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Covid-19 has been a real plague on humankind. It is taking its toll both in loss of life, and the downturn in the economy, the spread of the virus has in most parts of the world been relentless.
Covid-19 Vaccines
A few countries got to grips with it early and took stringent measures to control its spread. Others did little or nothing, and some have been hit and miss in their approach. A considerable effort has been made to produce a vaccine which would generally take ten years to achieve. The vaccines that seem to work best in the results produced so far are likely to be available soon. Of course, there is a danger in using a vaccine which has not had the same clinical trials that would be normal to make sure that not only is it effective, but safe.
Prevention Better Than Cure
I have previously written a blog post, Prevention Better Than Cure, and this is a saying that is true in handling this Covid-19 pandemic. Avoiding the spread and catching the virus is key to any disease control. For thousands of years, there have been pandemics or plagues as we used to call them. Well before vaccines were a possibility, people have had to deal with them.
The best way to deal with plagues has always been to limit the spread by isolation, avoiding close contact, wearing a mask, washing of hands and infected materials such as clothing and bed linen. These are simple measures which work, and those countries that took the most vital steps early have prevented and stopped Covid-19 in its tracks.
Unfortunately, some people seem to have an aversion to taking such preventative measures and protest that this is taking away their freedom. Some seem to think that this is some form of conspiracy. They believe governments want to inject them with a microchip, thinking this will be to control their minds and administered as a Covid-10 vaccine. How sad but real to them in their minds, and they spread this message using social media.
Others minimise the effects of the virus, calling it little more than a cold, and as they aren't in a high-risk group, it will not harm them. There are numerous reports of such healthy young people who have died of Covid-19. No one can with any certainty say that they will not be badly affected after catching the virus. Doctors are now telling us that there is something described as Long-Covid, which seems to make people weak and sometimes feeling they have recovered revert to a state of unwellness and extreme tiredness.
The answer to stopping the spread of Covid-19 must start with those fundamental principles of hands, face, mask and distance. If the virus can't find a host, it will die and not be able to return. Viruses can change, and we must not rely on vaccines as the only answer. A new strain escaping into the community may be worse than Covid-19 has been to date. It is up to each one of use to be responsible for not just our safety, but that of others.
