As covid-19 pandemic keeps on ravaging all walks of human life across the globe, unprecedented efforts are underway to find its cure. However, a reliable treatment remains elusive to date with the virus already claiming 4,736,104 infections and 313,498 deaths worldwide. Quite recently, in the wake of easing the lockdown, Pakistan has witnessed a sudden spike in corona positive cases with the total number exceeding 40,150 and death toll soaring as high as 873.
This scenario calls for finding an antidote for Covid-19 as early as possible so that thousands of human lives could be saved. The review of the available literature on various forms and ways of treating Covid-19 reveals that treatment options include development of new vaccines and drugs, application of convalescent plasma technique and use of already available anti viral dugs and their different combinations.
Development of a new vaccine is an uphill task as it involves a series of exhaustive steps and phases to complete. The process is both costly and time consuming. But the good news is, around 70 of the world's top notch pharmaceutical companies are already there with their sleeves up for the job. In their bid to find a cure for covid-19, a number of companies have reached the advanced stage of clinical trials of various new vaccines and drugs. Experts opine that the world may expect a breakthrough in this regard by the end of this year only if the efforts continue on war footings and codal formalities are relaxed by the apex regulatory bodies i.e. FDA & WHO. Quite recently, the development of a broad spectrum anti viral drug namely 'Remdesivir' by Gilead- an American pharmaceutical giant is by far the most conspicuous achievement in finding a treatment against Covid-19. In a US clinical trial involving 1,063 people, the drug has fared quite well and significantly reduced the recovery time of Covid-19 patients from 15 days to 11 days. Given its effectiveness, the US government has allowed its emergency use in case the symptoms worsen. Ferozsons has entered into an agreement with Gilead to make the Drug in Pakistan. It all implies that expecting the pandemic to end any time soon would be utterly unrealistic.
The second mainstay for the covid-19 treatment is injecting of convalescent plasma obtained from a recovered person to the patient. It is a century old conventional procedure wherein plasma is extracted from the blood of a recovered person containing antibodies against the disease. It is then injected to the patient suffering from the same disease to let these antibodies fight against the disease causing agents. In the past, the use of convalescent plasma has been much in vogue probably because it was the only option. But gradually vaccines overshadowed plasma technique as being more effective and reliable against the delayed and mixed results of the later. However, in face of the havoc wreaked by Covid-19, all available treatment options are being switched over to and checked for their clinically relevant efficacy. Convalesent plasm technique has again surfaced by showing promising results in China with the Pakistan following the suit. Dr. Tahir Shamsi is spearheading the plasma technique treatment with one patient already cured. The scope plasma treatment is limited as it requires the extraction of plasma from the blood of recovered persons at a large scale. Although thousands of people have recovered in the county but due to lack of any reliable data and prevalence of certain social taboos it is difficult to make people bleed voluntarily. In this regard, the government may come up with a legislation to help resolve the issue.
Thirdly, the use of already available drugs and their different combinations as a treatment option for Covid-19 is being employed rigorously. In a number of cases, the results have been quite impressive. Clinical trials of certain drugs have shown positive results and are being widely used across the globe. Chloroquine, an anti malarial drug which was touted as a treatment of Covid-19 by the US President Donal Trump, has gained popularity. Similarly, Ivermectin another drug used to treat parasitic infections has been found effective in curtailing the replication of Covid-19. Dr. Ata ur Rehamn, a renowned Pakistani scientist is of the opinion that in the short run, the use of already developed drugs is the only resort to minimize the loss of human lives. Rigorous animal and human trials may lead towards a potential Covid-19 treatment with the help of the drugs already in use. At the least, it could buy some time till the development of regular Covid-19 vaccine or herd immunity.
In summation, the main takeaway is that we must continue to pay heed to the instructions and guidelines issued by the health authorities regarding social distancing. As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, eternal observance of precautionary measures is the price of life in a world where spectre of Covid-19 is at large.
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