Global Journal of Life Sciences and Biological Research
Open Access

The Strategies of COVID-19 Pandemic

Tonni Morrison^{* *}Correspondence: Tonni Morrison, Department of Pharmaceutical Science and Research, Marshall University, Huntington, USA, Email:

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About the Study

p>The COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes referred to as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global disease outbreak brought on by the coronavirus 2 that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). In December 2019, an epidemic in the Chinese city of Wuhan led to the discovery of the new virus. There were futile attempts to contain it, which allowed the virus to spread to other parts of Asia and eventually the entire world. Although COVID-19 symptoms can range from being undetectable to fatal, fever, dry cough, and exhaustion are the most frequent ones. Elderly people and those with specific underlying medical disorders are more likely to have severe sickness.

When humans breathe in air contaminated by droplets and other small airborne particles carrying the virus, COVID-19 is spread. These can be breathed over longer distances, especially indoors, but the risk is greatest when people are close together. Transmission can also happen if contaminated fluids go in the mouth, nose, or eyes, or, less frequently, if they come in contact with contaminated surfaces. People who have the virus are usually contagious for 10 days and can spread it even if they don't show any symptoms. Numerous strains with various levels of virulence and infectivity have been created as a result of mutations.

Strategies

While some nations mostly relied on disseminating information, others recommended, mandated, or prohibited behavior modifications in an effort to reduce or stop the spread of COVID-19. Public announcements were used alongside strict lockdowns as measures. Elimination and mitigation are the two types of outbreak control tactics. Experts distinguish between elimination strategies, also referred to as "Zero-COVID," which seek to completely halt the spread of the virus within the community, and mitigation strategies, also referred to as "flattening the curve," which aim to lessen the effects of the virus on society while tolerating some degree of transmission within the community. During the acquired immunity phase, through both naturally occurring immunity and vaccine-induced immunity, these initial tactics can be followed sequentially or concurrently.

Containment: To prevent an outbreak from spreading to the wider public, containment measures are taken. While they are contagious, infected people are quarantined. A sufficient amount of time is spent contacting and isolating the individuals they have come into touch with to guarantee that they are either not infected or are no longer contagious. The first step in containment is screening. In order to identify sick people who can then be isolated or treated, screening is done by looking for symptoms. The Zero-COVID strategy involves using public health measures like contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantine, lockdowns, and mitigation software to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it is detected. The objective is to get the area back to zero detected infections and resume normal economic and social activities.

Mitigation: In the event that containment is unsuccessful, mitigation efforts are concentrated on: steps made to halt the spread and reduce its consequences on the healthcare system and society. Successful mitigation "flattens the epidemic curve" by delaying and reducing the epidemic peak. This lessens the possibility of overburdening health systems and gives researchers more time to create new medications and vaccinations. Numerous jurisdictions saw changes in individual behavior. Many people chose to work from home instead than at their regular places of employment.

Health care: Increasing capacity and modifying healthcare was referred to as a crucial mitigation by WHO. Guidelines for resource shifting at multiple levels were released by the ECDC and WHO's European Regional Office. These included directing laboratory services toward testing, eliminating elective procedures, separating and isolating patients, and boosting the capacity of intensive care units by training staff and adding ventilators and beds. Telehealth's rapid acceptance was sparked by the outbreak.

Herd immunity: Several specialists voiced worry that because Delta can spread among vaccine recipients, attaining herd immunity may not be attainable. Data from the CDC revealed that vaccine recipients could spread Delta, contrary to what authorities had previously assumed to be less likely with other forms. Therefore, WHO and CDC advised those who have received vaccinations to continue using non-medicinal measures such masking, social isolation, and quarantining if exposed.