Given the worrying outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 or the new coronavirus) around the world with the country most affected, the United States, with a second wave, and infections in India, Brazil and in India in other countries, treatment measures continue to grow desperate again. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) has always stated that the possibility of a vaccine is at least a year and a half. WHO has also claimed that there is no proven cure for COVID-19 yet. The main reason for this desperation is that this virus is much more dangerous than newer viruses. The death rate is almost ten times higher. The virus devastated planet Earth before people understood it and knew little about it. Therefore, various topics related to collective immunity, plasma therapy, vaccine development and the use of reused drugs are continuously discussed and experienced around the world.
The term “herd immunity” basically means that when the population becomes immune to a particular infectious disease, it receives indirect protection from those who are not. For example, if 80% of the population is immunized, four out of five people will not get sick, even if they come into contact with infected people. Effective herd immunity that the virus can control requires at least 70-90% immunity. The problems arise when we talk about how this collective immunity can be obtained. There are two ways to achieve herd immunity: if precautions and social norms are not strictly observed, a large part of the population is susceptible to infection and at least 70% of the population can benefit from it. herd immunity, and second, simply through this development a vaccine. In the first case, the costs for a large number of infected people are very high and high in terms of loss of life. In India and other populated countries, a large part of the population is vulnerable or exposed to the virus, and receiving herd immunity is not advisable. The only way to achieve this would therefore be to develop a vaccine. Until it is ready for mass use, infections should be controlled using strict social distancing and other standards.
Plasma therapy has been shown to be a very positive development for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19, in whom blood plasma is injected by patients with restored coronavirus and the antibodies they contain promote healing. In India, this therapy is practiced with good results; In Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra, among others, plasma banks are set up to ask patients to donate plasma. Indeed, the Minister of Health of Delhi, seriously ill with COVID-19, has finally recovered from this therapy.
The WHO has established very strict procedures for the development of COVID vaccines: the vaccine produced must go through three strict phases of clinical trials, with more and more volunteers receiving doses before declaring it safe, which would take several month. apart from the month which is necessary for mass production and distribution. There are currently over 100 vaccine candidates worldwide, including seven companies in India, some of which are already approved for human clinical trials. The Oxford vaccine, developed in the UK, is currently in phase three of the vaccine. Attempt; CureVac from Germany approved for clinical studies; A Russian COVID vaccine has reportedly successfully completed all three phases of human studies and is now ready for mass production and at least two vaccines to be tested in India. Bharat Biotech’s first Indian vaccine candidate, Covaxin, has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for human studies. In fact, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Apex Medical Body, recently sparked controversy by asking stakeholders to speed up Covaxin to prepare the government for use by August 15, 2020. India was immediately rejected. It should be emphasized here that even if a vaccine is finally approved for mass use, its effectiveness will always remain under the scanner, because each vaccine often mutates