Coronavirus pandemic – Is there a cure?

The coronavirus has taken the world by storm. The pandemic has infected more than 4,342,685 people and killed more than 292,893 (according to worldometer.info with last update on May 13, 2020) worldwide since late January, when it was first reported. There are some 100 research groups across the world racing to develop a vaccine. Existing drugs are also trialed against the virus. While a COVID-19 specific vaccine is yet to be found, the anti-malarial drug Chloroquine, and a related derivative, Hydroxychloroquine has shown promise in treating the COVID-19 in the initial clinical trials. The doorway used by SARS-COV-2 is the spike protein on its surface that it uses to attach to a receptor on the surface of human cells, but studies in cell culture have suggested chloroquines have some activity against the virus. However, more rigorous clinical trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of the drug as the doses needed to treat COVID-19 are usually very high, which raises risk of toxicities like irregular heartbeats and potential organ damage. Research is happening at breakneck speed to develop an effective vaccine and cure for the viral infection. Randomized controlled trials have provided evidence that BCG vaccine's immunomodulatory properties can protect against respiratory infections and the incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases is lesser to date in countries where BCG vaccination is routinely used, in comparison to the countries that don’t support BCG vaccination. The health community across the world is also looking for convalescent plasma or antibody therapy to battle the coronavirus. The plasma therapy, requires blood plasma donations from people who have recovered from COVID-19. This plasma is administered to COVID-19 patients who could not generate sufficient antibodies against the virus. This therapy has its own benefits as this relies only on drawing blood from a recovered patient and does not require lot of time or money to get through the trials and regulations unlike the drugs being researched. With the news about the coronavirus becoming the trending and most dreaded topic of present times, it is only through proper awareness and preventive hygienic measures, that we will be able to overcome the global health crisis. Join Ms. Sharon Angel in this interesting episode of ‘Vaanga Sinthikkalam’, as she discusses with medical professional about the deadly coronavirus disease, recent developments on the cure/vaccine for the COVID-19 disease and the preventive measures that we can take to defeat the disease. SEESHA is a NGO that works towards empowering underprivileged communities across India. SEESHA was founded in the year 2003 by philanthropist Dr. Paul Dhinakaran & over the past 16 years, it has transformed more than 3lakh lives in urban & semi-urban slums, villages and tribal communities across 16 States in India. To know more about our services, call us @ +91-9300 600 600. visit us at : www.seesha.org   / seesha.org      / seeshaindai     / channel     / admin   #workfromhome #covid19 #socialdistancing #remoteworker #healthcare #remoteoffice #fightagainst #preventing #workremotely #medicalprofessional #vaangasinthikkalam #BCGvaccination #frequentlyaskedquestions #depression #mentalhealth #physicalhealth #depression #coronavirus #vaangasinthikkalam #staysafe #coping #disease #hospital #coronaindia #fearsfacts #fears #facts #BCG #vaccination #BCGvaccination #coronaviruspandemic #lockdown #lockdownindia #vulnerablepopulace #hydroxychloroquine #Chloroquine #drugs #coronadrugs #immunomodulatory