Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 has undoubtedly changed the course of the 21st century. It has stilled the clatter and the traffic of the world and its habitants. There struck a sombre note in the people’s lives during the start of the year 2020. The world faced a deadly biological disaster that seized us all to our homes. Lives were lost, jobs were lost, freedom was lost.

Even to this day, in the midst of vaccines being administered, the United Kingdom and the United states face a huge problem. Both the counties, despite being the superpowers and having thriving economies, could not stop this deadly virus from spreading. With a new strain of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, the world faces a new challenge. The majority of the countries have banned flights from the UK, isolating it from the rest of Europe and the world. But seeing the vaccine working on people shows us a beacon of hope during these challenging times.

It would be fair to say that Pakistan has successfully managed to stop this deadly virus from spreading. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s concept of implementing smart lockdowns across the country has proven to be the antidote to this problem. This concept has been appreciated by the World Health Organisation and other international health departments and institutes. Banning flights from the UK is an excellent choice. Even though, the spread of the virus is inevitable and we all would have to face the music, this decision will help in delaying and slowing the spread of this virus.

The federal minister for science and technology has announced that Pakistan is all set to purchase 1.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinopharm. This vaccine is different from the vaccine offered by Pfizer Moderna. The vaccine offered by Pfizer and Moderna injects the genetic code of the coronavirus into the human body to trigger the immune system. On the contrary, the vaccine offered by China works by administering an inactive virus to the body to trigger an immune response. This procedure is similar to the process used for treating rabies. Unfortunately, this vaccine is also said to be 79 per cent effective, which is less than the vaccine offered by Pfizer and Moderna. Meanwhile, the vaccine offered by Pfizer and Moderna is 95 per cent effective. Another saddening and tormenting news is that three UK returnees have tested positive and show 95 per cent match to the new Covid-19 strain. This new Covid- 19 strain is 56 per cent more contagious than the original variant of this deadly disease. Experts say that this would unfortunately result in more hospitalisations and deaths. The researchers suggest that in 2021, the number of hospitalisations and deaths would be even more than the ones observed during 2020.

At the same time, Pakistan is facing the second wave of Covid-19. Pakistan has reported the highest number of deaths during the second wave and second highest since the beginning of the pandemic. India has also confirmed six cases of UK returnees with the new variant of Covid-19. India has also extended the ban on flights from UK. That being said, we all should strictly follow the SOPs that have been set by the government. We should have a healthy diet accompanied with some workout. This would indeed have a positive effect and would help to thwart this deadly virus.

The writer’s email address is: mhamza252@hotmail.com