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The covid-19 pandemic has posed numerous obstacles to humanity, and it is unlikely that the virus will vanish from the face of the planet. Even if the virus continues to persist as endemic, it is currently commonly assumed that enough people will obtain immunological protection via vaccination and natural infection, resulting in less transmission and far fewer Covid-19-related hospitalizations and deaths. According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the Population Health Organization, the pandemic's acute phase might be over by mid-2022 if around 70% of the world is vaccinated; stressing the importance of vaccination.
The single most significant aspect in resolving the pandemic is vaccine-induced immunity.
However, due to fluctuating levels of intervention and the unpredictable appearance of Variants of Concern (VOC), as well as population and environment-related factors, periodic surges in outbreak or epidemic cases, much beyond endemic levels, are likely to occur.
Vaccines are one of the most effective medical therapies available today, saving millions of lives each year. Vaccines have been essential in the eradication of infectious illnesses since Edward Jenner's initial application of a vaccine against smallpox in 1796.
Vaccines operate by teaching and preparing the immune system and the body's natural defences to recognise and combat the viruses and bacteria they target. If the body is later exposed to those disease-causing microorganisms after vaccination, the body is ready to kill them right away, preventing illness. Vaccines are the cheapest and easiest means to prevent against deadly epidemics, and they were critical in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization, the pandemic's acute phase could be over by mid-2022 if 70% of the world's population is vaccinated.
The pandemic is currently being driven by re-exposure and the emergence of new strains. After exposure to SARS CoV-2, Covid-19 vaccinations may not be effective in preventing illness. The main advantages of these vaccinations are that they prevent symptomatic infection as well as the development of serious infections that require hospitalisation and mortality from Covid-19. Preventing hospitalizations, minimising the strain on health systems, avoiding long-term incapacity, and reducing absence from work are all indirect economic benefits of severe symptomatic disease prevention.
International organisations, notably the WHO, have praised Pakistan's Covid-19 control approach. The effective vaccination regimen (along with other non-pharmacological therapies) was adjusted to local needs.
The sickness was successfully contained. For healthcare personnel, the aged, immunosuppressed (high-risk populations), and the general public, seven different types of vaccines were rolled out in phases. All vaccines were proven to be safe and effective, with few side effects. Vaccinated people were shown to have a 7-fold lower risk of developing severe symptomatic disease that required hospitalisation.
SARS CoV-2 immunity deteriorates with time, and outbreaks have been documented in people who have completed the initial immunisation series. The effectiveness of the vaccination against infection and severe/critical disease has been proven to be restored with a subsequent additional dosage of the vaccine (i.e. a booster dose). The first booster dosage should be given five months after the primary series, and the second booster dose should be given four months after that.
After the initial booster dose, it's been 4 months.
As countries migrate to managing Covid -19 as an endemic illness over time, the world may attain a long-term condition of disease prevention comparable to that observed with flu vaccination, with annual or twice-yearly booster doses. In the short term, a rapid deployment of Covid -19 booster dosages is likely to be one of the greatest defences against the new VOC-fueled wave of the disease.
When total Covid-19 illness rates become stable – neither climbing nor declining – the pandemic to endemic transition will be accomplished. Endemism, on the other hand, should not be thought of as a good thing. Even though a disease is endemic, it can still be widespread and fatal. Endemicity does not indicate that a pathogen has been controlled by evolution and that life has returned to 'normal.' As with other infectious diseases such as measles, endemic infections can nevertheless cause disruptive waves.
SARS-persistence CoV-2's as an endemic virus, possibly with seasonal epidemic peaks, may be fueled by pockets of susceptible individuals and waning immunity after infection or vaccination; the emergence of VOCs that evade vaccine-induced immunity and re-entry from zoonotic reservoirs are factors that will impact SARS-long-term CoV-2's behaviour.
alter the virus's long-term behaviour and continued dissemination in distinct populations
The fourth dose of vaccination is being recommended for those aged 18 and older, those with pre-existing conditions and risk factors for severe Covid-19 illness, their caregivers, and anyone else at high risk of exposure to a confirmed Covid-19 patient in their line of work, due to the widespread infection rate and the enormity of cases, hospitalisation, and severe illness. According to studies, people who receive the fourth vaccine are twice as protected against infection as those who receive the first three doses, and three to five times more protected from a serious disease than those who receive the first three doses.
When compared to those who received three doses of the vaccine, those who received three doses were three to five times better protected from a serious illness. Pakistan is now offering eligible groups the first and second booster doses. To preserve our people's health, guidelines, policies, and strategies are reviewed and revised on a regular basis based on accessible international data.
The author is a member of (NCOC, MINHSRC; PHEOC, NIH Islamabad) and an Infectious Diseases Consultant (The Aga Khan University).
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