Overview
COVID-19 (also known simply as coronavirus) is a respiratory disease that is often confused with influenza, promises, or even a cold. COVID mainly attacks our lungs and all aspects of our respiratory system. COVID-19 is spread through an infected person who breathes out droplets of the virus. It can be contracted through simply breathing in the droplets or having contact with contaminated surfaces.
Causes, Remedies, and Precautions
To be specific, COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Its exact origins are not known and are still being debated to this day. As previously mentioned, COVID is spread through droplets of the virus being spread from person to person.
Typically COVID symptoms show up at least 2-14 days after having contact with the virus. Those symptoms include fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, and loss of taste. These symptoms can often be confused with other illnesses including pneumonia or influenza, so it’s important to make sure to get tested whenever you exhibit any of these. There are also asymptomatic cases. Those who are asymptomatic, exhibit no symptoms at all but can still spread the disease. This is why it’s so important to get tested if a person thinks they’ve been in contact with someone who’s had the disease. They could potentially be asymptomatic and begin unintentionally spreading the disease to others.
COVID can be categorized into 4 general groups; mild, moderate, severe, or critical.
Mild COVID doesn’t affect the body’s ability to receive oxygen and get oxygen to the rest of the body. Moderate COVID means that the lungs work properly but there are still signs of infection that are deep in the lungs.
Severe COVID means that a person’s lungs don’t work correctly and they’ll have to be put on a ventilator for oxygen and other medical help. Critical
COVID means that the respiratory system has failed entirely and there is other damage in the body.
While COVID-19 can affect people of all ages, those who are older than 65 and babies younger than 6 months are most at risk for needing hospital care of COVID. A person is most likely to be infected with COVID if they live with someone who has COVID-19, spend time if a crowded area with poor ventilation, or is in contact with someone who has COVID. Furthermore, those who have sickle cell disease, lung disease, and heart disease pose a higher risk of having a more severe case of COVID-19.
After having the COVID-19 disease, some people can still have some after-effects. For example, some people have reported not having their sense of taste back after recovering from the disease while others reported significant changes to their taste. The studies of these after-effects are still current and ongoing.
The most common precautions against COVID-19 include wearing masks, properly sanitizing areas, and limiting contact with those who have the disease. While these precautions can’t fully protect someone from getting the disease, they’ll significantly lower the chances of contracting it.
Other Interesting Information:
COVID has been prevalent since 2020 and there’s been almost 768 million cases since. With the practice of social distancing and the use of masks, the spread of COVID was able to be prevented. With the help of epidemiologists and virologists, the development of the COVID-19 vaccine helped end the pandemic in 2023.
Interesting News
COVID has fundamentally changed almost everyone’s lives. There are still effects from COVID that we see today. For example, much of the world has learned to work remotely and we’ve seen a vast improvement in technology for this. Furthermore, COVID also highlighted the dangers of miscommunication and the inequalities in the healthcare system. The coronavirus is a disease that has shaped how the world functions today.
Sources I Use And Where You Can Learn More
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21214-coronavirus-covid-19