Two years of COVID: three things we made a mistake, and three things to watch out for

Just two years ago, March 11, 2020, World Health Organization Declared COVID-19 as a pandemic..

This was two months after reports of a mystery virus infecting people in Wuhan, the most populous city in central China.quick Report He said the virus did not appear to be easily spread by humans.

Now, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can certainly be spread by humans.It quickly traveled around the world and has never been 450 million Man.

COVID-19 is the disease it causes and has killed more than 6 million people so far, making it one of the most common diseases. Deadly A pandemic in history.

At that time, we knew very little about viruses and COVID.

Here are three things we noticed wrong as the pandemic progressed, and three things we need to pay attention to as we approach. Endemic stageThe virus continues to circulate within the population at relatively stable levels.

1. Many were worried that they couldn’t get the vaccine

At the beginning of 2020, it was unclear if a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 would be possible.

was Previous attempt Two similar coronaviruses that have caused outbreaks in this century to develop vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS). Some of these vaccines participated in clinical trials, but none were approved.

Before COVID, the earliest developed vaccine was MumpsIt took 4 years.

But in less than 12 months, Pfizer / BioNTech has developed a successful vaccine. now, we have Twelve vaccines approved for full use in different parts of the world, 19 vaccines for emergency use, and more than 100 vaccines are still in clinical trials.

both Pfizer When modern Clinical trials of Omicron-specific vaccines have also begun.

There are also several research groups under development around the world vaccination We aim to work for all SARS-CoV-2 variants.

2. Some people thought they didn’t need a face mask

In the early days, without vaccines, we had to resort to individual precautions such as hand hygiene, social distance and face masks to reduce infections.

Although it was widely accepted that hand washing and social distance were protected from infection, face masks were far more controversial.

Prior to April 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised Against Wearing a face mask by the public. There were clearly two reasons for this.

First, the CDC was afraid that there was not enough supply of surgical masks and N95 masks that are essential in high-risk environments.

Second, it ’s Thoughts at that time Asymptomatic and asymptomatic people were unable to infect the virus (we now know they can be infected).

However, on April 3, 2020, CDC Changed the advice And it is recommended that the general public wear a multi-layer cloth mask.

This is now Has been updated Wear a fit mask that is always worn.

With the advent of Omicron, some experts say Cloth masks do not do their job, and people need to wear at least surgical masks, or better breathing masks such as P2, KN95, N95.

3. I was worried a lot about surface permeability

In the early days of the pandemic it was thought Contaminated surface It was the primary means of COVID infection.

People wore gloves when they went to the supermarket (some still do) and washed food packages when they got home.

But now it turns out that the virus is widespread mainly Through the propagation of aerosols and droplets.

Loading

When a person coughs or sneezes splash If it contains mucus, saliva, water, or virus particles, it can land on others or fall to the surface.

Large droplets do not move too far and tend to fall quickly.

Small droplets called aerosols can stay air Long term before settling down.

Scientists now believe in touch communication Contaminated The surface is very rare.

Three things to watch out for

As COVID becomes more prevalent, there are three important issues we need to be aware of.

1. New variant

It is still possible that new and more serious variants will hit us. One of the main reasons for this is low vaccination rates in many developing countries. The more the virus is replicated in the unvaccinated population, the more likely it is to be mutated or mutated.

Vaccine maker Pfizer and Moderna Produce vaccines at your facility or license the right to produce vaccines in other countries.