The coronavirus cases have reached a whopping number of 200 million worldwide, and every day, countries are reporting the new cases in double-digit. In the year 2021, it was noticed that the pandemic took a massive shift and the virus became more mutant than it was in late 2019. There have been different variants of the COVID 19 disease, and the virus has become stronger with each variant. The death count has reached the number of 4 million worldwide, and even with the increasing number of administrated vaccine doses worldwide, the death rate has been persistent in some countries.
Due to the contagious character of the disease, the vast majority of people believe that the corona pandemic wouldn’t go away anytime soon, and this perception has made different underdeveloped and developing countries think about their pandemic strategy from scratch. The number of people getting vaccinated on a daily basis has seen a massive surge due to the spike that has occurred as a result of the Delta variant of the SARS-2 disease, although the efficacy that each vaccine provides might vary on paper.
There has been a sense of worry among the masses about the safety that they might get with the vaccine shot, and many have been reluctant to get vaccinated due to the rumors and hoaxes that have been floating since the time the mass production of different vaccines was announced by the leading drug makers like AstraZeneca, BioNTech, Moderna, and Pfizer.
The Future of COVID 19
The increase in the number of vaccine dosages that are being administrated provides us with a hint that it’s not a lost cause after all. The combination of the antivirus vaccine and mandatory safety measures is said to be playing a major role in bringing the rate of transmission down over time. The medical experts worldwide have been a collective consensus that the pandemic would be reduced to an epidemic disease that might stay within the surroundings in different, less lethal form. Despite the fact that vaccines are highly effective against the possible horrors of hospitalization, it’s the need of the hour that the masses adhere to the standard operating procedures to help in bringing the rising rate of infection to a manageable point.
The Vaccines
There are a number of effective vaccines that have been introduced by some of the leading pharmaceutical giants all over the globe. The rate of efficacy that each vaccine might provide differs, although all of them promise to prevent severe symptoms and the possibility of potential death or hospitalization. The pharmaceuticals are working tirelessly to ensure that a considerable number of doses are produced that are enough to meet the global requirement for vaccine doses. The exceptional rise in the cases related to the mutant versions of the disease has made the global drug giants make their dose a lot more effective than it was when first introduced on a large scale. The pharmaceuticals have even hinted at a possibility of a third ‘booster’ if necessary. It’s a notable fact that some of the vaccines are multidose (the ones that might need a booster shot), and the Chinese alternatives might only be needing a single shot. It’s also noteworthy that the drug producers are working towards dispatching a balanced number of doses to the fractions of developed, underdeveloped, and developing countries in order to minimize the disparity that was being feared in the different parts of the world.
There’s also a noticeable amount of fear in regions such as Africa that they might be the last to get immunity against the global pandemic. The transportation and the distribution of the vaccines in several parts of Africa have become a known challenge to the pharmaceutical companies, and there are eyebrows being raised fearing that the neglected mineral-rich continent might be left unchecked, keeping the past record in mind. The neglected continent of Africa is said to be home to some of the known epidemics like Ebola, and if left unchecked, it might become a breeding ground for the SARS-2 in the future. There have been reports about the Chinese manufacturers joining hands with the African officials to ensure the uninterrupted supply of lifesaving vaccines, so there’s a ray of hope that things might not get as bad as anticipated by the global fronts.
The SOPs
The implementation of the standard operating procedures has been persistently endorsed by the governments and the healthcare staff as they are seen as the first line of defense against the lethal disease. It can only be possible to control the spread of the disease if the SOPs are put in place along with the vaccination process. It has been noted that the strong implementation of the SOPs has helped the people to fight against the severity of the disease, and in areas in which the laws were strict, the transmission rate has been drastically decreasing.
There have been large-scale drives in different developing and underdeveloped countries where the pharmaceuticals have invested in various campaigns that are involved in raising awareness about the importance of the SOPs. There has been a massive surge in the large-scale distribution of protective materials such as hand sanitizers, guidelines, and face masks to stress over the need to adhere to the SOPs suggested by the World Health Organization.
According to medical experts, the transition of the disease from a pandemic to an epidemic state would only be possible gradually, and the only way to achieve satisfactory results is to adhere to precautionary measures. The usage of masks is also advisable even if an individual is fully vaccinated by any of the available vaccines due to the high risk of being infected by the virus even after the vaccination procedure. The people who have been exposed to the virus and have recovered successfully are also at a high-risk spectrum to be reinfected by any of the variants according to their location.
The Role of the Masks
The role that different protective gear has been playing in the fight against the spread of the virus has been phenomenal. The masks have been becoming better with various capabilities to withstand the airborne particles that are responsible for the widespread of the lethal coronavirus. The manufacturers have been working towards making the masks far more effective and easier to wear for the masses so they can have an adequate amount of protection against the COVID 19 virus. The masks have been categorized in different ways according to the ability to provide the protection that is crucial to hold the rate of transmission.
The manufacturers have been various mass-producing masks at a large scale, so the availability of the PPE masks doesn’t get affected by any means, and they can provide protection to a large chunk of the world’s population. Different masks have been introduced with different nomenclature, including K-95, N-95, and KN-95, with each providing more than 90% protection against the mutant coronavirus variants.
China was the place from where the virus had erupted, so it’s an understandable fact that the China disposable face mask exporter circle has a greater role in providing a large amount of supply of face masks to the world population. The cheaper production rates and China’s manufacturing infrastructure has played a pivotal role in making China a well-known hub for the supply of face masks to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It’s due to the commendable supply chain mechanism of the Chinese medical equipment magnates that the medical supplies from China had reached a record high of 224.2 billion pieces only for the protective face masks along with the 2.31 billion pieces of personal protective clothing. China’s PPE supplies have only gone up since the beginning of the global health crisis that with its supply to the countries in Asia and Africa where there’s a large reliance on Chinese goods due to relatively low transportation costs and manufacturing rates.
The Public Opinion
The public opinion about the pandemic has been mixed along with different fears that have been erupting among the people. There have been several studies conducted in different time intervals that have shown visible signs of worry among the masses. According to a study that was conducted 202 people out the total 439 respondents feared that their loved ones, friends, and family would get exposed to the virus resulting in severe ailment or death, whereas 85 people (19.5%) out of the 439 respondents feared that the mutant versions of virus might reach to an extent where it’s practically impossible to restrict the mortality rate.
There has been an evident increment in the cases where the constant practice of work-from-home has resulted in a workplace phobia among the masses, and people are reluctant to go back to their jobs. A relatively higher number of healthcare professionals, including the doctors and the premedical staff, has also developed symptoms of workplace phobia, and many of them face dilemmas, stress, anxiety by the thought of showing up to their respective workplaces.
A large number of people were also concerned about the future of the pandemic, along with the rising concerns about the affected mental health and stress. The prolonged pandemic has shown severe signs of mental discomfort among the people resulting in several disorders and phobias. There have been several studies hinting towards the possibility of an increase in obesity, work pressure, social awkwardness, and fears of public interactions that might be erupted among the people who have been confined to the walled surroundings of their homes.
The economic discourse is another thing that has disturbed the masses in different regions as many fear for their jobs and source of income. It’s a known fact that the kind of financial breakdown that this pandemic has brought is the biggest since the global financial meltdown back in the year 2008 with the famous Wall Street falling like a sequence in a domino effect.
The one thing that should be kept in mind is the fact that the world had faced situations like complete lockdowns in the majority of the European and Asian countries that had drastically affected the global economic scene. The mutant versions and new variants of the coronavirus have once again pushed several industries to take a road to square one, and with different waves of the virus, the insecurity is quite visible among the masses. The largely affected countries from the lockdown practice are those with lower income per capita and the ones that are largely reliant on wages.
Many people think that we would have to learn to live with the reality of the COVID 19 as the virus would stay in one form or the other in the upcoming years. There are a fraction of people who thinks that the future of the disease would be similar to the diseases like malaria that came as a lethal illness, but the counter efforts pushed them to an extent where they were not as lethal as they were when they first came and ended up being a part of our daily lives. People are hopeful that just like malaria, the COVID 19 would also be preventable in the future with the developments being made in the pharmaceutical sector.
