COVID-19 is in itself an extensive topic of discussion. There won’t be a single living being who won’t like to contribute their views regarding the ongoing pandemic caused by the spread of the coronavirus. This pandemic finds its roots in China (Wuhan), where the first COVID-19 case was reported in 2019. Ever since this virus kept on transforming and spreading at a rate that no one could imagine making it a pandemic that took the world by surprise. Every country known to humankind suffered from this pandemic, causing national and international lockdowns, where people were bound to stay at their homes.
Many people lost their lives, and the economy of countries got affected in the worst possible ways. All the scientists strived to find a breakthrough of this virus, but it took a lot of time to develop an effective vaccine. While we have some effective vaccines, there are some side effects which the consumer has to face. There are now quite some vaccines with their side effects, but the question is whether these side effects are more worry-some than the damage caused by COVID-19?
COVID-19 Damage
Covid pandemic shook the whole world, where people were left heartbroken with the loss of their loved ones. While this was one aspect, some people committed suicide due to the depression caused by the damage people suffered and the inability to help people out. The worst affected were the people who didn’t have enough money to support their families, whether regarding food facilities during the lockdown or the medical expenses.
Most countries like the USA, India, and UK helped the people with free checkups and tests; countries like South Africa, Pakistan, and other underdeveloped nations were not medically equipped to fight this deadly virus. Even the world economy suffered, given that the markets were shut down for a very long period.
In all the damage covid virus did is something which left people horror-struck and all that one could see was sufferings and heartbreaks for the people who left in the middle of their journeys. There was not a single-family that remained untouched by this horror, where some lost their children and parents, some families ended up being single-person families. The damages of this era will be forever written in the minds of the people who faced this pandemic.
COVID-19 Vaccines
When the world was battling with COVID-19, the only possible solution was to break the chain of the infection. Still, as the virus spread in the lowest communities, there was a need for a vaccine that would provide immunity against the virus and safeguard people. But as we are aware that it is challenging to develop a vaccine quickly, there was a great deal of struggle to develop an effective vaccine.
All the scientists worldwide came together, working in coordination to find a solution. WHO tried its best to spread awareness while the countries and government-imposed restrictions on the public to lower the impact. On December 11th, 2020, the first FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine came out on the market. But there were again some restrictions as to who will get vaccinated. In the United States, people above 16 were eligible for the vaccination.
After this, many vaccines came up, as Sputnik, contributed by Russia, Covaxin, Covisheild by India, and others by different countries. All the countries were asked to provide free vaccines to other countries by WHO. This is how the world’s most extensive vaccination started.
COVID-19 Vaccines Side Effects
While the vaccine was like a light in the darkness, nothing came for free. With the vaccination came the side effects, which were not very severe, still uneasier. Apart from that, the people were required to take two shots of each vaccination.
Covid vaccine side effects included fever, headache, body ache, uneasiness, nausea, and so on. Even then, some people face Pfizer vaccine side effects second dose. While the first dose side effects lasted longer, the double dose side effects lasted for fewer days with lesser intensity. In all, one can say that the side effects were more accessible to bear than the damage which COVID-19 bought.
Effectiveness Of COVID-19 Vaccine
If we talked about the side effects of the covid vaccine, it is only fitting for us to talk about the effectiveness of the shot we all got. Young adults above the age of 16 in the USA received the first and second dose. Though the spread came under control, we cannot say that the vaccine is 100% effective. There were cases recorded according to which the vaccinated people got infected with the coronavirus. Still, the intensity of the infection was not as severe as it used to be before the vaccination.
According to reports, the virus keeps on changing form. While the vaccination is very effective against the present variant, the same cannot be said for the variant that may come out shortly. As per the estimates and scientists, there are chances that the vaccination might work, but the certainty is that the people will be required to take a third booster shot to defeat the variant.
Conclusion
The covid pandemic taught us many lessons, and the first one was that life is very uncertain and cannot be taken for granted. While people suffered, many positive things happened during this era. One can say that the world came together to fight this battle. Some people came to the rescue of the underprivileged. Even the educational department got a chance to upgrade itself with a new online education model, making the world even smaller. The alternative launched during these times gave a unique perspective to things in general.
One can conclude that the ongoing pandemic era is something that will find its way in the golden pages of history, and the suffering will be remembered even when the sufferers are gone.
