Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lurking Dangers and Pillars of Hope

Abstract

Introduction-The Unrestrained Pandemic: The emergence of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019, has had led to COVID-19 pandemic with devastating consequences. COVID-19, as the disease has unique clinical manifestations which are distinctive, yet bizarre. As the pandemic is spreading, the virus is continuing to evolve. In fact, this process of evolution is a continuum, allowing the virus to adapt to its environment by selecting mutations that make it replicate and transmit more efficiently. Lurking Dangers-The Evolving Variants: So far, Sars-CoV-2 has infected over million people worldwide and taken on many thousands of mutations. Most of those changes are slow and inconsequential evolutionary dead ends, but can potentially become more transmissible, more virulent, or more resistant to immune response to become unresponsive to the vaccines. Keeping ahead of the pace at which variants are evolving and influencing disease transmission and severity will be key issue for the coming phase of the pandemic. The Pillars of Hope-The Covid-19 Vaccines: The vaccination remains the most effective tool for protecting from COVID-19. New insights into the functioning of the immune system have made possible the rapid development of new vaccines to combat the raging pandemic and the pathogen and its variants. The vaccines provide us with much-needed hope for the COVID-19 prophylaxis as well as tools to limit the disease severity. World over, the major challenge is to provide equitable access to effective vaccines for masses. Conclusion-The Future Covid-19 Scenario: The researchers as well as medical community agree that the vaccination should be continued with the available vaccines. In general, the vaccines induce a more powerful immune response than a natural infection and the mass immunization is crucial to curb the spread of infection, break the transmission-infection cycle and retard the evolution of new variants as well. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of the need to prioritise health over other aspects of human life, as well.