a group of people may possess materials of nature and means of production and the rest of the people act as their employees. Therefore, competition should be looked for within the social structures and in the relationships between people and the means of production. In other words, competition among people is a relationship that, if it were to be ablated, the ‘original’ non-competitive intellectual man, the Nietzschean superhuman, would emerge in a course of civilisation that would allow the realisation of one Utopia after another.

The hominization process of Homo sapiens was a huge leap forward in evolution. The conquest of nature by man began with the development of manual workmanship. The development of labour helped to strengthen the bonds of mutual assistance and joint activity. Mutual working activity has contributed to the need to communicate with articulated speech and language, which has been recorded in human history as culture. Therefore, because of work, humans were able to conquer the forces of nature, obliging them to serve their purpose. On the contrary, the animals adapt to the forces of nature and are not able to consciously influence them, to tame them. This is the most essential feature that distinguishes humans from animals.

To be in the position that he is today, Man has fought against the immense forces of nature, he has managed to subdue them and emerge victorious, because he had to respond to something deeper. He responded to the necessity to improve his life, to create culture. It is not by coincidence that many inventors who defined the course of humanity through their discoveries, apart from possessing scientific knowledge, they were inspired people, devoted to the common good. After all, the great meaning of life is for all humanity to enjoy the discoveries and inventions of the inspired creators. This is now known to require another social organisation plan that people will understand, believe in and fight for its realisation.

9. The extreme rivalries among the powerful of the world may have an economic basis

In the context of the ‘invisible enemy’, extreme rivalries have emerged among the powerful of the world. Some politicians, led by the US president, have insisted that the virus is a fabrication of China's secret laboratories ( 20 , 21 ). Such statements can be taken as seriously as those made by the President of the United States… solarium and disinfectant injections to treat the coronavirus infection. Respectively, China insists on denying allegations by the US government that it has been negligent in dealing with the epidemic and in not notifying the global community early enough ( 22 ). More specifically, through the newspaper ‘People's Daily’, China poses a series of questions to the US government, substantiated as follows: they accuse the US government that after ‘inadequately dealing with the outbreak’, they are now ‘shifting the responsibilities’ to China. In particular, they provoke the US government to provide answers regarding the sudden closure of the US Army's biological weapons laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA, following a pneumonia outbreak and a simultaneous H1N1 virus epidemic last July. The Chinese also point out that two months after the exercise event 201 for a global pandemic, held by various US organizations in October 2019, the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Wuhan, wondering as to a possible relevance between these events ( 22 ). They report that Robert Redfield, head of the CDC (US Infectious Diseases Center), also acknowledged that some of the COVID-19 victims had been diagnosed with the seasonal flu, which has killed more than 20,000 people since last September ( 23 ). The majority know from personal experience that ‘when the buffaloes fight, the frogs pay for it’, the frogs being the humble people around the world. It is certain that in the near future the economic rivalries among the most powerful will intensify, as can be understood from the information presented in Table I .

Estimated global ranking by GDP in PPP terms (2 billion US dollars at fixed 2016 prices) ( 24 ).

	2016 Ranking		2030 Ranking		2050 Ranking

Ranking by GDP (PPP)	Country	GDP in PPP	Country	GDP in PPP	Country	GDP in PPP
1	China	21,269	China	38,008	China	58,499
2	USA	18,562	USA	23,475	India	44,128
3	India	8,721	India	19,511	USA	34,102
4	Japan	4,932	Japan	5,606	Indonesia	10,502
5	Germany	3,979	Indonesia	5,424	Brazil	7,540
6	Russia	3,745	Russia	4,736	Russia	7,131
7	Brazil	3,135	Germany	4,707	Mexico	6,863

GDP, gross domestic product; PPP, purchasing power parity.

John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC and one of the authors of the relevant report, states the following: ‘ We will continue to see a shift in the global economic power from the advanced economies to the emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere. By 2050, the E7 countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey) will produce approximately 50% of the world GDP, while the share of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA) will marginally exceed 20% ’ ( Table I ) ( 24 ).

10. There is irrefutable evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is not only contagious but also highly related to social class

While the pandemic was still in its infancy in the United States, with a reported 400,000 cases and 13,000 deaths from the new coronavirus, statistical analyses revealed the following: In Chicago, African Americans make up 30% of the population, but they seem to account for 70% of the total number of people who have died from COVID-19 in this large city. In Illinois, the African-American population is 14%, yet the death toll in this sub-group is 41%. Similarly, in Milwaukee, African-Americans make up 26% of the population but the victims exceed 80%. Surely this picture is not unrelated to the social inequalities that reflect the material basis of racism in a country where the financially less-privileged cannot have access to either (private) insurance or healthy living conditions. According to the UN's International Labor Organization, 1.25 billion workers out of the world's 3.3 billion are at high risk of suffering ‘drastic and catastrophic’ consequences, such as layoffs and pay cuts, as a result of the economic measures taken during the pandemic ( 25 ).

According to a report published in Lancet which includes tens of thousands COVID-19 cases from China, depicting mortality rates per region of the country, it appears that in areas where the population had substantial access to satisfactory health care services, the mortality rate (deaths in % of patients) was 0–0.3%, while in areas where for various reasons there was no such possibility, the mortality rate was more than tenfold higher (3–5%) ( 26 ). In an ideal situation, however, if 10% of the 7 trillion (!) monetary funds held by the 500 Croesuses who make up 0.0000066% of the world's population were committed to helping those who are less-privileged financially, we would all feel that the pandemic was just an annoying nightmare that would go away the moment we opened our eyes. The virus is therefore contagious and social class-related as the effects of the various economic measures undertaken globally have been unequally distributed on existing social class territory ( 27 ).

A recent report from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) includes statistics on the number of coronavirus-related deaths (COVID-19) and the total number of deaths recorded in Scotland in the weeks 1 to 19 of 2020. Regarding COVID-19 deaths recorded in March and April 2020, it was observed that people in the most deprived areas were 2.3 times more likely to die of COVID than those living in the least deprived areas. If an area is recognized as deprived, this may be related to low-income, but it may also mean fewer resources or opportunities, such as employment, education, health, access to services, crime and housing. In week 19 (4 to 10 May), the Health Board area with the highest number of deaths involving COVID-19 was Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 126 deaths (also the highest number of COVID-19 deaths to date: 1,038). The Health Board area with the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths to date has also been Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 8.8 deaths per population of 10,000 ( Fig. 2 ) ( 28 ).

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Deaths involving COVID-19 in Scotland. Registered between weeks 1 and 19 (beginning of year to 10th of May 2020), by the Health Board of residence, Scotland ( 28 ).

11. The conspiracy theories as an antidote to the scientific truth

The struggle for the ‘paternity’ of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between US and Chinese officials is indicative of the contradictions that exist between these two very powerful economic forces in the world ( 23 ).

Regardless of such statements made by political officials with powerful economic status, scientists must first and foremost use strict scientific criteria and, based on published scientific data, form an opinion as to the possibility, or not, of a laboratory construction of the virus with biological warfare purposes. Having acquired enough information on the new coronavirus, we dispel such myths and conspiracy theories.

Scenarios for a laboratory construction of the virus are based on the work entitled ‘A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence’ ( 26 ). In this report, the authors point out that the 2002–2003 emergence of SARS-CoV introduced the possibility of epidemics in human populations by viruses of animal origin and opened up a new topic for discussion in the scientific community. They also refer to influenza viruses (H5N1, H1N1, H7N9) and the MERS-CoV coronavirus, and point out that previous studies have demonstrated the existence of closely related SARS-like viral genes in Chinese bat populations. However, the authors conclude that the presence of SARS-like genes in bats alone does not mean that these are indeed SARS viruses, nor does it mean that they can infect humans. Based on these concerns, they introduced the question of whether these potentially SARS horseshoe bat viruses (mainly found in China) are capable of infecting humans and thereby of causing a new SARS epidemic ( 26 ).

The first approach, which included electronic simulation experiments, showed that no spike of the bat virus is predicted to attach to the human cell receptor. They then performed pseudotyping experiments; that is, they stripped a murine SARS virus of its genetic material, and re-coated it with the nucleocapsid of a horseshoe bat virus. In all cases, the pseudotyped viruses failed to infect both mouse and human cells. The latest experimental approach involved the use of chimeric viruses consisting of a SARS-CoV mouse-adapted backbone and a novel spike protein isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats, that is both the genetic material of a murine SARS virus with a bat spike protein encoding gene and a complete murine SARS virus capsid-enclosure (minus the bat spike protein). The recombinant viruses successfully managed to infect both mouse and human cells in vitro . In this case, the in vitro approaches served as an indication of what can happen in vivo . Following this, the researchers infected mice with the recombinant viruses and managed to cause SARS disease in these animals, with profound related symptoms. Young infected mice showed 10% weight loss with no reported deaths, whereas older mice presented with greater weight loss and low mortality rates. This way the research team managed to create an in vivo model to use as a platform for testing various therapeutic protocols. Antibodies to SARS-CoV (2002–2003 virus) had little or no effect on alleviating the disease in mice infected with the recombinant virus. In addition, the vaccine, developed against SARS-CoV (DIV), did not seem to offer any protection, but it produced significant side effects in these animals ( 26 ).

In their Nature Medicine report, the researchers also describe the experiments performed on the horseshoe bat virus. This virus infects both mouse and human cells but with a profound delay in viral replication. Infection of mice with the horseshoe bat virus did not seem to induce weight loss and viral replication was slow as compared to SARS-CoV. If we were to take into account all of the above experiments, i.e., the experiments with recombinant viruses and the experiments with the horseshoe bat virus, we could reach the following conclusion: in order for the horseshoe bat virus to become more infectious and to be able to infect humans, it would need to undergo additional adaptations or adjustments. Viruses can acquire these adaptations selectively, as for example when a bat virus crosses the species barrier and is passed on to an intermediate host. In the new host, the spike protein acquires the necessary adaptive mutations to facilitate improved infection and eventually the ability to infect humans. Another possibility is that humans are directly infected by the horseshoe bat virus and human contact with other animals that also carry the virus eventually leads to continuous human re-infections until, due to random mutational events, the deadly variant emerges ( 26 ).

Most likely, however, horseshoe bat viruses have the potential to infect humans. And since coronaviruses are well-known for their ability to easily recombine in nature, this recombination is suggested to take place in an intermediate host and to pass on to humans thereafter. In all cases, the best and perhaps most ideal place for this to happen is in the markets of the Far East, as indicated by the metagenomics data analysis of this review. In these places thousands of people gather in front of stalls selling all kinds of wild and domestic animals every day, from bats to pangolins, palm civets, hens, pigs, and whatever else comes to mind. These so-called wet markets, due to the animals being slaughtered on the spot, are characterized by high species interaction, which is regarded as the necessary prerequisite for continuous viral exchange (zoonoses) among these animals.

Notably, the 2015 report in Nature Medicine constituted a warning to the global scientific community, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the political powers of the world, before the emergence of the pandemic. Let it be clear to the scientific community as well as to the general public that the recombinant virus, built to fulfil the needs of the particular study, has nothing to do with COVID-19. The virus is therefore not ‘man-made’.

The genomic and bioinformatic analyses of the aforementioned studies, as well as the results of previous studies, confirm that the virus originated in bats and this way put an end to all conspiracy theories regarding this issue. In addition, despite the high sequence identity of SARS-CoV-2 to SARS-CoV and a bat coronavirus named RaTG13, it remains to be confirmed whether SARS-CoV-2 has other hosts in addition to bats ( 29 ). Of particular interest is that a Malayan pangolin-isolated coronavirus was shown to exhibit 100, 98.6, 97.8 and 90.7% amino acid identity with SARS-CoV-2 in the E, M, N and S genes, respectively, with the receptor-binding domain within the S protein of the Pangolin-CoV, in particular, being almost virtually identical to that of SARS-CoV-2 (one noncritical amino acid difference) ( 29 ). In addition, apart from the high percentage of Pangolin-CoV-infected animals (17 of 25 Malayan pangolins), circulating antibodies against Pangolin-CoV in these animals also appeared to react with the S protein of SARS-CoV-2. These results highly suggest that: i) recombination of a Pangolin-CoV-like virus with a Bat-CoV-RaTG13-like virus might have occurred as an initiating event for the formation of SARS-CoV-2; and ii) Malayan pangolins have the potential to act as the intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, thereby representing a future threat to public health if wildlife trade is not appropriately controlled ( 29 ).

In addition, Stylianos Antonarakis, the Greek professor of genetics at the University of Geneva and former president of the International Organization of the Human Genome (HUGO), has used bioinformatics tools to prove that the virus is not laboratory-made. His study was translated into a letter to Professor and Nobel-prize Laureate winner Luc Montagnier, who has repeatedly stated that the virus was man-made ( 30 ).

In his letter to Luc Montagnier, Professor Antonarakis stressed the following ( 31 ):

‘ You know very well that science is based on facts, not opinions, and therefore please forgive me for being sceptical about the accuracy of your statement. Using publicly available bioinformatics tools and virus genomes in international databases, I compared the coronavirus genome with the genome of HIV. I would like to remind the reader that the coronavirus has a genome that consists of an RNA chain and the total length of its genetic material is 29,903 ribonucleotides, which I will refer to as ‘letters’ from now on ’.

‘ To be precise, I compared the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus isolated from the city of Wuhan in China and submitted it to the public database Genbank on January 5th, 2020, with the accession number {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"MN908947.3","term_id":"1798172431","term_text":"MN908947.3"}} MN908947.3 . Please bear in mind that this is the first sequence of the new coronavirus submitted to the public database by the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and the School of Public Health, Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and published in the Nature journal. Comparison with the genome of the virus causing AIDS (taxid 11676) revealed a partial homology of 38 letters between the SARS-CoV-2 virus and HIV, as shown in the relevant graph ( Fig. 3 ) ’.

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Partial homology between SARS-CoV-2 virus and HIV. On the top line are the letters of the coronavirus genome (from the letters 14,366 to 14,403) and below are the homologous part of the virus causing AIDS. The vertical lines show the identical letters between the two genomes.

‘ A-ha, you will say here with emphasis, Professor Montagnier, that your conclusion is correct. However, if you analyze the data a little more extensively and carefully, I strongly argue that your conclusion is completely wrong, for the following reasons: First: This homology of genomic letters has been found in all the members of the human coronavirus family that have been studied since 2004. Therefore, this precludes a recently performed laboratory manipulation on the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In addition, the same homology has also been found in many bat-coronaviruses that have also been identified several years ago ( 31 ). Second: this homology of genomic letters is also present in thousands of other viruses (distant cousins of coronaviruses) such as the infectious virus of bronchitis, chicken and turkey viruses of infectious bronchitis, and even rabies viruses. It is therefore obvious that this homology of the very small portion of the virus genome is a remnant of the evolutionary process of viral genomes in nature and not the result of laboratory manipulation ’.

‘ My intention, Professor Montagnier, is not to diminish the importance of your previous contribution to science and humanity, but to make it clear in a public forum that a careful examination of the data definitively rules out the possibility that this new virus may be a laboratory product ’.

Notably, new evidence suggests that a significant proportion of the population, mostly people who tend to be more dependent on social media for information, are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and less likely to follow official health advice and restriction measures ( 32 ). While the majority of extreme conspiracies have been banned from a significant number of electronic platforms, a wealth of conspiratorial material still exists on the big social media sites and continues to misinform and mislead the general public. In this context, unregulated social media misinformation may pose as a significant health risk to the general public by creating a negative association between health-protective behaviours and the spreading of COVID-19 ( 33 ).

In addition to the conspiracy theories on the nature and origins of the pandemic, two major study retractions have recently left scientists skeptical not only as to the quality of scientific research, but also regarding the efficacy of the peer review process and the credibility of respected medical journals ( 34 ). The first article, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, promised that commonly prescribed blood-pressure medication was safe to use by people infected by the new coronavirus, whereas the second article, published in the Lancet, issued a warning that the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine endangered the lives of coronavirus patients. Notably, the second retracted paper claimed to rely on detailed medical records from 96,000 COVID-19 patients at nearly 700 hospitals on six continents ( 35 ), yet the scientific community had not heard of this enormous international registry. Despite claims that these admissions, which in the space of one month turned into hasty retractions, were due to an eagerness to publish helpful information during the pandemic, the editor in chief of The Lancet, Dr Richard Horton, called the paper retracted by his journal a ‘ fabrication ’ and a ‘ monumental fraud ’ ( 34 ).

It appears that research during the pandemic is taking place at an unprecedented pace, with both journal editors and research scientists who donate time in the peer reviewing process being overwhelmed with new information, trying to understand the pathophysiology of the coronavirus, or to elucidate effective treatments and vaccines. And it is during this time, when the academic system has stretched its capacity thin, that political motivation seizes the opportunity to step in. Indeed, the politicization of the pandemic is suspected to have played a role in the article published in The Lancet, if only to rebuke the US President, Mr Donald Trump, who vigorously endorsed hydroxychloroquine as both preventive and curative treatment for COVID-19 ( 34 ). This study resulted in the WHO and other health organizations halting clinical trials before substantial reviews could be conducted on the safety of these anti-malarial drugs, with immediate repercussions for many thousand patients worldwide.

12. Thoughts regarding international research on the viral origins

Ahead of the General Assembly of the WHO on May 20–28, 2020, it seems that several proposals are being reviewed as part of an international research conduct on the origins of SARS-COV-2. On the 30th of April 2020, the Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren said that Sweden is planning to ask the European Union to push for the probe, stating ‘ When the global situation of COVID-19 is under control, it is both reasonable and important that an international, independent investigation be conducted to gain knowledge about the origin and spread of the coronavirus ’ ( 36 ). Accordingly, the UN envoy to China Chen Xu expressed backing for the WHO but said an invitation for the agency's experts to visit Wuhan to look into the origins of the coronavirus must wait until after the pandemic is beaten ( 37 ). Specifically, he said: ‘ First things first: The top priority for the time being is to focus on the fight against the pandemic. We need the right focus and allocation of our resources ’. All of the above can be seen as positive messages in a coordinated global effort to tackle COVID-19. In the end, it seems that of the few things that can unite the world, even if only temporarily, are the issues relating to the consequences of the current pandemic or the pandemics that will follow with ‘mathematical precision’

13. The lack of prevention strategies against the SARS- COV-2 pandemic

The reactions of the economically powerful countries of Europe and the United States to the upcoming pandemic have seemed rather surprising, and rather disappointing, to many of us Biomedical Scientists. After the first case in Wuhan, China, Chinese scientists isolated the virus and, with the help of high-tech RNA sequencing technology, classified it as a beta-coronavirus. Therefore, both the Global Scientific Community and the political powers of this world had in their hands two important elements: i) the sequence identity of the coronavirus; and ii) previous experience in dealing with epidemics caused by similar coronaviruses of the beta-coronavirus group (SARS-COV-1 and MERS-CoV). In addition, we have all been witnesses to the strict and vertical isolation measures taken in China, in the city of Wuhan with its population of 11 million people, since January 23, 2020 ( 38 ). There was detailed daily media coverage of how an entire city was quarantined and how the Chinese government managed to build an entire hospital within 2 weeks as well as a mask manufacturing facility. Apparently, the country that was first hit by the pandemic was faced with the most difficulties. However, the Chinese government seems to have reacted with incredible speed, possibly owing to its past communist experience and centralized powers. In the Western world we have watched with admiration how well the Chinese have reacted to prevent the spreading of SARS-CoV-2, which is reflected on the relatively small number of victims. It is also worth mentioning that China's National Health Committee had acknowledged from the start that the virus can be transmitted from one person to another, as well as that the new coronavirus is similar to the virus causing SARS, but that it does not seem to be as deadly, also stressing what is already known for viruses, that they sometimes mutate and become more dangerous to human health.

The WHO, via Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared the coronavirus pandemic on March 11, 2020, when the number of infected cases already exceeded 118,000 in 114 countries and 4,291 people had already lost their lives worldwide ( 39 ). It was also noted that the pandemic was expected to cause additional problems in a larger number of countries. From that moment on, the whole planet was and still remains alert and anxious as to the emergence of a second wave of the pandemic.

14. Critical remarks

The WHO's decision to name the disease caused by the new coronavirus COVID-19 may have been unfortunate: this description (coronavirus disease 19) is indicative of previous coronaviruses and it therefore does not represent the dangerousness of SARS-CoV-2. They may have had the noblest of intentions not to cause panic, for example, but it seems now that we are in the 6th month of the pandemic since its outbreak in China that it did not help in the preparation of the states against it.

The delay by WHO in announcing the pandemic somehow acted reassuringly for all the countries of the world. With the announcement of the pandemic, panic spread across Europe and America ( 40 ). The feeling at that point was that the virus had entered many homes and would enter many more without as much as a warning or a ‘knock on the door’.

The worst scenario in such a situation (pandemic) is to be unprepared and disorganized, and the whole developed world was blatantly unprepared for such a serious problem. This is mainly due to the tremendous downgrading of the public health system worldwide. In our country this translates to i) a shortage of 30,000 doctors and auxiliary nursing staff; ii) Greece being the third country in the EU with the worst ratio of ICUs in relation to its population ( 41 ). According to EU data, Greece has only 6 ICU beds per 100,000 residents! iii) the downgrading and closure of Primary Health Care units and hospitals during the memorandum period; iv) the lack of protective material for nursing staff (e.g., appropriate masks) and respiratory equipment for patients; and v) the lack of staff and technological equipment for molecular tests.

Asian countries have reacted more efficiently in the face of the pandemic than the rest of the world. Hong Kong, for example, has slowed down the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 through a combination of intensive monitoring, quarantine and social distancing, and not by relying solely on the strict measures employed elsewhere. In January, authorities in Wuhan, where the coronavirus epidemic began, prohibited traveling outside the city in an effort to control the spreading of COVID-19. However, Hong Kong was based on a program that included extensive testing, isolation of those who had come in contact with infected people, and distancing measures such as closing schools. When Peng Wu at Hong Kong University and her colleagues conducted a residential survey in early March, 99% said that they wore a mask in public and 85% said that they avoided crowds. Public compliance with government measures kept viral spreading relatively low in Hong Kong until the end of March 2020.

Despite the fact that the WHO insisted on extensive molecular testing for the detection of the virus, much to the surprise of us Molecular Biologists, the whole of Europe and America seemed unable to respond. Indeed, it has been extremely difficult to perform these tests on a larger scale. Nonetheless, people working in the sectors of Biological Research and Biomedical Sciences know that it may not have been as hard to perform large scale molecular testing on the virus, if the following had been put to good use: i) In January and February 2020, the existing accredited laboratories could have been employed and organized in such a way as to be fully competent in performing the tests, with the addition of more such facilities in all the major reporting hospitals and wherever else it was deemed necessary; ii) the personnel capable of performing these tests should be selected; in this respect, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers in permanent employment positions could be selected even on a voluntary basis; iii) from the moment that the coronavirus RNA sequence was submitted to a public database there was enough time to organize these in-house tests. Postgraduate and PhD students in research laboratories throughout the country could have prepared these tests reliably. iv) PCR machines do not come at a high cost, which means that additional purchases could have been made. In Greece, for example, the 30 million euros that were given to private diagnostic companies to perform these tests, and who were unable to do so, and the samples were eventually sent to the Pasteur Institute and the Medical School of Athens, could have been used to purchase 1,000 state-of-the-art PCR machines, translating to a minimum dynamic testing of 1,000 samples by each machine daily. v) Primary health services and reference hospitals could aid in the development of a network of human resources that would ensure the efficient collection of samples and their rapid transport and testing in accredited laboratories.

Seventeen years have passed since the SARS epidemic and we still do not know what makes these coronaviruses so dangerous. It is unfortunate that there have been no funding policies for the coronaviruses, both at the European level and globally. We would be much better prepared to deal with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic if, with dedication and consistency, and provided that the appropriate funds were available, there was sufficient research on this type of virus after the SARS epidemic in 2003. Significant experience has been obtained on a global scale by the research community from research conducted against the virus that causes AIDS. Characteristically, in the context of the sustainable development set by the WHO, the European Union has set a goal to eliminate AIDS and tuberculosis by the year 2030 and to continue research on hepatitis ( 42 ). Let's not forget that AIDS has left 35 million dead in its path since its appearance in 1981. Due to lack of investment in research and vaccine production for SARS, we should not overlook a defining aspect set out by the strict laws of capitalist economy. Pharmaceutical companies are often a major part of this system and often show no interest in investing in vaccines. Many of the vaccines in circulation cost between $600 million and $1 billion. The major profits in pharmaceutical companies come from drugs that cure long-term illness. For example, the sales of a single drug for hepatitis C have exceeded $10 billion in one year ( 43 ). One must also bear in mind that the vaccine market ($24 billion today) appears to be extensive, but it represents only 2.4% of the global pharmaceutical industry, which is worth $1 trillion per year ( 44 ). Vaccines, in particular, are therefore not major sources of profit for the pharmaceutical companies that specialize in them. Based on this logic one should also not overlook the lack of large investments in the production of a SARS vaccine. With the confinement of the SARS epidemic in 2003 and 2004 in some Asian countries, companies estimated that a vaccine investment would not translate to a corresponding profit margin due to the small customer market. The consequences of such a decision to public health have become more realistic during the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. If there had been research on SARS in the last 17 years since its original outbreak, we would certainly be better prepared and equipped against SARS-CoV-2.

The genetic material of both SARS and SARS-CoV-2 encodes approximately 20 proteins. Apart from the protein that looks like a crown under the microscope and which is responsible for binding to the host cell, three other proteins that structure the viral shell (nucleocapsid) and cover its genetic material, as well as a multi-protein that is responsible for the transcription and reproduction the virus, we have very little information on what the rest of the viral proteins do. Therefore, research on SARS for the appropriate characterization of these proteins should help to obtain a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and to determine the appropriate treatment strategy.

Therefore, the inaction of the global community and the lack of funding to conduct biomedical research on the first SARS virus have provided the ideal environment for the new coronavirus to reach pandemic status. The field of Molecular Virology has produced prominent scientific personalities who have been and still are dedicated to the study of RNA viruses. Columbia University professor David Ho, who has saved countless lives with the antiviral therapy for AIDS, applied for $20 million funding in order to test antivirals against SARS in his laboratory, but his request has never been met ( 45 ). It seems that various government officials and pharmaceutical companies, as we have explained above, regarded the previous epidemics as cases only pertaining to the East. Thus, in an attempt to justify the unjustified, the majority of institutional officials, with the help of several scientists, often refer to the new coronavirus as an invisible enemy and to the battle against it as an unequal war. These words sound like a cover-up of our inability to effectively deal with the pandemic and of the fact that we are ill-equipped in terms of vaccines, drugs and scientific equipment to deal with a virus that, despite being called new, is highly related to the previous SARS disease. We probably have no excuse as there have been many warnings from the scientific community in the first two decades of the 21st century about the increased incidence of epidemics and the need to fund coronavirus research. Unfortunately, the institutions chose inaction and now it appears that we must make up for the lost ground in a very short time, and suffer all the consequences that this pandemic will leave behind. Despite the delays, however, the devaluation of research on SARS since 2003 shows that the Biomedical Science Community, as we speak and as the pandemic is still ongoing, are doing their best to turn the tables in favor of humanity in the battle against COVID-19.

15. Conclusions and thoughts for a better relationship between man and the environment

Many noTable Scientists such as Professor Michael Greger, former director of Public Health and Animal Husbandry at the Humane Society of the United States, and Professor Rob Wallace, evolutionary biologist and Public Health Phylogeographer, collaborator of the Institute of International Studies at the University of Minnesota, author of Big Farms Make Big Flu and former adviser to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, have touched the basis of the root cause of the latest epidemics and the current pandemic of SARS-CoV-2. The message from this pandemic is that unequal access to natural resources must be brought to an end, so as to prevent the next pandemic that is expected to occur with mathematical accuracy ( 46 , 47 ).

The protection of public health requires a review of the relationship between man and all biological ecosystems, especially animals, and the environment in general. Available genomic data now make it clear that behind the global COVID-19 pandemic lies a virus that has most likely entered the human population via human interaction with bats or another intermediate host ( 48 ).

It seems that dealing with such pandemics requires a holistic approach that focuses on causality, i.e., the generator cause, and not solely relying on the restriction/distancing measures that should be undertaken anyway in order to prevent loss of human life. In order to achieve this, we need to redefine our relationship with the environment and the inequalities that lead to its destruction. It is estimated that 75% of all new infectious diseases are the result of contact between humans and animals ( 49 ). We have all heard of at least some of them in the last twenty years, such as Zika, Ebola, SARS, bird flu, MERS and, more recently of course, COVID-19.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) emphasizes on the main factors that are implicated in the transmission of viruses to humans: i) deforestation; ii) intensive cultivation; and iii) climate change ( 49 ). A number of studies have ascertained that the universal approach to food production, including basic agricultural and livestock products such as beef, palm oil, coffee and cocoa, makes it easier to deplete resources in poorer countries than in countries with affluent economies. The production of such goods leads to i) deforestation and ii) loss of biodiversity. These are the main factors for the transmission of diseases among species. In the majority of nations producing coffee and cocoa (sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America), 95% of production is exported to the North, mainly to North America and Europe.

In terms of climate change, the economically developed world bears the highest responsibility for the global emissions causing the greenhouse effect and for the production of other harmful pollutants. Under developed countries, being far less responsible for the greenhouse effect, suffer to a much greater extent the consequences of climate change-related diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes. Even very small increases in temperature seem to currently make it easier for mosquitoes to spread to new areas where people are not immune to the diseases they carry ( 50 ).

In the oppressed ecosystems of less developed countries, large predators are becoming extinct. This creates biosystem imbalances that favor the reproduction of certain species, such as bats, rats and mosquitoes, i.e., those species that usually transmit zoonoses to humans. The lack of food for these animal species in ecosystems where they lived in harmony before the violent human interventions strengthens the competition for food among them, in an attempt to meet their nutritional needs. The increased competition for food for these animals leads to their migration to more densely populated areas and to closer contact with humans ( 51 ).

COVID-19 should ring like a very loud bell to the ears of the global financial elite and of every single consumer. If global environmental, health and development issues are not addressed holistically, new pandemics will continue to emerge. Priority should be given to reducing consumption levels, eliminating trade and economic inequalities, and creating sustainable production systems for both the people and the environment, and all of this in a different socio-political system.

The current crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has provided us with a unique opportunity to very seriously reconsider our relationship with the environment. This practically means that large agri-food companies and global policies should be immediately concerned about the current industrial environment producing our food products. The current food production process is often modified by the introduction of new technologies that essentially lead to significant violations of the balance in natural ecosystems. This approach undoubtedly increases the rate of production and the size of the total product, but at the same time it greatly promotes and strengthens the necessary conditions for viral replication, so that new mutations are produced at a higher rate and with greater infectious power. Many warnings can be deduced from the pandemics that have occurred so far, yet the course of our future lies in the hands of humanity.

Despite the numerous warnings that can be derived from pandemics, as Professor Rob Wallace points out ‘ agribusiness is so focused on profits that selecting for a virus that might kill a billion people is treated as a worthy risk ’ ( 52 ). If we were to use molecular biology terminology to describe this phenomenon, it would translate as follows: the world's financial elite owning the agri-food companies are self-designated by the dominant gene of profit that determines their phenotype and their aggressive behavior both to the environment and to other people. This gene is so powerful, ‘dominant’ in the language of Biology, that no effort to convince them otherwise has had any result so far. Therefore, as is the case with the numerous work-related problems being faced on a global scale, in the emergence of every pandemic we will be faced with the same clear-cut question: is there an alternative? Of course there is, this can be easily deduced by reading Brecht's poem (53,Brecht B: In Praise of dialectics).

In Praise of Dialectics

Today injustice goes with a certain stride,

The oppressors move in for ten thousand years.

Force sounds certain: it will stay the way it is.

No voice resounds except the voice of the rulers.

And on the markets, exploitation says it out loud:

I am only just beginning.

But of the oppressed, many now say:

What we want will never happen.

Whoever is alive must never say ‘never’!

Certainty is never certain.

It will not stay the way it is.

When the rulers have already spoken

Then the ruled will start to speak.

Who dares say ‘never’?

Who's to blame if repression remains? We are.

Who can break its thrall? We can.

Whoever has been beaten down must rise to his feet!

Whoever is lost must fight back!

Whoever has recognized his condition -

how can anyone stop him?

Because the vanquished of today will be tomorrow's victors

And ‘never’ will become: ‘already today’!

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Maria Adamaki for performing the language editing of the manuscript. We thank Dr Ioannis Michalopoulos for extensively reviewing the manuscript and for selecting the appropriate bibliographic references. We also thank Professor Philip Clegg for his critical thinking and for making sure that the manuscript does not lose its meaning in translation.

No funding was received.

Availability of data and materials

Authors' contributions.

All of the authors were involved in writing, formatting and reviewing the manuscript. VZ was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. MG designed the graphs. ER and SB performed the literature search. DAS critically analyzed the existing knowledge and contributed to editing the manuscript. All authors approved of the final manuscript.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Patient consent for publication, competing interests.

DAS is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal, but had no personal involvement in the reviewing process, or any influence in terms of adjudicating on the final decision, for this article. The other authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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A lot of information is circulating about COVID-19, so it’s important to know what’s true and what’s not.

Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H. , senior director of infection prevention, and Gabor Kelen, M.D. , director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response, answer your questions.

TRUE or FALSE? A negative COVID test means you are safe.

The answer is false.

TRUE or FALSE? Quercetin, essential oils and other supplements can protect you from the coronavirus or treat COVID-19.

The answer is false .

Taking quercetin, zinc, or vitamin D and other nutritional supplements cannot prevent or treat coronavirus infection or COVID-19. The same is true of essential oils — they are not effective to prevent coronavirus disease. The best ways to stay safe from COVID-19 are getting vaccinated, wearing a mask (especially in crowded or indoor settings), keeping your hands clean and practicing physical distancing.

TRUE or FALSE? Herd immunity will end the coronavirus pandemic, so vaccinations are not necessary.

Herd immunity is a term that refers to cases of an infectious disease slowing down and stopping when enough people in a population have immunity, either from getting and surviving a disease or from being vaccinated.

For COVID-19, letting people get the disease would result in many people getting severely sick, suffering lasting organ damage and even dying before herd immunity could occur.

Being vaccinated for COVID-19 drastically reduces your chance of having severe COVID-19 if you are exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease. Immunity from the vaccine may last longer than immunity from having COVID-19. Also, vaccination reduces the number of infections that give the coronavirus an opportunity to mutate (change). Mutations (variants) of the virus (such as the contagious delta variant) can delay or even prevent herd immunity from being reached.

TRUE or FALSE? Ivermectin cures or prevents COVID-19.

Ivermectin is a medicine that controls parasites in animals and humans. Irresponsible and misleading reports are circulating in social media and elsewhere that taking the drug is a safe way to prevent or cure COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized or approved the use of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. The FDA has received reports of humans taking veterinary ivermectin. The formulas for horses and other animals are different than for people and can be very toxic (poisonous) to humans. Taking ivermectin for nonapproved reasons or in large doses can be harmful, and can lead to hospitalization and even death.

TRUE or FALSE? Warm water or saline will protect you from getting sick if you’re exposed to the coronavirus.

False reports are circulating that drinking or bathing in warm or hot water, or washing out the inside of your nose with saline (salt) solution, will protect you from COVID-19 if you are exposed to the coronavirus. These reports are not true. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is very tiny and cannot be rinsed or washed out of the throat or nasal passages. The best ways to prevent infection are to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and practice hand hygiene and physical distancing.

TRUE or FALSE? Children can get COVID-19.

The answer is true.

Children can get COVID-19. In most cases, COVID-19 seems to be milder in young children than in adults, but parents and caregivers should understand that children can be infected with the coronavirus and transmit it to others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 and older. Johns Hopkins Medicine encourages all families to have eligible children vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, Pfizer’s vaccine is the only approved COVID-19 vaccine for children.

COVID-19 cases in children are increasing. This is partly because the available COVID-19 vaccines have only been recently authorized for children age 5 -11. The widespread circulation in the U.S. of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is another factor.

In rare cases, children infected with the coronavirus can develop a serious lung infection and become very sick with COVID-19, and deaths have occurred. That’s why it is important to follow proven COVID-19 precautions such as wearing a mask when in public, indoor places to reduce the chance of becoming infected with the coronavirus. We can help protect children who are too young to be vaccinated by ensuring that all of the eligible people around them get vaccinated.

TRUE or FALSE? You can get a face mask exemption card so you don’t need to wear a mask.

Fake cards and flyers claiming that the bearers are exempt from mask-wearing regulations have shown up in some areas. The cards, which some people have bought online, may have official-looking logos or government insignias. They claim that people carrying them have a physical or mental condition covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that makes them unable to wear a face mask or covering .

The US. Department of Justice issued a statement about these fake mask exemptions , explaining that the cards and flyers are fraudulent.

People have tried to use the fake cards to avoid wearing a mask in public places that require them, such as some stores and restaurants. The cards are not issued by the U.S. government and are not backed by the ADA.

TRUE or FALSE? You can protect yourself from COVID-19 by injecting, swallowing, bathing in or rubbing onto your body bleach, disinfectants or rubbing alcohols.

These products are highly toxic and should never be swallowed or injected into the body. Call 911 if this occurs.

Disinfectants, bleach, and soap and water may be used to clean surfaces, an important step in stopping the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Never attempt to self-treat or prevent COVID-19 by rubbing or bathing anywhere on your body with bleach, disinfectants or rubbing alcohol. Effective hand sanitizers do contain alcohol, but they are formulated to be safe for use on hands.

Learn more about protecting yourself from the coronavirus and COVID-19.

TRUE or FALSE? A vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is available.

COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and one has received full FDA approval. Johns Hopkins Medicine views all FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines as highly effective at preventing serious disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine safety and what you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines .

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In Their Own Words, Americans Describe the Struggles and Silver Linings of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The outbreak has dramatically changed americans’ lives and relationships over the past year. we asked people to tell us about their experiences – good and bad – in living through this moment in history..

Pew Research Center has been asking survey questions over the past year about Americans’ views and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, we gave the public a chance to tell us in their own words how the pandemic has affected them in their personal lives. We wanted to let them tell us how their lives have become more difficult or challenging, and we also asked about any unexpectedly positive events that might have happened during that time.

The vast majority of Americans (89%) mentioned at least one negative change in their own lives, while a smaller share (though still a 73% majority) mentioned at least one unexpected upside. Most have experienced these negative impacts and silver linings simultaneously: Two-thirds (67%) of Americans mentioned at least one negative and at least one positive change since the pandemic began.

For this analysis, we surveyed 9,220 U.S. adults between Aug. 31-Sept. 7, 2020. Everyone who completed the survey is a member of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Respondents to the survey were asked to describe in their own words how their lives have been difficult or challenging since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, and to describe any positive aspects of the situation they have personally experienced as well. Overall, 84% of respondents provided an answer to one or both of the questions. The Center then categorized a random sample of 4,071 of their answers using a combination of in-house human coders, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service and keyword-based pattern matching. The full methodology and questions used in this analysis can be found here.

In many ways, the negatives clearly outweigh the positives – an unsurprising reaction to a pandemic that had killed more than 180,000 Americans at the time the survey was conducted. Across every major aspect of life mentioned in these responses, a larger share mentioned a negative impact than mentioned an unexpected upside. Americans also described the negative aspects of the pandemic in greater detail: On average, negative responses were longer than positive ones (27 vs. 19 words). But for all the difficulties and challenges of the pandemic, a majority of Americans were able to think of at least one silver lining.

Both the negative and positive impacts described in these responses cover many aspects of life, none of which were mentioned by a majority of Americans. Instead, the responses reveal a pandemic that has affected Americans’ lives in a variety of ways, of which there is no “typical” experience. Indeed, not all groups seem to have experienced the pandemic equally. For instance, younger and more educated Americans were more likely to mention silver linings, while women were more likely than men to mention challenges or difficulties.

Here are some direct quotes that reveal how Americans are processing the new reality that has upended life across the country.

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I Thought We’d Learned Nothing From the Pandemic. I Wasn’t Seeing the Full Picture

M y first home had a back door that opened to a concrete patio with a giant crack down the middle. When my sister and I played, I made sure to stay on the same side of the divide as her, just in case. The 1988 film The Land Before Time was one of the first movies I ever saw, and the image of the earth splintering into pieces planted its roots in my brain. I believed that, even in my own backyard, I could easily become the tiny Triceratops separated from her family, on the other side of the chasm, as everything crumbled into chaos.

Some 30 years later, I marvel at the eerie, unexpected ways that cartoonish nightmare came to life – not just for me and my family, but for all of us. The landscape was already covered in fissures well before COVID-19 made its way across the planet, but the pandemic applied pressure, and the cracks broke wide open, separating us from each other physically and ideologically. Under the weight of the crisis, we scattered and landed on such different patches of earth we could barely see each other’s faces, even when we squinted. We disagreed viciously with each other, about how to respond, but also about what was true.

Recently, someone asked me if we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, and my first thought was a flat no. Nothing. There was a time when I thought it would be the very thing to draw us together and catapult us – as a capital “S” Society – into a kinder future. It’s surreal to remember those early days when people rallied together, sewing masks for health care workers during critical shortages and gathering on balconies in cities from Dallas to New York City to clap and sing songs like “Yellow Submarine.” It felt like a giant lightning bolt shot across the sky, and for one breath, we all saw something that had been hidden in the dark – the inherent vulnerability in being human or maybe our inescapable connectedness .

More from TIME

Read More: The Family Time the Pandemic Stole

But it turns out, it was just a flash. The goodwill vanished as quickly as it appeared. A couple of years later, people feel lied to, abandoned, and all on their own. I’ve felt my own curiosity shrinking, my willingness to reach out waning , my ability to keep my hands open dwindling. I look out across the landscape and see selfishness and rage, burnt earth and so many dead bodies. Game over. We lost. And if we’ve already lost, why try?

Still, the question kept nagging me. I wondered, am I seeing the full picture? What happens when we focus not on the collective society but at one face, one story at a time? I’m not asking for a bow to minimize the suffering – a pretty flourish to put on top and make the whole thing “worth it.” Yuck. That’s not what we need. But I wondered about deep, quiet growth. The kind we feel in our bodies, relationships, homes, places of work, neighborhoods.

Like a walkie-talkie message sent to my allies on the ground, I posted a call on my Instagram. What do you see? What do you hear? What feels possible? Is there life out here? Sprouting up among the rubble? I heard human voices calling back – reports of life, personal and specific. I heard one story at a time – stories of grief and distrust, fury and disappointment. Also gratitude. Discovery. Determination.

Among the most prevalent were the stories of self-revelation. Almost as if machines were given the chance to live as humans, people described blossoming into fuller selves. They listened to their bodies’ cues, recognized their desires and comforts, tuned into their gut instincts, and honored the intuition they hadn’t realized belonged to them. Alex, a writer and fellow disabled parent, found the freedom to explore a fuller version of herself in the privacy the pandemic provided. “The way I dress, the way I love, and the way I carry myself have both shrunk and expanded,” she shared. “I don’t love myself very well with an audience.” Without the daily ritual of trying to pass as “normal” in public, Tamar, a queer mom in the Netherlands, realized she’s autistic. “I think the pandemic helped me to recognize the mask,” she wrote. “Not that unmasking is easy now. But at least I know it’s there.” In a time of widespread suffering that none of us could solve on our own, many tended to our internal wounds and misalignments, large and small, and found clarity.

Read More: A Tool for Staying Grounded in This Era of Constant Uncertainty

I wonder if this flourishing of self-awareness is at least partially responsible for the life alterations people pursued. The pandemic broke open our personal notions of work and pushed us to reevaluate things like time and money. Lucy, a disabled writer in the U.K., made the hard decision to leave her job as a journalist covering Westminster to write freelance about her beloved disability community. “This work feels important in a way nothing else has ever felt,” she wrote. “I don’t think I’d have realized this was what I should be doing without the pandemic.” And she wasn’t alone – many people changed jobs , moved, learned new skills and hobbies, became politically engaged.

Perhaps more than any other shifts, people described a significant reassessment of their relationships. They set boundaries, said no, had challenging conversations. They also reconnected, fell in love, and learned to trust. Jeanne, a quilter in Indiana, got to know relatives she wouldn’t have connected with if lockdowns hadn’t prompted weekly family Zooms. “We are all over the map as regards to our belief systems,” she emphasized, “but it is possible to love people you don’t see eye to eye with on every issue.” Anna, an anti-violence advocate in Maine, learned she could trust her new marriage: “Life was not a honeymoon. But we still chose to turn to each other with kindness and curiosity.” So many bonds forged and broken, strengthened and strained.

Instead of relying on default relationships or institutional structures, widespread recalibrations allowed for going off script and fortifying smaller communities. Mara from Idyllwild, Calif., described the tangible plan for care enacted in her town. “We started a mutual-aid group at the beginning of the pandemic,” she wrote, “and it grew so quickly before we knew it we were feeding 400 of the 4000 residents.” She didn’t pretend the conditions were ideal. In fact, she expressed immense frustration with our collective response to the pandemic. Even so, the local group rallied and continues to offer assistance to their community with help from donations and volunteers (many of whom were originally on the receiving end of support). “I’ve learned that people thrive when they feel their connection to others,” she wrote. Clare, a teacher from the U.K., voiced similar conviction as she described a giant scarf she’s woven out of ribbons, each representing a single person. The scarf is “a collection of stories, moments and wisdom we are sharing with each other,” she wrote. It now stretches well over 1,000 feet.

A few hours into reading the comments, I lay back on my bed, phone held against my chest. The room was quiet, but my internal world was lighting up with firefly flickers. What felt different? Surely part of it was receiving personal accounts of deep-rooted growth. And also, there was something to the mere act of asking and listening. Maybe it connected me to humans before battle cries. Maybe it was the chance to be in conversation with others who were also trying to understand – what is happening to us? Underneath it all, an undeniable thread remained; I saw people peering into the mess and narrating their findings onto the shared frequency. Every comment was like a flare into the sky. I’m here! And if the sky is full of flares, we aren’t alone.

I recognized my own pandemic discoveries – some minor, others massive. Like washing off thick eyeliner and mascara every night is more effort than it’s worth; I can transform the mundane into the magical with a bedsheet, a movie projector, and twinkle lights; my paralyzed body can mother an infant in ways I’d never seen modeled for me. I remembered disappointing, bewildering conversations within my own family of origin and our imperfect attempts to remain close while also seeing things so differently. I realized that every time I get the weekly invite to my virtual “Find the Mumsies” call, with a tiny group of moms living hundreds of miles apart, I’m being welcomed into a pocket of unexpected community. Even though we’ve never been in one room all together, I’ve felt an uncommon kind of solace in their now-familiar faces.

Hope is a slippery thing. I desperately want to hold onto it, but everywhere I look there are real, weighty reasons to despair. The pandemic marks a stretch on the timeline that tangles with a teetering democracy, a deteriorating planet , the loss of human rights that once felt unshakable . When the world is falling apart Land Before Time style, it can feel trite, sniffing out the beauty – useless, firing off flares to anyone looking for signs of life. But, while I’m under no delusions that if we just keep trudging forward we’ll find our own oasis of waterfalls and grassy meadows glistening in the sunshine beneath a heavenly chorus, I wonder if trivializing small acts of beauty, connection, and hope actually cuts us off from resources essential to our survival. The group of abandoned dinosaurs were keeping each other alive and making each other laugh well before they made it to their fantasy ending.

Read More: How Ice Cream Became My Own Personal Act of Resistance

After the monarch butterfly went on the endangered-species list, my friend and fellow writer Hannah Soyer sent me wildflower seeds to plant in my yard. A simple act of big hope – that I will actually plant them, that they will grow, that a monarch butterfly will receive nourishment from whatever blossoms are able to push their way through the dirt. There are so many ways that could fail. But maybe the outcome wasn’t exactly the point. Maybe hope is the dogged insistence – the stubborn defiance – to continue cultivating moments of beauty regardless. There is value in the planting apart from the harvest.

I can’t point out a single collective lesson from the pandemic. It’s hard to see any great “we.” Still, I see the faces in my moms’ group, making pancakes for their kids and popping on between strings of meetings while we try to figure out how to raise these small people in this chaotic world. I think of my friends on Instagram tending to the selves they discovered when no one was watching and the scarf of ribbons stretching the length of more than three football fields. I remember my family of three, holding hands on the way up the ramp to the library. These bits of growth and rings of support might not be loud or right on the surface, but that’s not the same thing as nothing. If we only cared about the bottom-line defeats or sweeping successes of the big picture, we’d never plant flowers at all.

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Essay On Covid-19: 100, 200 and 300 Words

Updated on
Apr 30, 2024

COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, is a global pandemic that has affected people all around the world. It first emerged in a lab in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and quickly spread to countries around the world. This virus was reportedly caused by SARS-CoV-2. Since then, it has spread rapidly to many countries, causing widespread illness and impacting our lives in numerous ways. This blog talks about the details of this virus and also drafts an essay on COVID-19 in 100, 200 and 300 words for students and professionals.

Table of Contents

1 Essay On COVID-19 in English 100 Words
2 Essay On COVID-19 in 200 Words
3 Essay On COVID-19 in 300 Words
4 Short Essay on Covid-19

Essay On COVID-19 in English 100 Words

COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is a global pandemic. It started in late 2019 and has affected people all around the world. The virus spreads very quickly through someone’s sneeze and respiratory issues.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our lives, with lockdowns, travel restrictions, and changes in daily routines. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we should wear masks, practice social distancing, and wash our hands frequently.

People should follow social distancing and other safety guidelines and also learn the tricks to be safe stay healthy and work the whole challenging time.

Also Read: National Safe Motherhood Day 2023

Essay On COVID-19 in 200 Words

COVID-19 also known as coronavirus, became a global health crisis in early 2020 and impacted mankind around the world. This virus is said to have originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019. It belongs to the coronavirus family and causes flu-like symptoms. It impacted the healthcare systems, economies and the daily lives of people all over the world.

The most crucial aspect of COVID-19 is its highly spreadable nature. It is a communicable disease that spreads through various means such as coughs from infected persons, sneezes and communication. Due to its easy transmission leading to its outbreaks, there were many measures taken by the government from all over the world such as Lockdowns, Social Distancing, and wearing masks.

There are many changes throughout the economic systems, and also in daily routines. Other measures such as schools opting for Online schooling, Remote work options available and restrictions on travel throughout the country and internationally. Subsequently, to cure and top its outbreak, the government started its vaccine campaigns, and other preventive measures.

In conclusion, COVID-19 tested the patience and resilience of the mankind. This pandemic has taught people the importance of patience, effort and humbleness.

Essay On COVID-19 in 300 Words

COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is a serious and contagious disease that has affected people worldwide. It was first discovered in late 2019 in Cina and then got spread in the whole world. It had a major impact on people’s life, their school, work and daily lives.

COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets produced and through sneezes, and coughs of an infected person. It can spread to thousands of people because of its highly contagious nature. To cure the widespread of this virus, there are thousands of steps taken by the people and the government.

Wearing masks is one of the essential precautions to prevent the virus from spreading. Social distancing is another vital practice, which involves maintaining a safe distance from others to minimize close contact.

Very frequent handwashing is also very important to stop the spread of this virus. Proper hand hygiene can help remove any potential virus particles from our hands, reducing the risk of infection.

In conclusion, the Coronavirus has changed people’s perspective on living. It has also changed people’s way of interacting and how to live. To deal with this virus, it is very important to follow the important guidelines such as masks, social distancing and techniques to wash your hands. Getting vaccinated is also very important to go back to normal life and cure this virus completely.

Also Read: Essay on Abortion in English in 650 Words

Short Essay on Covid-19

Please find below a sample of a short essay on Covid-19 for school students:

Also Read: Essay on Women’s Day in 200 and 500 words

to write an essay on COVID-19, understand your word limit and make sure to cover all the stages and symptoms of this disease. You need to highlight all the challenges and impacts of COVID-19. Do not forget to conclude your essay with positive precautionary measures.

Writing an essay on COVID-19 in 200 words requires you to cover all the challenges, impacts and precautions of this disease. You don’t need to describe all of these factors in brief, but make sure to add as many options as your word limit allows.

The full form for COVID-19 is Corona Virus Disease of 2019.

Simran Popli

An avid writer and a creative person. With an experience of 1.5 years content writing, Simran has worked with different areas. From medical to working in a marketing agency with different clients to Ed-tech company, the journey has been diverse. Creative, vivacious and patient are the words that describe her personality.

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Guest Essay

Why Did It Take So Long to Accept the Facts About Covid?

By Zeynep Tufekci

Dr. Tufekci is a contributing Opinion writer who has extensively examined the Covid-19 pandemic.

This article has been updated.

A few sentences have shaken a century of science.

A week ago, more than a year after the World Health Organization declared that we face a pandemic, a page on its website titled “Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19): How Is It Transmitted?” got a seemingly small update .

The agency’s response to that question had been that “current evidence suggests that the main way the virus spreads is by respiratory droplets” — which are expelled from the mouth and quickly fall to the ground — “among people who are in close contact with each other.”

The revised response still emphasizes transmission in close contact but now says it may be via aerosols — smaller respiratory particles that can float — as well as droplets. It also adds a reason the virus can also be transmitted “in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings,” saying this is because “aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 meter.”

The change didn’t get a lot of attention. There was no news conference, no big announcement.

Then, on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also updated its guidance on Covid-19, clearly saying that inhalation of these smaller particles is a key way the virus is transmitted, even at close range, and put it on top of its list of how the disease spreads.

There was no news conference by the C.D.C. either.

But these latest shifts challenge key infection control assumptions that go back a century, putting a lot of what went wrong last year in context. They may also signal one of the most important advancements in public health during this pandemic.

If the importance of aerosol transmission had been accepted early, we would have been told from the beginning that it was much safer outdoors, where these small particles disperse more easily, as long as you avoid close, prolonged contact with others. We would have tried to make sure indoor spaces were well ventilated, with air filtered as necessary. Instead of blanket rules on gatherings, we would have targeted conditions that can produce superspreading events: people in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, especially if engaged over time in activities that increase aerosol production, like shouting and singing. We would have started using masks more quickly, and we would have paid more attention to their fit, too. And we would have been less obsessed with cleaning surfaces.

Confused about when to wear a mask?

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Research article
Open access
Published: 04 June 2021

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: an overview of systematic reviews

Israel Júnior Borges do Nascimento 1 , 2 ,
Dónal P. O’Mathúna 3 , 4 ,
Thilo Caspar von Groote 5 ,
Hebatullah Mohamed Abdulazeem 6 ,
Ishanka Weerasekara 7 , 8 ,
Ana Marusic 9 ,
Livia Puljak ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8467-6061 10 ,
Vinicius Tassoni Civile 11 ,
Irena Zakarija-Grkovic 9 ,
Tina Poklepovic Pericic 9 ,
Alvaro Nagib Atallah 11 ,
Santino Filoso 12 ,
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi 13 &
Milena Soriano Marcolino 1

On behalf of the International Network of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (InterNetCOVID-19)

BMC Infectious Diseases volume 21 , Article number: 525 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Navigating the rapidly growing body of scientific literature on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is challenging, and ongoing critical appraisal of this output is essential. We aimed to summarize and critically appraise systematic reviews of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in humans that were available at the beginning of the pandemic.

Nine databases (Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Sciences, PDQ-Evidence, WHO’s Global Research, LILACS, and Epistemonikos) were searched from December 1, 2019, to March 24, 2020. Systematic reviews analyzing primary studies of COVID-19 were included. Two authors independently undertook screening, selection, extraction (data on clinical symptoms, prevalence, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, diagnostic test assessment, laboratory, and radiological findings), and quality assessment (AMSTAR 2). A meta-analysis was performed of the prevalence of clinical outcomes.

Eighteen systematic reviews were included; one was empty (did not identify any relevant study). Using AMSTAR 2, confidence in the results of all 18 reviews was rated as “critically low”. Identified symptoms of COVID-19 were (range values of point estimates): fever (82–95%), cough with or without sputum (58–72%), dyspnea (26–59%), myalgia or muscle fatigue (29–51%), sore throat (10–13%), headache (8–12%) and gastrointestinal complaints (5–9%). Severe symptoms were more common in men. Elevated C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase, and slightly elevated aspartate and alanine aminotransferase, were commonly described. Thrombocytopenia and elevated levels of procalcitonin and cardiac troponin I were associated with severe disease. A frequent finding on chest imaging was uni- or bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacity. A single review investigated the impact of medication (chloroquine) but found no verifiable clinical data. All-cause mortality ranged from 0.3 to 13.9%.

Conclusions

In this overview of systematic reviews, we analyzed evidence from the first 18 systematic reviews that were published after the emergence of COVID-19. However, confidence in the results of all reviews was “critically low”. Thus, systematic reviews that were published early on in the pandemic were of questionable usefulness. Even during public health emergencies, studies and systematic reviews should adhere to established methodological standards.

Peer Review reports

The spread of the “Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of COVID-19, was characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 and has triggered an international public health emergency [ 1 ]. The numbers of confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 are rapidly escalating, counting in millions [ 2 ], causing massive economic strain, and escalating healthcare and public health expenses [ 3 , 4 ].

The research community has responded by publishing an impressive number of scientific reports related to COVID-19. The world was alerted to the new disease at the beginning of 2020 [ 1 ], and by mid-March 2020, more than 2000 articles had been published on COVID-19 in scholarly journals, with 25% of them containing original data [ 5 ]. The living map of COVID-19 evidence, curated by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), contained more than 40,000 records by February 2021 [ 6 ]. More than 100,000 records on PubMed were labeled as “SARS-CoV-2 literature, sequence, and clinical content” by February 2021 [ 7 ].

Due to publication speed, the research community has voiced concerns regarding the quality and reproducibility of evidence produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, warning of the potential damaging approach of “publish first, retract later” [ 8 ]. It appears that these concerns are not unfounded, as it has been reported that COVID-19 articles were overrepresented in the pool of retracted articles in 2020 [ 9 ]. These concerns about inadequate evidence are of major importance because they can lead to poor clinical practice and inappropriate policies [ 10 ].

Systematic reviews are a cornerstone of today’s evidence-informed decision-making. By synthesizing all relevant evidence regarding a particular topic, systematic reviews reflect the current scientific knowledge. Systematic reviews are considered to be at the highest level in the hierarchy of evidence and should be used to make informed decisions. However, with high numbers of systematic reviews of different scope and methodological quality being published, overviews of multiple systematic reviews that assess their methodological quality are essential [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. An overview of systematic reviews helps identify and organize the literature and highlights areas of priority in decision-making.

In this overview of systematic reviews, we aimed to summarize and critically appraise systematic reviews of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in humans that were available at the beginning of the pandemic.

Methodology

Research question.

This overview’s primary objective was to summarize and critically appraise systematic reviews that assessed any type of primary clinical data from patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Our research question was purposefully broad because we wanted to analyze as many systematic reviews as possible that were available early following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Study design

We conducted an overview of systematic reviews. The idea for this overview originated in a protocol for a systematic review submitted to PROSPERO (CRD42020170623), which indicated a plan to conduct an overview.

Overviews of systematic reviews use explicit and systematic methods for searching and identifying multiple systematic reviews addressing related research questions in the same field to extract and analyze evidence across important outcomes. Overviews of systematic reviews are in principle similar to systematic reviews of interventions, but the unit of analysis is a systematic review [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].

We used the overview methodology instead of other evidence synthesis methods to allow us to collate and appraise multiple systematic reviews on this topic, and to extract and analyze their results across relevant topics [ 17 ]. The overview and meta-analysis of systematic reviews allowed us to investigate the methodological quality of included studies, summarize results, and identify specific areas of available or limited evidence, thereby strengthening the current understanding of this novel disease and guiding future research [ 13 ].

A reporting guideline for overviews of reviews is currently under development, i.e., Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews (PRIOR) [ 18 ]. As the PRIOR checklist is still not published, this study was reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2009 statement [ 19 ]. The methodology used in this review was adapted from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and also followed established methodological considerations for analyzing existing systematic reviews [ 14 ].

Approval of a research ethics committee was not necessary as the study analyzed only publicly available articles.

Eligibility criteria

Systematic reviews were included if they analyzed primary data from patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 as confirmed by RT-PCR or another pre-specified diagnostic technique. Eligible reviews covered all topics related to COVID-19 including, but not limited to, those that reported clinical symptoms, diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, laboratory findings, or radiological results. Both full manuscripts and abbreviated versions, such as letters, were eligible.

No restrictions were imposed on the design of the primary studies included within the systematic reviews, the last search date, whether the review included meta-analyses or language. Reviews related to SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses were eligible, but from those reviews, we analyzed only data related to SARS-CoV-2.

No consensus definition exists for a systematic review [ 20 ], and debates continue about the defining characteristics of a systematic review [ 21 ]. Cochrane’s guidance for overviews of reviews recommends setting pre-established criteria for making decisions around inclusion [ 14 ]. That is supported by a recent scoping review about guidance for overviews of systematic reviews [ 22 ].

Thus, for this study, we defined a systematic review as a research report which searched for primary research studies on a specific topic using an explicit search strategy, had a detailed description of the methods with explicit inclusion criteria provided, and provided a summary of the included studies either in narrative or quantitative format (such as a meta-analysis). Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews were considered eligible for inclusion, with or without meta-analysis, and regardless of the study design, language restriction and methodology of the included primary studies. To be eligible for inclusion, reviews had to be clearly analyzing data related to SARS-CoV-2 (associated or not with other viruses). We excluded narrative reviews without those characteristics as these are less likely to be replicable and are more prone to bias.

Scoping reviews and rapid reviews were eligible for inclusion in this overview if they met our pre-defined inclusion criteria noted above. We included reviews that addressed SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses if they reported separate data regarding SARS-CoV-2.

Information sources

Nine databases were searched for eligible records published between December 1, 2019, and March 24, 2020: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews via Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Web of Sciences, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), PDQ-Evidence, WHO’s Global Research on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), and Epistemonikos.

The comprehensive search strategy for each database is provided in Additional file 1 and was designed and conducted in collaboration with an information specialist. All retrieved records were primarily processed in EndNote, where duplicates were removed, and records were then imported into the Covidence platform [ 23 ]. In addition to database searches, we screened reference lists of reviews included after screening records retrieved via databases.

Study selection

All searches, screening of titles and abstracts, and record selection, were performed independently by two investigators using the Covidence platform [ 23 ]. Articles deemed potentially eligible were retrieved for full-text screening carried out independently by two investigators. Discrepancies at all stages were resolved by consensus. During the screening, records published in languages other than English were translated by a native/fluent speaker.

Data collection process

We custom designed a data extraction table for this study, which was piloted by two authors independently. Data extraction was performed independently by two authors. Conflicts were resolved by consensus or by consulting a third researcher.

We extracted the following data: article identification data (authors’ name and journal of publication), search period, number of databases searched, population or settings considered, main results and outcomes observed, and number of participants. From Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA, USA), we extracted journal rank (quartile) and Journal Impact Factor (JIF).

We categorized the following as primary outcomes: all-cause mortality, need for and length of mechanical ventilation, length of hospitalization (in days), admission to intensive care unit (yes/no), and length of stay in the intensive care unit.

The following outcomes were categorized as exploratory: diagnostic methods used for detection of the virus, male to female ratio, clinical symptoms, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, laboratory findings (full blood count, liver enzymes, C-reactive protein, d-dimer, albumin, lipid profile, serum electrolytes, blood vitamin levels, glucose levels, and any other important biomarkers), and radiological findings (using radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound).

We also collected data on reporting guidelines and requirements for the publication of systematic reviews and meta-analyses from journal websites where included reviews were published.

Quality assessment in individual reviews

Two researchers independently assessed the reviews’ quality using the “A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2)”. We acknowledge that the AMSTAR 2 was created as “a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews that include randomized or non-randomized studies of healthcare interventions, or both” [ 24 ]. However, since AMSTAR 2 was designed for systematic reviews of intervention trials, and we included additional types of systematic reviews, we adjusted some AMSTAR 2 ratings and reported these in Additional file 2 .

Adherence to each item was rated as follows: yes, partial yes, no, or not applicable (such as when a meta-analysis was not conducted). The overall confidence in the results of the review is rated as “critically low”, “low”, “moderate” or “high”, according to the AMSTAR 2 guidance based on seven critical domains, which are items 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 as defined by AMSTAR 2 authors [ 24 ]. We reported our adherence ratings for transparency of our decision with accompanying explanations, for each item, in each included review.

One of the included systematic reviews was conducted by some members of this author team [ 25 ]. This review was initially assessed independently by two authors who were not co-authors of that review to prevent the risk of bias in assessing this study.

Synthesis of results

For data synthesis, we prepared a table summarizing each systematic review. Graphs illustrating the mortality rate and clinical symptoms were created. We then prepared a narrative summary of the methods, findings, study strengths, and limitations.

For analysis of the prevalence of clinical outcomes, we extracted data on the number of events and the total number of patients to perform proportional meta-analysis using RStudio© software, with the “meta” package (version 4.9–6), using the “metaprop” function for reviews that did not perform a meta-analysis, excluding case studies because of the absence of variance. For reviews that did not perform a meta-analysis, we presented pooled results of proportions with their respective confidence intervals (95%) by the inverse variance method with a random-effects model, using the DerSimonian-Laird estimator for τ 2 . We adjusted data using Freeman-Tukey double arcosen transformation. Confidence intervals were calculated using the Clopper-Pearson method for individual studies. We created forest plots using the RStudio© software, with the “metafor” package (version 2.1–0) and “forest” function.

Managing overlapping systematic reviews

Some of the included systematic reviews that address the same or similar research questions may include the same primary studies in overviews. Including such overlapping reviews may introduce bias when outcome data from the same primary study are included in the analyses of an overview multiple times. Thus, in summaries of evidence, multiple-counting of the same outcome data will give data from some primary studies too much influence [ 14 ]. In this overview, we did not exclude overlapping systematic reviews because, according to Cochrane’s guidance, it may be appropriate to include all relevant reviews’ results if the purpose of the overview is to present and describe the current body of evidence on a topic [ 14 ]. To avoid any bias in summary estimates associated with overlapping reviews, we generated forest plots showing data from individual systematic reviews, but the results were not pooled because some primary studies were included in multiple reviews.

Our search retrieved 1063 publications, of which 175 were duplicates. Most publications were excluded after the title and abstract analysis ( n = 860). Among the 28 studies selected for full-text screening, 10 were excluded for the reasons described in Additional file 3 , and 18 were included in the final analysis (Fig. 1 ) [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Reference list screening did not retrieve any additional systematic reviews.

PRISMA flow diagram

Characteristics of included reviews

Summary features of 18 systematic reviews are presented in Table 1 . They were published in 14 different journals. Only four of these journals had specific requirements for systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis): European Journal of Internal Medicine, Journal of Clinical Medicine, Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Clinical Research in Cardiology . Two journals reported that they published only invited reviews ( Journal of Medical Virology and Clinica Chimica Acta ). Three systematic reviews in our study were published as letters; one was labeled as a scoping review and another as a rapid review (Table 2 ).

All reviews were published in English, in first quartile (Q1) journals, with JIF ranging from 1.692 to 6.062. One review was empty, meaning that its search did not identify any relevant studies; i.e., no primary studies were included [ 36 ]. The remaining 17 reviews included 269 unique studies; the majority ( N = 211; 78%) were included in only a single review included in our study (range: 1 to 12). Primary studies included in the reviews were published between December 2019 and March 18, 2020, and comprised case reports, case series, cohorts, and other observational studies. We found only one review that included randomized clinical trials [ 38 ]. In the included reviews, systematic literature searches were performed from 2019 (entire year) up to March 9, 2020. Ten systematic reviews included meta-analyses. The list of primary studies found in the included systematic reviews is shown in Additional file 4 , as well as the number of reviews in which each primary study was included.

Population and study designs

Most of the reviews analyzed data from patients with COVID-19 who developed pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or any other correlated complication. One review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using surgical masks on preventing transmission of the virus [ 36 ], one review was focused on pediatric patients [ 34 ], and one review investigated COVID-19 in pregnant women [ 37 ]. Most reviews assessed clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, or radiological results.

Systematic review findings

The summary of findings from individual reviews is shown in Table 2 . Overall, all-cause mortality ranged from 0.3 to 13.9% (Fig. 2 ).

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of mortality

Clinical symptoms

Seven reviews described the main clinical manifestations of COVID-19 [ 26 , 28 , 29 , 34 , 35 , 39 , 41 ]. Three of them provided only a narrative discussion of symptoms [ 26 , 34 , 35 ]. In the reviews that performed a statistical analysis of the incidence of different clinical symptoms, symptoms in patients with COVID-19 were (range values of point estimates): fever (82–95%), cough with or without sputum (58–72%), dyspnea (26–59%), myalgia or muscle fatigue (29–51%), sore throat (10–13%), headache (8–12%), gastrointestinal disorders, such as diarrhea, nausea or vomiting (5.0–9.0%), and others (including, in one study only: dizziness 12.1%) (Figs. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 and 9 ). Three reviews assessed cough with and without sputum together; only one review assessed sputum production itself (28.5%).

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of fever

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of cough

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of dyspnea

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of fatigue or myalgia

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of headache

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders

A meta-analysis of the prevalence of sore throat

Diagnostic aspects

Three reviews described methodologies, protocols, and tools used for establishing the diagnosis of COVID-19 [ 26 , 34 , 38 ]. The use of respiratory swabs (nasal or pharyngeal) or blood specimens to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid using RT-PCR assays was the most commonly used diagnostic method mentioned in the included studies. These diagnostic tests have been widely used, but their precise sensitivity and specificity remain unknown. One review included a Chinese study with clinical diagnosis with no confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection (patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 if they presented with at least two symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, together with laboratory and chest radiography abnormalities) [ 34 ].

Therapeutic possibilities

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions (supportive therapies) used in treating patients with COVID-19 were reported in five reviews [ 25 , 27 , 34 , 35 , 38 ]. Antivirals used empirically for COVID-19 treatment were reported in seven reviews [ 25 , 27 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 ]; most commonly used were protease inhibitors (lopinavir, ritonavir, darunavir), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (tenofovir), nucleotide analogs (remdesivir, galidesivir, ganciclovir), and neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir). Umifenovir, a membrane fusion inhibitor, was investigated in two studies [ 25 , 35 ]. Possible supportive interventions analyzed were different types of oxygen supplementation and breathing support (invasive or non-invasive ventilation) [ 25 ]. The use of antibiotics, both empirically and to treat secondary pneumonia, was reported in six studies [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 34 , 35 , 38 ]. One review specifically assessed evidence on the efficacy and safety of the anti-malaria drug chloroquine [ 27 ]. It identified 23 ongoing trials investigating the potential of chloroquine as a therapeutic option for COVID-19, but no verifiable clinical outcomes data. The use of mesenchymal stem cells, antifungals, and glucocorticoids were described in four reviews [ 25 , 34 , 35 , 38 ].

Laboratory and radiological findings

Of the 18 reviews included in this overview, eight analyzed laboratory parameters in patients with COVID-19 [ 25 , 29 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 39 ]; elevated C-reactive protein levels, associated with lymphocytopenia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, as well as slightly elevated aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (AST, ALT) were commonly described in those eight reviews. Lippi et al. assessed cardiac troponin I (cTnI) [ 25 ], procalcitonin [ 32 ], and platelet count [ 33 ] in COVID-19 patients. Elevated levels of procalcitonin [ 32 ] and cTnI [ 30 ] were more likely to be associated with a severe disease course (requiring intensive care unit admission and intubation). Furthermore, thrombocytopenia was frequently observed in patients with complicated COVID-19 infections [ 33 ].

Chest imaging (chest radiography and/or computed tomography) features were assessed in six reviews, all of which described a frequent pattern of local or bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacity [ 25 , 34 , 35 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Those six reviews showed that septal thickening, bronchiectasis, pleural and cardiac effusions, halo signs, and pneumothorax were observed in patients suffering from COVID-19.

Quality of evidence in individual systematic reviews

Table 3 shows the detailed results of the quality assessment of 18 systematic reviews, including the assessment of individual items and summary assessment. A detailed explanation for each decision in each review is available in Additional file 5 .

Using AMSTAR 2 criteria, confidence in the results of all 18 reviews was rated as “critically low” (Table 3 ). Common methodological drawbacks were: omission of prospective protocol submission or publication; use of inappropriate search strategy: lack of independent and dual literature screening and data-extraction (or methodology unclear); absence of an explanation for heterogeneity among the studies included; lack of reasons for study exclusion (or rationale unclear).

Risk of bias assessment, based on a reported methodological tool, and quality of evidence appraisal, in line with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method, were reported only in one review [ 25 ]. Five reviews presented a table summarizing bias, using various risk of bias tools [ 25 , 29 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. One review analyzed “study quality” [ 37 ]. One review mentioned the risk of bias assessment in the methodology but did not provide any related analysis [ 28 ].

This overview of systematic reviews analyzed the first 18 systematic reviews published after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, up to March 24, 2020, with primary studies involving more than 60,000 patients. Using AMSTAR-2, we judged that our confidence in all those reviews was “critically low”. Ten reviews included meta-analyses. The reviews presented data on clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiological findings, and interventions. We found no systematic reviews on the utility of diagnostic tests.

Symptoms were reported in seven reviews; most of the patients had a fever, cough, dyspnea, myalgia or muscle fatigue, and gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Olfactory dysfunction (anosmia or dysosmia) has been described in patients infected with COVID-19 [ 43 ]; however, this was not reported in any of the reviews included in this overview. During the SARS outbreak in 2002, there were reports of impairment of the sense of smell associated with the disease [ 44 , 45 ].

The reported mortality rates ranged from 0.3 to 14% in the included reviews. Mortality estimates are influenced by the transmissibility rate (basic reproduction number), availability of diagnostic tools, notification policies, asymptomatic presentations of the disease, resources for disease prevention and control, and treatment facilities; variability in the mortality rate fits the pattern of emerging infectious diseases [ 46 ]. Furthermore, the reported cases did not consider asymptomatic cases, mild cases where individuals have not sought medical treatment, and the fact that many countries had limited access to diagnostic tests or have implemented testing policies later than the others. Considering the lack of reviews assessing diagnostic testing (sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of RT-PCT or immunoglobulin tests), and the preponderance of studies that assessed only symptomatic individuals, considerable imprecision around the calculated mortality rates existed in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Few reviews included treatment data. Those reviews described studies considered to be at a very low level of evidence: usually small, retrospective studies with very heterogeneous populations. Seven reviews analyzed laboratory parameters; those reviews could have been useful for clinicians who attend patients suspected of COVID-19 in emergency services worldwide, such as assessing which patients need to be reassessed more frequently.

All systematic reviews scored poorly on the AMSTAR 2 critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews. Most of the original studies included in the reviews were case series and case reports, impacting the quality of evidence. Such evidence has major implications for clinical practice and the use of these reviews in evidence-based practice and policy. Clinicians, patients, and policymakers can only have the highest confidence in systematic review findings if high-quality systematic review methodologies are employed. The urgent need for information during a pandemic does not justify poor quality reporting.

We acknowledge that there are numerous challenges associated with analyzing COVID-19 data during a pandemic [ 47 ]. High-quality evidence syntheses are needed for decision-making, but each type of evidence syntheses is associated with its inherent challenges.

The creation of classic systematic reviews requires considerable time and effort; with massive research output, they quickly become outdated, and preparing updated versions also requires considerable time. A recent study showed that updates of non-Cochrane systematic reviews are published a median of 5 years after the publication of the previous version [ 48 ].

Authors may register a review and then abandon it [ 49 ], but the existence of a public record that is not updated may lead other authors to believe that the review is still ongoing. A quarter of Cochrane review protocols remains unpublished as completed systematic reviews 8 years after protocol publication [ 50 ].

Rapid reviews can be used to summarize the evidence, but they involve methodological sacrifices and simplifications to produce information promptly, with inconsistent methodological approaches [ 51 ]. However, rapid reviews are justified in times of public health emergencies, and even Cochrane has resorted to publishing rapid reviews in response to the COVID-19 crisis [ 52 ]. Rapid reviews were eligible for inclusion in this overview, but only one of the 18 reviews included in this study was labeled as a rapid review.

Ideally, COVID-19 evidence would be continually summarized in a series of high-quality living systematic reviews, types of evidence synthesis defined as “ a systematic review which is continually updated, incorporating relevant new evidence as it becomes available ” [ 53 ]. However, conducting living systematic reviews requires considerable resources, calling into question the sustainability of such evidence synthesis over long periods [ 54 ].

Research reports about COVID-19 will contribute to research waste if they are poorly designed, poorly reported, or simply not necessary. In principle, systematic reviews should help reduce research waste as they usually provide recommendations for further research that is needed or may advise that sufficient evidence exists on a particular topic [ 55 ]. However, systematic reviews can also contribute to growing research waste when they are not needed, or poorly conducted and reported. Our present study clearly shows that most of the systematic reviews that were published early on in the COVID-19 pandemic could be categorized as research waste, as our confidence in their results is critically low.

Our study has some limitations. One is that for AMSTAR 2 assessment we relied on information available in publications; we did not attempt to contact study authors for clarifications or additional data. In three reviews, the methodological quality appraisal was challenging because they were published as letters, or labeled as rapid communications. As a result, various details about their review process were not included, leading to AMSTAR 2 questions being answered as “not reported”, resulting in low confidence scores. Full manuscripts might have provided additional information that could have led to higher confidence in the results. In other words, low scores could reflect incomplete reporting, not necessarily low-quality review methods. To make their review available more rapidly and more concisely, the authors may have omitted methodological details. A general issue during a crisis is that speed and completeness must be balanced. However, maintaining high standards requires proper resourcing and commitment to ensure that the users of systematic reviews can have high confidence in the results.

Furthermore, we used adjusted AMSTAR 2 scoring, as the tool was designed for critical appraisal of reviews of interventions. Some reviews may have received lower scores than actually warranted in spite of these adjustments.

Another limitation of our study may be the inclusion of multiple overlapping reviews, as some included reviews included the same primary studies. According to the Cochrane Handbook, including overlapping reviews may be appropriate when the review’s aim is “ to present and describe the current body of systematic review evidence on a topic ” [ 12 ], which was our aim. To avoid bias with summarizing evidence from overlapping reviews, we presented the forest plots without summary estimates. The forest plots serve to inform readers about the effect sizes for outcomes that were reported in each review.

Several authors from this study have contributed to one of the reviews identified [ 25 ]. To reduce the risk of any bias, two authors who did not co-author the review in question initially assessed its quality and limitations.

Finally, we note that the systematic reviews included in our overview may have had issues that our analysis did not identify because we did not analyze their primary studies to verify the accuracy of the data and information they presented. We give two examples to substantiate this possibility. Lovato et al. wrote a commentary on the review of Sun et al. [ 41 ], in which they criticized the authors’ conclusion that sore throat is rare in COVID-19 patients [ 56 ]. Lovato et al. highlighted that multiple studies included in Sun et al. did not accurately describe participants’ clinical presentations, warning that only three studies clearly reported data on sore throat [ 56 ].

In another example, Leung [ 57 ] warned about the review of Li, L.Q. et al. [ 29 ]: “ it is possible that this statistic was computed using overlapped samples, therefore some patients were double counted ”. Li et al. responded to Leung that it is uncertain whether the data overlapped, as they used data from published articles and did not have access to the original data; they also reported that they requested original data and that they plan to re-do their analyses once they receive them; they also urged readers to treat the data with caution [ 58 ]. This points to the evolving nature of evidence during a crisis.

Our study’s strength is that this overview adds to the current knowledge by providing a comprehensive summary of all the evidence synthesis about COVID-19 available early after the onset of the pandemic. This overview followed strict methodological criteria, including a comprehensive and sensitive search strategy and a standard tool for methodological appraisal of systematic reviews.

In conclusion, in this overview of systematic reviews, we analyzed evidence from the first 18 systematic reviews that were published after the emergence of COVID-19. However, confidence in the results of all the reviews was “critically low”. Thus, systematic reviews that were published early on in the pandemic could be categorized as research waste. Even during public health emergencies, studies and systematic reviews should adhere to established methodological standards to provide patients, clinicians, and decision-makers trustworthy evidence.

Availability of data and materials

All data collected and analyzed within this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Catherine Henderson DPhil from Swanscoe Communications for pro bono medical writing and editing support. We acknowledge support from the Covidence Team, specifically Anneliese Arno. We thank the whole International Network of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (InterNetCOVID-19) for their commitment and involvement. Members of the InterNetCOVID-19 are listed in Additional file 6 . We thank Pavel Cerny and Roger Crosthwaite for guiding the team supervisor (IJBN) on human resources management.

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Israel Júnior Borges do Nascimento & Milena Soriano Marcolino

Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Israel Júnior Borges do Nascimento

Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare, College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

Dónal P. O’Mathúna

School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

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Thilo Caspar von Groote

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Hebatullah Mohamed Abdulazeem

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Ishanka Weerasekara

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Ana Marusic, Irena Zakarija-Grkovic & Tina Poklepovic Pericic

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Livia Puljak

Cochrane Brazil, Evidence-Based Health Program, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Vinicius Tassoni Civile & Alvaro Nagib Atallah

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IJBN conceived the research idea and worked as a project coordinator. DPOM, TCVG, HMA, IW, AM, LP, VTC, IZG, TPP, ANA, SF, NLB and MSM were involved in data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, and initial draft writing. All authors revised the manuscript critically for the content. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

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Supplementary Information

Additional file 1: appendix 1..

Search strategies used in the study.

Additional file 2: Appendix 2.

Adjusted scoring of AMSTAR 2 used in this study for systematic reviews of studies that did not analyze interventions.

Additional file 3: Appendix 3.

List of excluded studies, with reasons.

Additional file 4: Appendix 4.

Table of overlapping studies, containing the list of primary studies included, their visual overlap in individual systematic reviews, and the number in how many reviews each primary study was included.

Additional file 5: Appendix 5.

A detailed explanation of AMSTAR scoring for each item in each review.

Additional file 6: Appendix 6.

List of members and affiliates of International Network of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (InterNetCOVID-19).

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Borges do Nascimento, I.J., O’Mathúna, D.P., von Groote, T.C. et al. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: an overview of systematic reviews. BMC Infect Dis 21 , 525 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06214-4

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Debunking COVID-19 myths

Chances are good that you've heard a lot of ways to avoid, treat or cure COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). If what you heard doesn't mention a COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 medicine from your healthcare professional, it could be a myth.

Myths are statements that aren't based in current facts. They are sometimes called misinformation.

COVID-19 myths spread early in the pandemic because the disease was new and information changed so quickly. Some of those myths are still spreading, along with new ones.

Before you take action to prevent or treat COVID-19, check with your healthcare professional. Vaccines and medicine to treat COVID-19 are now available. And more is known about medicines that don't work. Untested products that claim to treat COVID-19 also aren't likely to work. Some may cause serious harm.

Myth and misinformation

Misinformation is often a mix of true and false ideas. COVID-19 myths are no different. As new information comes out, not everyone learns about it at the same time. And a person may not know something they learned is false or may not remember it exactly.

Here are some known COVID-19 myths.

Do COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make cancer harder to treat?

No. COVID-19 vaccines are not linked to a rise in cancer or more aggressive cancer. This myth may be passed along as one person's experience. Or rarely, as a personal observation by a healthcare professional.

Researchers looked at the large groups of people who got a COVID-19 vaccine, and there is no evidence to support this myth.

Do COVID-19 vaccines cause heart problems, blood clots or stroke?

The COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. do not cause blood clots. COVID-19 vaccines are not linked to a higher risk of stroke. The benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks of rare cases of heart problems. Also, the risk of heart problems seem to be higher with COVID-19 infection than with COVID-19 vaccination.

Among some groups of people and depending on the type of COVID-19 vaccine, getting vaccinated is linked in rare cases to side effects. But it is a myth to say that, in general, the vaccine raises health risks more than catching the virus that causes COVID-19.

Using vaccine surveillance systems, health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can shed light on potential risks.

Myocarditis, pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. In some people, COVID-19 vaccines are linked to inflammation of the heart muscle or the lining outside the heart. This is a rare side effect seen more often in young males than in other groups. These complications also may happen after getting sick with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Blood clot syndrome after Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination. In 2021, vaccine tracking found that some people who got the J&J COVID-19 vaccine later got a blood clot disorder.

Called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, the disorder happened in about four people per one million doses of vaccine given. While the syndrome is rare, it is treated in the hospital and may result in death.

Because of this link, health agencies in the United States recommended other COVID-19 vaccine options instead of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. That vaccine is no longer available in the United States.

Stroke risk in older adults. In January 2023, one vaccine safety tracking system noted a possible rise in stroke risk among people over age 65 who got a COVID-19 vaccine. The system, Vaccine Safety Datalink, is designed to quickly find patterns of concerns, also called sensitivity. But after review, no specific pattern or link was found between reporting a stroke and getting a COVID-19 vaccine. The databases that produced the statistical signal are early warning systems. In this case, the signal was a false alarm.

The benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine still outweigh the risks of serious side effects for most populations. Complications are rare. These issues also may happen after getting sick with the virus that causes COVID-19.

In general, research on the most used COVID-19 vaccines in the United States suggests the vaccines lower the risk of complications such as blood clots or other types of damage to the heart.

If you have concerns, your healthcare professional can help you review the risks and benefits specific to your health situation.

Can you get COVID-19 from the Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax vaccines?

No. Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines only give your cells instructions for how to make a protein. Those instructions, called messenger RNA or mRNA, are for a protein on the surface of the COVID-19 virus. The Novavax vaccine takes a different approach. It contains one protein from the virus and another ingredient that boosts your immune system's response to the viral protein.

Some people may have side effects from vaccination, such as fever. But that's a sign that your body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19.

Can COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility?

No. COVID-19 vaccines do not cause fertility problems. After getting the vaccine, some women who get a period, also called menstruation, may have changes to their menstrual cycle. But these changes don't last and don't affect a person's ability to get pregnant.

If males have a fever after vaccination, they may produce less sperm for a short time. This is the case with fever from any cause, not just in response to a vaccine.

Do COVID-19 vaccines have a microchip?

No. COVID-19 vaccines are made only with ingredients that help the body recognize and clear out the virus that causes COVID-19. It is a myth that COVID-19 vaccines have microchips that track your location or movement.

Can COVID-19 vaccines affect your DNA?

No. COVID-19 vaccines cannot affect your DNA.

Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines only give your cells instructions for how to make a protein found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus. Those instructions, called messenger RNA or mRNA, allow your muscle cells to make the protein pieces and display them on cell surfaces. This causes your body to make antibodies.

Once the protein pieces are made, the cells break down the instructions and get rid of them. The mRNA from the vaccine doesn't enter the nucleus of the cell, where your DNA is kept.

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine uses only the parts of a virus that best stimulate your immune system. This type of COVID-19 vaccine contains harmless S proteins. Once your immune system recognizes the S proteins, it creates antibodies and defensive white blood cells.

Is getting COVID-19 better than getting a vaccine?

No. Unless your healthcare professional has said to avoid it, a COVID-19 vaccine is less risky than catching the virus that causes COVID-19. Vaccines lower the health risk of getting a disease by showing a weakened germ or part of a germ to your immune system. That way, the immune system can clear out the germs faster in the future.

Vaccine side effects can be planned for and are often mild. But the COVID-19 illness varies from person to person. And some people can get seriously ill. People who catch the COVID-19 virus instead of getting vaccinated may be at higher risk of post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after recovering from COVID-19 may give you better protection than just the vaccine or just the infection. That's called hybrid immunity. So even if you've had COVID-19 in the past, staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines is important to keep you protected. But if you haven't ever had COVID-19, don't get it to boost your immune response.

Will hot or cold temperatures keep me from getting COVID-19?

No. The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person. The virus spreads when other people breathe in infected droplets or when the droplets land in their eyes, noses or mouths.

It is a myth that hot or cold temperatures can keep you from catching the COVID-19 virus. People all over the world, in winter and summer, get COVID-19.

Will foods, drinks, or supplements prevent or treat COVID-19?

No. COVID-19 vaccines help prevent the disease. You can lower your chance of getting COVID-19 even more by taking other steps, such as washing your hands and improving air flow.

Adding hot peppers to your diet or garlic or taking in alcoholic drinks will not protect you from getting COVID-19 or treat the disease.

Dietary or herbal supplements are not recommended to prevent or treat COVID-19. Colloidal silver supplements aren't safe or effective for treating any disease. Oleandrin, an extract from the toxic oleander plant, is poisonous and shouldn't be taken as a supplement or home remedy.

Does COVID-19 spread through wireless or mobile networks?

No. Viruses can only spread between living beings and can't travel on radio waves and mobile networks. Most often, this myth calls out 5G mobile networks. But the COVID-19 virus has spread in many countries that lack 5G mobile networks. Avoiding exposure to or use of 5G networks doesn't prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus.

Will getting the vaccines to prevent pneumonia and flu prevent COVID-19?

No. Vaccines are made to protect against a specific germ. So pneumococcal vaccination protects against pneumonia. The influenza vaccination protects against flu viruses.

The COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are:

2023-2024 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
2023-2024 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
2023-2024 Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Cleaning Myths

Are ultraviolet (uv) disinfection lights the best way to prevent covid-19.

If someone in your home has COVID-19, clean and disinfect surfaces using products made for each surface. Follow the manufacturer's directions for disinfection.

Some types of UV light are used to disinfect surfaces, especially in healthcare settings. But in homes, it isn't clear how long some surfaces need to be exposed, and there are risks to using UV lights. Ultraviolet lights can expose you to unsafe levels of radiation. These wands also can damage your skin or eyes after just seconds.

Can I use disinfectant chemicals on or in my body?

No. When applied to surfaces, disinfectants can help kill germs such as the COVID-19 virus. But it is dangerous to use disinfectants on your body, inject them into your body or swallow them.

Spraying alcohol or bleach on your body won't kill viruses that have entered your body. These substances also can harm your eyes, mouth and clothes. Disinfectants can irritate the skin and may be toxic if swallowed or injected into the body. Also, don't wash produce with disinfectants.

COVID-19 treatment myths

Misinformation about COVID-19 treatments has led to serious harm and death.

Claims that ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine can treat COVID-19 are false. These medicines are still useful for treating other illnesses. But only medicines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat COVID-19 are useful for that illness.

Ivermectin treats or prevents certain parasite infections in animals and in humans. These drugs don't treat viruses. Taking large doses of this drug can cause serious harm.

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are malaria medicines. Early in the pandemic, when no treatments existed, the FDA authorized these medicines for emergency use. But the FDA withdrew that authorization when clinical trials showed that the drugs weren't effective for treating COVID-19. They also can cause serious heart problems.

Also, antibiotics are not used for viruses. They target another type of germs called bacteria.

Focus on facts

The FDA continues to remove products with misleading claims from store shelves and online marketplaces. In the meantime, keep in mind that stories from friends and family or celebrity testimonials aren't a substitute for scientific evidence. A miracle cure that claims to contain a secret ingredient is likely a hoax.

Talk to your healthcare professional if you have questions about COVID-19 treatment or prevention.

The CDC recommends a COVID-19 vaccine for everyone age 6 months and older. The COVID-19 vaccine can lower the risk of death or serious illness caused by COVID-19.

COVID-19 medicine helps people who are at risk, diagnosed or who have symptoms of the disease.

You can get medicine to manage symptoms. Some medicines stop the virus that causes COVID-19 from spreading in the body. And some COVID-19 medicines help manage the body's immune system response.

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Covid-19 vaccines and people with cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-people-with-cancer. Accessed April 26, 2024.
Selected adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
How to protect yourself and others. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html. Accessed April 26, 2024.
Lu Y, et al. Stroke risk after COVID-19 bivalent vaccination among US older adults. JAMA. 2024; doi:10.1001/jama.2024.1059.
ACIP presentation slides: October 25-26, 2023 meeting, Update on COVID-19 and influenza vaccine safety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/slides-2023-10-25-26.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Mercadé-Besora N, et al. The role of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing post-COVID-19 thromboembolic and cardiovascular complications. Heart. 2024; doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2023-323483.
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Getting your COVID-19 vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect.html. Accessed April 26, 2024.
Bust myths and learn the facts about COVID-19 vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
COVID-19 vaccines for people who would like to have a baby. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/planning-for-pregnancy.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Making the vaccine decision: Addressing common concerns. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/why-vaccinate/vaccine-decision.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Long COVID or post-COVID conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Gandhi RT, et al. COVID-19: Epidemiology, virology, and prevention. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Mythbusters. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Dietary supplements in the time of COVID-19. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/COVID19-HealthProfessional/. Accessed April 24, 2024.
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COVID-19 variant KP.3 remains dominant in US, rises to 36.9% of cases: See latest CDC data

The cdc predicts that the kp.3 covid-19 variant will 'continue increasing.'.

The KP.3 COVID-19 variant is continuing to lead as the dominant variant, the newest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows.

For a two-week period starting on June 23 and ending on July 6, the CDC’s Nowcast data tracker showed the projections of the COVID-19 variants. The KP.3 variant accounted for 36.9% of positive infections followed by KP.2 at 24.4%.

"Estimates predict that KP.3 is the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant making up 31.2 to 43% of viruses nationally. KP.3 is projected to continue increasing as proportions of the variants that cause COVID-19," CDC Spokesperson, Rosa Norman, told USA TODAY in a statement. "KP.3 evolved from JN.1, which was the major viral lineage circulating since December 2023."

The data also shows that the new variant LB.1 has fallen back 3% by accounting for 14.5% of cases but was previously at 17.5% of infections. JN.1, the previous ring leader since 2023, only had 1.0% of positive cases which is a 0.6% decrease from the previous two-week period.

On July 2, the CDC said that the COVID-19 infections are growing in 39 states , stable or uncertain in 10 states and declining in zero.

Here’s what you need to know about the KP.3 variant.

More COVID-19 News: Should you get the updated COVID-19 vaccine? See current guidelines from CDC.

What is the KP.3 variant?

Like JN.1 and "FLiRT" variants KP.1.1 and KP.2, KP.3 is a similar strain. Norman said that the KP.3 variant is, “a sublineage of the JN.1 lineage” which comes from the Omicron variant.

Symptoms of COVID-19

The CDC has not said if KP.3 has its own specific symptoms. Norman said the symptoms associated with KP.3 are similar to those from JN.1. However, the government agency outlines the basic symptoms of COVID-19 on its website. These symptoms can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.

These are some of the symptoms of COVID-19:

Fever or chills
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Muscle or body aches
Loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting

The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms:

Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to wake or stay awake
Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds

How can we protect ourselves from KP.3 and other variants?

The CDC recommends for everyone ages 6 months and older, with some exceptions, receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the disease, regardless whether or not you have previously been vaccinated against the virus.

CDC data shows the COVID-19 test positivity by state

CDC data shows which states has the lowest and highest COVID-19 positivity rates from June 29 to July 5, 2024.

Can't see the map? Click here to view it.

Within the past week COVID-19 test positivity has risen 9%, the CDC data shows.

Changes in COVID-19 test positivity within a week

Based on data collected by the CDC it showed that five states had the biggest increase of 4.7% in positive COVID-19 cases from June 29 to July 5, 2024.

Here's the list of states and their changes in COVID-19 positivity for the past week.


Alabama	+2.6
Alaska	+3.4
Arizona	+2.1
Arkansas	+4.7
California	+2.1
Colorado	+2.6
Connecticut	+0.7
Delaware	+2.3
District of Columbia	+2.3
Florida	+2.6
Georgia	+2.6
Hawaii	+2.1
Idaho	+3.4
Illinois	+2.9
Indiana	+2.9
Iowa	+2.3
Kansas	+2.3
Kentucky	+2.6
Louisiana	+4.7
Maine	+0.7
Maryland	+2.3
Massachusetts	+0.7
Michigan	+2.9
Minnesota	+2.9
Mississippi	+2.6
Missouri	+2.3
Montana	+2.6
Nebraska	+2.3
Nevada	+2.1
New Hampshire	+0.7
New Jersey	+2.2
New Mexico	+4.7
New York	+2.2
North Carolina	+2.6
North Dakota	+2.6
Ohio	+2.9
Oklahoma	+4.7
Oregon	+3.4
Pennsylvania	+2.3
Puerto Rico	+2.2
Rhode Island	+0.7
South Carolina	+2.6
South Dakota	+1.5
Tennessee	+2.6
Texas	+4.7
Utah	+2.6
Vermont	+0.7
Virginia	+2.3
Washington	+3.4
West Virginia	+2.3
Wisconsin	+2.9
Wyoming	+2.6

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected] . Follow her on Instagram , Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.

Contributing: Emily DeLetter

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.

Boebert Floats Wild Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy As Cause Of Biden's 'Decline'

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Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on Thursday weighed in on the discussion surrounding Joe Biden’s mental fitness for office by posting a series of photos of the president being vaccinated against COVID-19 and implying the immunizations could be to blame for what she called a “rapid physical and cognitive decline”—despite no medical evidence the shots cause such symptoms.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., speaks with reporters as she leaves the U.S. Capitol on May 17, ... [+] 2024.

Boebert on Thursday morning tweeted “I wonder what could have caused Joe Biden’s rapid physical and cognitive decline?” alongside four photos of the president being vaccinated for COVID-19 over the course of almost two years.

The photos, taken between January 2021 and October 2022, show the president receiving the first two doses of the vaccine and two booster shots.

Boebert’s post was made despite a lack of medical evidence showing the coronavirus vaccines cause any kind of long term mental or physical decline in patients who receive them, and contribute to a dangerous misinformation campaign that experts estimate caused millions of people to go unvaccinated—leading to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Biden, who has been under fire from opponents and allies alike since he appeared confused and unable to keep up in a presidential debate on June 27, has in the past been accused by Boebert and others of having dementia —a general term for loss of memory, language and other cognitive abilities—despite the White House earlier this month denying Biden has "any form of dementia."

There is no evidence to suggest that cognitive decline or symptoms are caused by Covid vaccines— no studies exist to indicate an increased risk of neurological disorders or memory loss from the COVID-19 vaccine and and there is no evidence the coronavirus vaccine causes or worsens dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Society .

A recent study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine found that while cognitive and memory impairment have been reported by those who have been infected with COVID-19 or who are suffering from long Covid, those who were vaccinated experienced less cognitive symptoms than those who were not.

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here .

319,000. That's how many Covid deaths could have been avoided after vaccines became available if those affected had been immunized, as of May 2022, according to NPR .

Key Background

Biden has faced concerns about his fitness for office since the June 27 debate, in which he stumbled, lost his train of thought and appeared confused throughout the event. He and his team later blamed the poor performance on exhaustion and an illness. Despite his repeated assurances he is prepared to be president for another four years, previous allies have come out of the woodwork to encourage him to drop out of the race and allow the Democratic nomination to go to someone else. The New York Times editorial board said Biden should leave the race in a call later echoed by The Chicago Tribune, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Boston Globe. Big-name supporters like Walmart heir Christy Walton, billionaire Michael Novogratz and actor George Clooney have all repeated the request, and a dozen Democratic representatives have suggested they've lost confidence in the president’s ability to beat Trump in November. In an interview with ABC days after the debate, Biden was asked whether he would be open to taking a neurological and cognitive test . Biden responded by saying, “No one said I had to,” and then said: “every day I have that test.”

U.S. President Joe Biden receives his updated COVID-19 booster at the White House on Oct. 25, 2022.

This isn't the first time Boebert has supported far-right conspiracy theories. She has, on multiple occasions , repeated the claim that the 2020 election was "stolen" from former President Donald Trump despite no evidence to support the claim. Rolling Stone later reported that she was involved in helping to organize a deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that sent elected officials fleeing armed insurrectionists, but Boebert later denied her involvement. Boebert expressed support for the conspiracy theory QAnon in July of 2020 and has made several white Christian nationalist statements, including speaking against the separation of church and state. She also accused a judge in Trump's hush-money trial, in which the former president was convicted of dozens of felony counts, of being " corrupt ."

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Housing | Southern California inflation has cooled, but…

Housing | Southern California inflation has cooled, but is it enough?

Nothing will be done to bring back the prices of the good ol' days, circa 2019..

Has inflation finally been whipped?

Nationally, the Consumer Price Index fell by 0.1% from May to June. It’s the first monthly dip since May 2020 – when the big worry was coronavirus, not the cost of living.

June’s decline, plus a modest 3% US inflation rate during the past year, nudged some economists to claim that the worst bout of price problems in four decades may have been tamed.

Well, I’m guessing those analysts must shop differently because Southern California stats suggest there’s some work left to do with inflation.

And victory debate aside, no economic repair lauded today will erase the sting of what the surging cost of living of 2021-23 did to local household budgets.

To understand how the local cost of living is moving, my trusty spreadsheet created a Southern California price benchmark – combining CPIs for Los Angeles/Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego. The focus was on 2024’s first-half inflation rates compared with the pain of the previous three years.

And, yes, this math shows pricing progress. Southern California’s cost of all goods and services rose 3.5% in the past year after jumping 18% in the 2021-23 period.

The big chunks

Three big chunks of Southern California spending reveal that prices aren’t all moving in the same direction.

Start with “nondurables” — the goods you buy for quick consumption, such as food and fuel. Southern California prices are up only 2.2% in the past year, but this comes after a 22% surge over three years. These are challenging expenses to avoid for consumers.

Now “durables” – goods that last like vehicles, appliances or furniture – have been on sale recently: prices are off 3.4% in the past year compared to a 16% jump in 2021-23. Skittish shoppers are skipping these purchases.

Then there’s paying the folks that do stuff for Southern Californians, from haircuts to landscaping. This inflation isn’t budging, with a labor shortage keeping costs up. The cost of “services” (minus rent) is up 3.9% in the past year after rising 19% in the previous three years.

The roof over your head

Contemplate the common household’s biggest expense, housing.

These Southern California costs, by CPI math, rose 4.5% the past year after increasing 18% in 2021-23.

Now there’s some good news in this niche. Electricity costs are down a smidgen, 0.3%, in the past year. Yet that doesn’t fully fix the 54% skyrocketing of 2021-23. Natural gas prices are 28% cheaper this year. However, heating fuel previously jumped 67%.

Or consider home furnishings and household operations. They’re 2% cheaper in 2024 after rising 15% in three years.

Eating eats the wallet

Southern Californians may wince less when they visit the grocery store.

The CPI says local groceries overall are only 1.5% costlier in 2024 after surging 21% in three years.

But going out to eat is even more painful to the wallet.

The CPI’s “food away from home” index shows Southern California dining is 6% pricier in the past year after rising 17% in the previous three years.

Getting somewhere

Travel has been costly – whether around town or getting away.

Southern California’s overall transportation expenses are 3.7% pricier in 2024 after a 30% three-year lift.

A big part of this is gasoline. Filling up cost 3.4% more this year, following a 60% surge in 2021-23.

At least what you drive is mildly cheaper as car lots are full of inventory.

Prices of new vehicles are off 1.7% this year after a 14% advance over three years. Used vehicles’ costs are down 5.6% in 2024 – a break from the 42% spike in the previous three years.

Other expenses

It’s a mixed picture for other slices of a Southern Californian budget.

Apparel: Off 1.4% this year compared with a 16% hike in the previous three years.

Education and communication: Up 1% this year after 6% gain.

Recreation: Up 1.3% this year after 12% gain.

Tuition and childcare: Up 2.3% this year after 10% gain.

Medical care: Up 3.9% this year after 11% advance.

Personal services: Up 4.3% this year after 22% gain.

Bottom line

Nothing will be done to bring back the prices of the good ol’ days, circa 2019.

So shoppers in Southern California and across the nation can at least root for policymakers to chill inflation further.

But note such an economic cooling could dampen local salaries, too.

Ponder the typical Southern California wage, according to the federal Employment Cost Index. It’s tried to keep pace with inflation: Up 4.9% in the past year after growing 16% in 2021-2023.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: an overview of systematic
Navigating the rapidly growing body of scientific literature on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is challenging, and ongoing critical appraisal of this output is essential. We aimed to summarize and critically appraise systematic reviews of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in humans that were available at the beginning of the pandemic.
Debunking COVID-19 myths
Some information you come across about COVID-19 may be out of date or false. Learn about COVID-19 myths so you can bust them when you see them.
PDF INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW Effects of Online Teaching and COVID-19
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic required the course to be fully online and there was an intensive effort over the next year to adapt course delivery to an online format.
KP.3 COVID-19 variant: What to know about symptoms, latest CDC data
The COVID-19 KP.3 variant continues to dominate in the United States now accounting for 36.9% of positive COVID cases.
The Facts About Medicare Spending
This interactive provides the facts on Medicare spending. Medicare, which serves 65 million people and accounts for 12 percent of the federal budget and 20 percent of national health spending, is ...
COVID Origins Hearing Wrap Up: Facts, Science, Evidence Point to a
WASHINGTON—The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing on "Investigating the Origins of COVID-19" to gather facts about the origination of the virus that has claimed nearly seven million lives globally. At the hearing, several of the witnesses pointed to how the science, facts, and evidence point to a lab leak in Wuhan.
Debunking Lauren Boebert's Claim That Covid Vaccines Caused ...
Boebert on Thursday morning tweeted "I wonder what could have caused Joe Biden's rapid physical and cognitive decline?" alongside four photos of the president being vaccinated for COVID-19 ...
Southern California inflation has cooled, but is it enough?
Southern California inflation has cooled, but is it enough? Nothing will be done to bring back the prices of the good ol' days, circa 2019.
China scolds EU over statement about South China Sea
BEIJING — China has rebuked the European Union over a statement about the South China Sea, saying the latter ignored historical and objective facts of the testy issue and "blatantly endorses" what it called the Philippines ' violation of its sovereignty. On Friday, the EU issued a statement to mark the anniversary of arbitration regarding sovereignty in the region which ruled in the ...