No one expected this. Earlier this year, news about a virus spreading across China came like a storm. Suddenly, the normal life that we have was drastically filled with fear in each passing day.
COVID-19: The Beginning
According to South China Morning post, government data showed that it was on November 17, 2019 when the first person to have contracted COVID-19 was reported. The suspect was traced as a 55 – year old man from Hubei province in China.
However, it was more than a month after that doctors suspected a virus circulating in the country. Initial analysis by authorities said that the new virus stemmed from a wet market in the city. But, several infected people that were not exposed to the seafood market were still affected.
Later on, studies were released that the origin of the virus could be from the bats, passed down to another animal, and eventually to humans. Some have speculations as well that COVID-19 was made in a laboratory for reasons that no one really knows why.
Statistics
After infecting thousands of Chinese nationals, the virus was quick to scatter in all parts of the world.
As of writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 54,558,120 COVID-19 cases globally. With a whopping number of 1,320,148 deaths.
In the Philippines, the total number of cases reported since January 3 is at 409,574. Data also showed 7,839 deaths caused by the virus.
Vaccine
Ever since COVID-19 took the world by surprise, scientists and researchers have started formulating several vaccines to combat the deadly virus.
Usually, it takes several years before a vaccine is made and distributed to the public. But, with millions of people affected by the virus, the race to an effective vaccine is afoot.
As of writing, several laboratories have reported positive result during their phase 3 testing.
Moderna announced that the preliminary trial of the vaccine reported a 94.5% effectivity.
On the other hand, New York-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer reported a 90% effectivity on the vaccine trial being made together with the German company BioNTech.
Although promising results were being shown by several candidates, scientists said that the vaccines are most likely to be developed and distributed next year.
While we are all hoping and waiting for this pandemic to end once and for all, let us keep ourselves and other safe by wearing masks and observing social distancing.
Let this year be a reminder as well that our day to day lives can change in a blink of an eye. That the people we were used to seeing everyday may be gone in an instant. And so, let us create happy memories with our loved ones while we still can. Let’s invest on our health and live our lives to the fullest.