With hospitals being overwhelmed, increasing stats of people infected and people dying, not yet leveling out the curve; the time to find a treatment is now. Everyone is scared and sheltering in place. The nation’s economy is falling apart, and people are loosing their livelihoods because of a microscopic bug not even visible to the naked eye. Well, crazy how it always seems to be the little things that make us all fall apart. But there is still hope.
According to the article in science magazine, WHO has launched some studies to reveal possible treatment options for corona virus. One being, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Yep, two really big words that mean nothing without explanation. The drugs work by decreasing the acidity in endosomes, compartments inside cells that they use to ingest outside material, and that some viruses can utilize to enter a cell. WHO is calling for a SOLIDARITY study where different patients are treated with four different possible treatment options to which they are randomly assigned. Since the numbers are so vast across the nation, they should not have trouble finding any subjects. It is looking like there are promising options.
What about a vaccine to prevent others from getting this deadly virus? Yep, that is being worked on too. According to an article in The Gaurdian, 35 companies are working on a vaccine, of which 4 have already started testing in animals. The company Moderna should soon be starting human trials. Vaccines all work in the same way they present part or all of the pathogen to the human immune system through an injection with a low dose that allows the body to produce antibodies. The company Moderna is bypassing the pathogen proteins and building the vaccine from the DNA itself using mRNA to create the injection. But even with the creation of a vaccine the distribution could be extremely difficult and could possible hinder immunizations effectiveness greatly. So, treatment is the way to go.
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