Personal Experience of Covid 19 Pandemic

Running Head: Covid- Pandemic

Covid-19 Pandemic 2

Table of Contents

Covid-19 pandemic 2

Definition of Covid-19 Pandemic 3

Causes and transmission of covid-19 3

Patients Conditions with a high risk of severe Covid-19 Illness. 4

Signs and symptoms of Covid-19 5

Diagnosis of Covid-19. 7

Management of Covid-19 8

Conclusion 10

References 11

Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 is one of the ravaging pandemics that has come during our time. In most cases, I have been told and read a history of various pandemics across the world and how they affected livelihoods; otherwise, I have never got real experience as in the case with covid-19. (Cennimo et al. 2020) Therefore, it would be satisfying to talk about covid-19 even though it has caused many wounds to other close family members and me. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) When the pandemic struck, I did not expect it to change much in our lifestyles; however, after a few months, I was amazed at the level of deaths experienced in countries like China. (Watkins, 2020) Later on, the disease was confirmed with us, but so many people cast spatial doubts on the disease as non-lethal. (Omer et al. 2020) Otherwise, the whole country went into a panic with many deaths witnessed without taking too long, prompting closer of various institutions, restricting movements, including international travels, among other measures. Unfortunately, even with such stiff measures that completely changed our lifestyle, the pandemic continued to show ravaging effects. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Consequently, the worst moments for my family and me struck, and we lost two family members to the disease. The most painful element is that we could not provide assistance or consolation to our loved ones while still battling the disease. Covid-19 changed the way of life. Subsequently, with the pandemic's continued ravaging attack, some of my close friends as well lost their loved ones to the pandemic. The entire country has been mourning. (Watkins, 2020)

Moreover, life has changed, industries affected, so many people have lost their source of livelihoods, and so many lives lost. Surprisingly, the disease seems not to be going away any sooner as it continues striking back in different phases, thus, formalizing the wearing of masks to every citizen. Finally, it is also worth noting that those aged or have compromised immune systems are more vulnerable to the disease. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Definition of Covid-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (covid-19) refers to an illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; initially known as 2019-nCoV). The disease was initially diagnosed amid an outbreak of respiratory challenges in Wuhan city, Hubei province in China. (Omer et al. 2020) Subsequently, on the 31st of December 2019, the disease was reported to the world health organization and declared a global health emergency on the 11th of March 2020. The declaration of the novel coronavirus, a global pandemic by the world health organization, was the first of its kind since 2009 when H1N1 influenza was announced as a pandemic. (Watkins, 2020)

Causes and transmission of covid-19

The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was referred to as COVID-19 by the World Health Organization with the acronym depicted from coronavirus 2019. World health organizations chose not to associate the virus name with any population, animal, or geographical location to avoid stigmatization. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Consequently, the international committee on viruses taxonomy on coronavirus study stated the novel corona virus's official designation as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). According to the center for disease control and prevention, coronavirus got to the United States between January and February 2020, establishing low-level transmission in the community before being identified. As a result, there have been widespread cases reported amounting to over 30.2 million and over 549000 deaths in America's united states as of the 1st of April 2021. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) Moreover, the CDC anticipates that the situation could worsen soon with an increased number of patients in need of medical care. (Cennimo et al. 2020) As a result, public health may be overstretched with a higher number of hospitalization and increased daily deaths. (Omer et al. 2020)

Besides, CDC has recommended nonpharmaceutical interventions as a strategic response to curtail the spread of the virus and its impact. Also, various methods of suppressing the virus have been adequately analyzed, and all the state governments are encouraged to enforce them to halt the transmission of the virus. (Watkins, 2020) For instance, the need to keep distance amongst the populations and other interventions like wearing masks, self-isolation at home, institutional and business closure have been strongly encouraged by the CDC. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) To mitigate the rebound of virus transmission, the United States government, through CDC, has intensified public adherence to such policies as the public is encouraged to observe them for a long time to avoid a resurge of covid-19. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

To manage the virus's spread, CDC has identified various categories of people at high-risk infection zones. Such include; travelers from locations where the local spread is high, health workers are handling Covid-19 patients, and those who have close contacts with infected persons shortly. (Watkins, 2020)

Patients Conditions with a high risk of severe Covid-19 Illness

According to a CDC report, there is evidence through systematic review/ meta-analysis that some conditions have a tangible association with the risk of severe Covid-19 disease. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) Such conditions include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, Diabetes mellitus, Chronic kidney disease, Pregnancy, Smoking, Immunocompromised state from a solid organ transplant, and heart conditions like coronary artery disease and heart failure. Also, there are comorbidities such as Hypertension, Asthma, Liver disease, and Immune deficiencies supported by mixed evidence. (Cennimo et al. 2020) Persons with such conditions are advised to take specific measures that include; keeping distance with sick people, regular cleaning of hands, stocking up on supplies, staying home as much as possible, and putting a ready plan if they develop an illness. (Omer et al. 2020)

Signs and symptoms of Covid-19

Covid-19 exhibits a range of symptoms from asymptomatic individuals to mild symptoms, severe illness, and even mortality. The symptoms may begin to show two days to fourteen days after contracting the virus. (Omer et al. 2020) From the analysis of around 181 cases of confirmed covid-19, the average incubation period was established to be 5.1 days, while persons that developed symptoms did so within 11.5 days after infection. Alternatively, several reports have indicated that from a sample of covid-19 infected population, 81% were found to be mild infections, i.e., mild Pneumonia, 14% exhibited severe symptoms like hypoxia, 5% were in critical conditions like respiratory failure, and 2.3% were fatal cases. (Cennimo et al. 2020) In general, the following symptoms can indicate the presence of covid-19 infection: cough, fatigue, fever or chills, difficulty in breathing, sore throat, body or muscle aches, loss of smell or taste, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, or feeling nausea and running nose or congestion. (Watkins, 2020)

However, Pneumonia appears to be the common lethal manifestation of Covid-19. While partial or complete anosmia has been a history in patients that are finally diagnosed with covid-19. (Omer et al. 2020) For example, from a survey of outpatients that manifested mild symptoms, 64.4% of them had experienced a sense of smell and taste loss. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) Also, patients with severe covid-19 infections usually develop lymphopenia due to reduced B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, together with Natural killer cells. (Watkins, 2020) Equally, some patients would experience a low percentage of basophils, monocytes, and eosinophils. Higher disease severity and poor clinical outcomes may be manifested by an accelerated neutrophil count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020)

Furthermore, covid-19 patients manifest upregulated exhaustion makers like NKG2A on cytotoxic lymphocytes, including CD8+T cells and Natural killer cells. However, these cells normalize again once the patient has recovered and even the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies are established in the body. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Moreover, severe covid-19 patients have manifested increased serum capacity of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1?, IL-17, MCP1, TNF, G-CSF, IP10, GM-CSF, and MIP1? (also referred to as CCL3) known as a cytokine storm. Again, D-dimer and C-reactive protein got to be unusually high. (Rome et al. 2020) Besides, the heart, kidney, and liver may suffer tissue damage and shock due to high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and several organs and respiratory failure. They also resolve extensive pulmonary pathology resulting from massive infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils, diffuse the alveolar damage and hyaline membrane formation, and thicken the alveolar walls. (Watkins, 2020) Also detected were lymph node necrosis and spleen atrophy, signifying immune-linked destruction in deceased patients. (Muniyappa & Gubbi, 2020) Patients with ARDS and Pneumonia suffered severe covid-19 with poor outcomes signified by high levels of IL-6 within their cells. However, IL-6 receptor-targeted monoclonal antibody (mAb) tocilizumab has been reported by various trials to have helped severe covid-19 patients normalize their respiratory difficulties and high fever with higher efficacy. (Omer et al. 2020)

Diagnosis of Covid-19.

The following physiotherapeutic measures can be used to consider a patient to have contacted covid-19: one when the patient exhibits a new onset fever and respiratory tract symptoms. (Watkins, 2020) Secondly, when the patient experiences severe symptoms in the lower respiratory tract without precise cause. However, a physician will have to enquire if the patient has been in close contact with suspected to have contacted coronavirus, a covid-19 patient, or has been in a community of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within the last two weeks. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Nonetheless, a microbiologic PCR test is necessary for a concise diagnosis. Also, patients who are not within critical conditions are supposed to consult their healthcare providers through phones to limit contacts. (Watkins, 2020) Equally, those present to health practitioners with symptoms of covid-19 ought to prompt control measures; thus, they should be isolated in private rooms as further assessments continue. (Omer et al. 2020)

Besides, diagnosis has been eased by identifying SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM in patients together with the RT-PCR-based tests. According to some research studies, increased IgG response plus higher titer of antibodies had been detected in patients with severe disease associated with terrible results. Hence, it could be a result of antibody-dependent enhancement. Furthermore, immunopathological impacts of antibody-dependent enhancement were identified in several viral infections featuring antibody-linked facilitated viral entry plus induction of a dangerous inflammatory response. (Omer et al. 2020)

Management of Covid-19

FDA has various programs aimed at enabling clinicians to gain access to investigational therapies during the covid-19 pandemic. (Omer et al. 2020) For instance, emergency use authorization and expanded access programs enable immediate deployment of capable therapies for investigation with emerging evidence. An antiviral agent was the initial drug approved for usage in covid-19 treatment. (Cennimo et al. 2020) The drug was used in the treatment of adults and children age 12 years and older. Alternatively, children below the age of 12 years are treated through an emergency use authorization. By August 2020, a EUA for convalescent plasma was made public, followed by FDA guidance that limited titer plasma usage. (Cennimo et al. 2020)

Moreover, FDA published an antibody mixture of imdevimab and casirivimab as a EUA by November 2020. Besides, redeliver and Baricitinib were on the 19th of November 2020 issued as a EUA to treat confirmed covid-19 cases in hospitals for patients two years and older and needed supplemental oxygen. (Omer et al. 2020) Furthermore, 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines received emergency use authorization by the FDA beginning December 2020. Amongst them, two are mRNA-1273 (Moderna) and mRNA vaccines – BNT-162b2 (Pfizer), while the third vector vaccine is the Johnson and Johnson (Ad26.COV2. S). lastly, various reviews and pharmacotherapy guidelines for coronavirus have been announced as a combined effort to evaluate and discover the efficacy of antivirals vaccines, immunotherapies, and monoclonal antibodies. (Watkins, 2020)

The clinical treatment includes oxygen therapy and symptomatic management, while those patients with respiratory failure are put under mechanical ventilation. On the other hand, such drugs like remdesivir are actively used; none of them has been confirmed for treatment of covid-19. (Cennimo et al. 2020) Also, other than vaccine creation, treatment of the infection has become a point of focus. Besides, adaptive and innate immune responses can be activated by the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Still, the adaptive immune response that is impaired and innate response with uncontrolled inflammation can result in dangerous tissue damage. (Omer et al. 2020)

Simultaneously, some patients with severe symptoms have been treated with neutralizing antibodies within the convalescent plasma, and 100% clinical improvement was manifested among those who critically ill with covid-19. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibody identification has been facilitated by using large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing B cells. (filled for B cells that develop antibodies concentrated towards the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein) (Cennimo et al. 2020)