The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has had a significant impact on the world since it was first identified in late 2019.

Symptoms and Transmission: COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. The most common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, sore throat, and headaches. However, it's important to note that some individuals may experience mild or no symptoms at all, while others may develop severe complications or even die from the disease.

Global Impact: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on public health, economies, and societies around the world. Governments and health organizations have implemented various measures to control the spread of the virus, such as social distancing, wearing face masks, hand hygiene, and lockdowns.

Vaccines: Since the start of the pandemic, several COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and authorized for emergency use in different countries. Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNtech, novavax, coronaVac, Janssen, Covaxin, Sputnik-V, Sanofi-GSK are some vaccines approved by World Health Organization (WHO). Vaccination campaigns have been rolled out globally, aiming to curb the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable populations, and reduce the severity of illness.

Mortality: Total number of global deaths around 7-25 million.

Variants: Throughout the course of the pandemic, several variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have emerged. Some variants of the coronavirus such as Delta and Omicron are spreading more easily between people.