Years in the Fog: 10 Uncovered Secrets of COVID-19

In late January, the European Union (EU) leadership said it could block Pfizer / BioNTech’s German-American exports to the UK in response to a disruption in the supply of British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccines to the EU. This sparked a “vaccine war”.

At the time, AstraZeneca had guaranteed to keep the promised supply of the vaccine to the UK. The company explained its decision by saying that its contract with the EU was signed later. Brussels does not rule out the possibility that the company sells part of the vaccines for the EU outside the EU.

There are more than 453 million people living in the European Union. persons. At that time, only 8.5 million people have been vaccinated. – mainly doctors, social workers and the elderly. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of cases in the EU has approached 19 million, with almost 450,000 deaths.

There are more than 453 million people living in the European Union. persons. At that time, only 8.5 million people have been vaccinated. – mainly doctors, social workers and the elderly.

In this context, the recent statement by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corporation (especially given all the conspiracy theories about himself and the coronavirus) has sounded particularly compelling that the world is unlikely to prevent another pandemic, albeit deadly. , be ten times more serious. , with 35 percent. mortality. According to Gates, from now on the coronavirus will become part of our daily lives, like a natural disaster or climate change, although his grim predictions do not come true:

“We are not prepared for another pandemic. We do not know when an ordinary hit will hit, be it the flu or some previously unknown illness. But we clearly understand that we cannot allow ourselves to be caught unexpectedly. The threat of another pandemic looms over us unless we the world take steps to prevent it. “

It is clear that the leaders of the World Health Organization (WHO) are also concerned that there is no way to stop the pandemic. “Without new mutations, the general fatigue of COVID-19 and the consequences of the Christmas and New Year holidays could cause a terrible ‘storm’ of new strains of the disease and unleash another wave, initially in Africa, from where it will spread yet more, “said Matshidiso, WHO Regional Director for Africa. Rebecca Moeti.

The incidence in Africa has risen to 175,000. new cases per week and mortality: up to 6.2 thousand. The number of new patients has increased 50 percent in the last month, compared to the previous four weeks.

Top 10 SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Secrets Discovered:

1. However, how the virus opens

The main hypothesis so far remains that we obtained SARS-CoV-2 from bats in China. Many coronaviruses are circulating in their environment and some of them have already caused epidemics, as in 2002. However, the new coronavirus had to pass through another animal species to acquire the ability to infect humans. And the search for this intermediate host has not succeeded yet.

No samples taken from animals could be detected in Wuhan’s so-called “wet market”, which was identified in early 2020 as the starting point for transmission of the virus to humans. In addition, several scientists speculate that the virus was still artificially created and “accidentally sprouted” from a well-known laboratory in the same city, and the Chinese authorities realized everything well before announcing the new disease to the rest of the world.

2. However, how will a pandemic end if it occurs?

Many physicians believe that if the governments of the world, pressured by many circumstances, opt for a “virus coexistence” strategy, next year’s morbidity rates in many countries will be significantly higher than in 2020.

In particular, young people who do not have additional risk factors (and therefore have not received the vaccine) would be at risk. This could force Europe to change its mind and finally begin to follow the example of Asian countries, which in early 2020 decided to take the harshest and most draconian measures to stop the spread of the virus in a short time, even before the gates of sick and a total of 24 hour curfew.

3. What is the death rate?

The overall death rate from COVID-19 so far ranges from 0.5 to 1 percent of the total number of infections, but mortality is directly related to the age of patients. Between eighty and over, it represents 25 to 50 percent.

Among people between 50 and 70 years, it reaches 10 percent, especially in the presence of additional aggravating factors such as lung and heart disease, diabetes or obesity. And almost half of the people in that age group suffer from these diseases. Among the population under the age of fifty, the death rate is about one in a thousand, which is close to the rates for common types of flu.

4. However, how the new coronavirus is transmitted more frequently

Since the summer of 2020, several major studies on the subject have been published, but no conclusive response has been received. Some doctors believe that the main way of transmission of the disease is through droplets of saliva (such as kissing or using shared utensils), and the route of the spray (that is, if the patient sneezes or coughs next to you) plays alone a supporting role.

There is also no unit in the medical world on whether SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted through infected surfaces and how long the virus remains active and viable on them.

5. Is it possible to treat the disease and how

Over the years, doctors have tried all known suitable drugs that have previously treated both malaria and head lice on patients. Among them, even with serious side effects, and in many cases without a noticeable positive result. From chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to dexamethasone and from ivermectin to colchicine.

However, in some cases, these preparations have sometimes been shown to inexplicably reduce mortality of patients in severe and critical conditions and invasive mechanical ventilation of the lungs, that is, the need for connection to artificial respiration equipment.

6. However, how long does immunity last?

Studies have shown that nearly 95 percent of people with COVID-19 begin to produce antibodies, the number of which depends on the severity of the illness. And those antibodies can be detected even in the mildest form after half a year. However, doctors cannot yet say how many antibodies are necessary to prevent a person from becoming infected again.

7. However, why are some cases of the disease very serious and others seem completely innocent?

Over the years, doctors have concluded that the clinical deterioration of the disease depends on the body’s immune system, but it is difficult to predict such a reaction.

Some time ago, the main cause of death in many patients was considered to be the so-called “cytokine storm”, which is a particularly high activity of proteins responsible for transmitting signals in the cell during inflammation. However, a new version has now emerged that so-called “autoantibodies” play a key role, that is, specific antibodies directed, curiously, against the body itself.

8. Does the virus keep mutating dangerously?

In late 2020, UK doctors discovered a new mutation in the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus that is spreading at a faster rate and forcing the population to be more cautious. A new subtype of this coronavirus may be 70 percent more contagious than the previous one, but doctors say that so far no one talks about it being more dangerous in terms of mortality or severity of the disease.

And in the Republic of South Africa, another mutation was detected in October last year: the 501.V2 strain. This strain of coronavirus now dominates throughout South Africa. How dangerous will it become when it explodes outside the region?

The so-called “RNA vaccines” at the time, which are now used for vaccination in the Western world, have advantages over others: they make it easier for antibodies to adapt to new strains of the virus if the need arises. This is at least what the vaccine manufacturers say. By the way, this is not the case for all vaccine production technologies.

9. However, what role do children play in the spread of the disease?

For example, a study by the University of Geneva with 1,000 children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years showed that the infection rate of children older than 6 years (23%) turned out to be almost identical to the level of the general population (22 per hundred).

“You cannot just look at the number of confirmed cases among children and conclude that they are not infected. Children are more likely to develop asymptomatic forms and are much less likely to be tested, says Silvia Stringhini, director of the Laboratory of Population Epidemiology at the University of Geneva. “The question remains: what is the actual contribution of children to the spread of disease in society?”

10. Is it still possible to get infected with pets?

The list of animal species among which SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed is growing: it already includes dogs, cats, minks, lions, tigers and gorillas. This testifies to the possible transmission of the infection from humans to animals (the so-called reverse zoonosis), as well as the particular susceptibility of predators, especially members of the martial family, to the virus.

Although studies show a very limited distribution of SARS-CoV-2 among dogs and cats, major outbreaks have been recorded in tissue farms, particularly in Denmark, resulting in the death of several million of these animals.