A global study on human health indicated that the Coronavirus outbreak and pandemic, intertwined with a continued global increase in chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, as well as environmental risks such as air pollution, have exacerbated the death toll. due to infection with the Coronavirus.
The study is titled “Global Burden of Disease” and is the most comprehensive of its kind. The study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, analyzed 286 causes of death, 369 illnesses and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and regions, to provide a picture of the basic health situation of the world population and the impact of Covid-19.
“Covid-19 is a serious health emergency,” said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet. He described the corona pandemic and the global high incidence of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases as a “compound epidemic.”
The study concluded that the most important causes of morbidity for people 50 years and older in the world are ischemic heart disease, stroke and diabetes. In the youngest age groups, between ten and forty-nine, traffic accidents, acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS), low back pain and depressive disorders were the most common.
The study also revealed that the rise in chronic diseases combined with public health failures in the face of avoidable risk factors has made the world’s population more vulnerable to health emergencies such as the Corona pandemic.
Horton said chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity and high cholesterol, which are symptoms suffered by millions of people around the world, have played a role in the deaths of more than one million due to Covid-19 infection so far.
He added that these symptoms are caused by unhealthy diets and insufficient exercise. “We will continue to determine the health situation in each country after the pandemic subsides,” he added.
CGM / MS (DPA)
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
‘They fade quickly’
Initial studies conducted in China, Germany, Britain, and other countries concluded that patients infected with the emerging coronavirus develop protective antiviral bodies as part of the body’s immune system, but it appears that these bodies only remain effective for a few months. Daniel Altman, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said that “its effect (self-developed protective bodies) often diminishes rapidly.
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
Two options for vaccine developers
Experts say the rapid weakening of immunity poses significant problems for vaccine developers and public health authorities, as well as those seeking to implement these vaccines to protect their people from future epidemics. “For vaccines to be truly effective, there are two options: either the need to develop stronger, longer-term protection … or the vaccine must be obtained regularly,” said Stephen Griffin, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Leeds.
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
World race
More than 100 companies and research teams are looking to develop vaccines, of which at least 17 are currently being tested in humans. The American company Moderna announced on Tuesday (July 15, 2020) that clinical trials will enter the final stage on July 27. Moderna is thus the first company to reach this stage. Russia announced that it had completed the first clinical trials of an experimental vaccine tested in humans, to be completed by the end of July.
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
Two doses are “better” than one
In preclinical trials in pigs to monitor the effect of a vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company (AstraZeneca) to treat Covid-19, known as (AZD 1222), it was found that two doses of the vaccine contributed to the antibody response better than one dose. However, so far, there is no data recorded by any human vaccine trial to show whether any immune response to the antibody will be strong enough or long-lasting.
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
Time pressure
Geoffrey Arnold, a visiting professor of microbiology at the University of Oxford in Britain and a former Sanofi Pasteur expert, said that very rapid development and testing of potential Corona virus vaccines have been going on for just six months, which that is not enough to show how long the vaccines could provide. Experts expect that it will take 12 to 18 months to produce a safe and effective vaccine from the beginning of development.
-
Decreased immune response is the biggest obstacle to developing a Corona vaccine
Booster dose
One approach, Griffin-Arnold said, could be that when those vaccines are developed, authorities should consider receiving booster doses for millions of people at regular intervals or even combining two or more vaccines so that each person gets the best protection. possible. However, this can be very challenging on a practical level. “Giving everyone a dose of the vaccine is one thing … and giving them multiple doses is another thing,” he said.
