Research consultancy
QUESTION TWO
Historically, the world has successfully faced serious epidemics like Malaria, Small pox, Influenza, Cholera, Yellow fever, Leprosy, Ebola, swine flu etc. Right now, no matter the world has progressed so much but still some anomalies in human civilization exist. Like the humans have become so much sophisticated that they open themselves up to various trades, different eco systems, populations, and become more curious. As a result, they have become more vulnerable to catching strange diseases and this thing has paved the way towards the spread of most recent and life threatening COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately as time is progressing, this COVID-19 pandemic has started becoming a part of the history books (Walsh, 2020). In the series of combat with COVID-19, a great tribute to the Public Healthcare Systems whose strategy and efforts has played a very effective role all over the world in decreasing the number of fatalities.
In early 2020, the COVID-19 (caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) pandemic shocked the world, almost bringing it to an unprecedented stop. The new coronavirus apparently started to spread in China during December 2019, before moving to Thailand, Japan, the Republic of Korea (first confirmed cases on 20 January 2020), then to the United States, Vietnam, Singapore , and, at the end of January 2020, to Australia, Nepal, Europe (first cases in France on 25 January 2020 and later in Germany, Finland, Italy, Malaysia, Canada, the Middle East, and other countries of the Western Pacific Region and South-East Asia Region, and (3) onwards to Russia, Africa, and Latin America. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 a pandemic. By 31 July 2020, COVID-19 had spread across 217+ countries and territories, with almost 17.1 million confirmed cases and 668,073 deaths. America then had confirmed 9.15 million cases, Europe 3.31 million, South-East Asia 2 million, Eastern Mediterranean 1.53 million, Africa 0.75 million, and the Western Pacific 0.31 million cases.
There are more vaccine candidates simultaneously in the pipeline for COVID-19 than ever before for an infectious disease. All of them are trying to achieve the same thing – immunity to the virus, and some might also be able to stop transmission. They do so by stimulating an immune response to an antigen, a molecule found on the virus. In the case of COVID-19, the antigen is typically the characteristic spike protein found on the surface of the virus, which it normally uses to help it invade human cells and As of August 19, 2021, nearly 200 million people in the United States alone have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, vaccination among pregnant people remains low. Data show that only about 1 in every 4 pregnant people report vaccination, and certain groups have much lower uptake. This low uptake persists despite recent increases in COVID-19 cases in pregnant people. CDC recommends all people 12 years and older including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future – get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Compared to non-pregnant people, pregnant and recently pregnant people are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including illness that requires hospitalization, intensive care, a ventilator or special equipment to breathe, or illness that results in death. Having certain underlying medical conditions and other factors, including age, can further increase a pregnant person’s risk for developing severe COVID-19. Additionally, changes that occur in the body during pregnancy that increase the risk for severe illness can continue after pregnancy. Pregnant people with COVID-19 are also at increased risk for preterm birth and might be at increased risk for other poor pregnancy outcomes.
Vaccines provide the best protection against COVID-19. It is important for pregnant people and those who live with or visit them to take steps to protect themselves. New CDC data provide further evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people who are pregnant, including those early in pregnancy. Additionally, there is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men. Many people have become pregnant after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, including some who got vaccinated during COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. If you have questions about getting vaccinated, talking with your healthcare professional may help, but is not required before vaccination. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit Vaccines.gov or your state or local public health department website.
A recent CDC study shows that, even though COVID-19 vaccination coverage among pregnant people has been increasing, Black and Hispanic women have the lowest vaccination coverage among all racial and ethnic groups. Similar results have been reported with other vaccinations during pregnancy.
