THE RACE TO FIND THE COVID-19 VACCINE

By Cassious David Kisakye

On December 31st, 2019 scientists in China reported cases of an unknown disease causing severe pneumonia. This disease was traced to a food market in Wuhan, Eastern China and the World Health Organization later named it, COVID-19.

The speed of the spread of COVID-19 has increased the need for a cure.
(Courtesy photo) 

Five months on and COVID-19 has spread to every continent but Antarctica. It has infected just over 2 million people and proved fatal to over 137,000 others. In that time period even Uganda hasn’t been spared as the number of confirmed cases rose to 61 in a month. With many countries under lockdown and millions at risk of infection, one question lingers on, will a cure be found? 

President Museveni has been uncompromising in his guidelines during this pandemic.
(Courtesy photo) 

The world’s most renowned virologists are looking into developing a cure and their expertise is being tested to the limit as development of vaccines is a long and tedious process.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the launch of a multi-country clinical study called Solidarity. This study is to begin trials on four types of vaccines, Remdesivir, which was used in the Ebola drug and appears to be effective on other viruses.
There is also Chloroquine, the anti-malarial drug which has shown it can kill the virus but WHO says there’s no definitive evidence of its effectiveness.
The third option is Interferon-beta which has shown the ability to reduce inflammation in lungs, one of the symptoms of COVID-19.
The final one is a combination of Lopinavir and Ritonavir which is still under experimentation.

A lab in Seattle, USA has been given a go ahead in furthering tests on a possible COVID-19 cure.
(courtesy photo) 

The efforts of WHO are also being backed up by many other institutions in this race against time. The available data shows 35 companies and a host of higher learning organizations are involved and they seem to be yielding results. 
With 4 vaccines already being tested on animals and over 20 others in development. The first clinical trials of a vaccine were from the Boston-based firm, Moderna and signs show that human trials are imminent. Trials on humans on a vaccine were first done in Seattle, USA and later commenced in England and Scotland using the antiviral Remdesivir and further tests are still being carried out.

There has also been involvement from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations(CEPI) which has set up a plan to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and boost manufacturing of it, CEPI earlier this month called for $2bn as necessary funding for this project. Pharmaceutical firm, Sanoti is also trying to build on its already-approved flu vaccine to get a suitable one to treat COVID-19.
The University of Oxford is focusing on a treatment of external Spike proteins which has shown to develop immunity against the virus.
Billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates said his foundation is funding the construction of factories that will manufacture seven promising coronavirus vaccines. Gates told the Daily Show host,Trevor Noah: “We’re going to fund factories for all seven just so we don’t waste time in serially saying ‘ok which vaccine works’ and then building the factory,”

Bill Gates announced during his interview with Trevor Noah that his foundation was to invest billions of dollars as funding for the COVID-19 cure.
(Photo by Daily Show

The way vaccines work is that when the body is exposed to the harmless bug, it in theory develops immunity against the infection over time. With so many people behind this search for the cure, we are left with understanding what exact timeframe the world is looking at till a vaccine is got. President Donald Trump rather prematurely claimed that a vaccine would be got in a matter of months but, Prof Annelies Wilder-Smith of the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: “Like most vacciniogists, I don’t think this vaccine will be ready before 18 months”.

The search for a vaccine demands patience but there already exist treatments for COVID-19 and many hospitals have used medication for influenza and other severe respiratory illnesses like fever, cough and shortness of breath to help the infected.
In some severe cases, Ventilators are used to blow air into the lungs through a mask inserted directly into the windpipe but even these costly machines are in low supply compared to the current demand for them.

Some medical experts say that the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t shocked them as there were signs before of another coronavirus outbreak as there already exist four of them that circulate in human beings. They cause the common cold and we don’t have vaccines for any of them.
The past Coronavirus outbreaks like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-04 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012 which broke out in Saudi Arabia were all a warning sign of things to come and yet the search for those vaccines was stalled when the outbreak seized. The COVID-19 disease is caused by the virus, SARS Cov-2 which shares 80% - 90% of it’s genetic material with SARS.

COVID-19 isn't the first Coronavirus but just like others, the cure doesn't exist
(Courtesy photo) 

Maybe if we had persisted with the search for the vaccine, we might have got one for COVID-19 but that is just a theory.
Unlike past vaccines that took decades to go through clinical and human trials then medical approval, we need this one as soon as possible.

EARTH DOESN'T NEED US BUT WE DEFINITELY NEED HER.

With many cities under lockdown, it gives us a glimpse into what the earth would be without humanity.
Many reports coming out of China indicate a steady decline in air pollution levels with NASA showing air contamination is down by 30% and this is massive considering China is the global leader in carbon emissions. These reports seem to point to the fact of how perilous our impact as humans has been on the planet.

A man moves through the empty streets of Wuhan, China which was the epicenter of COVID-19
(Business Insider) 

We have also seen in other countries where animals are taking advantage of the absence of us to seek comfort in our man made structures. In Venice, Italy,  the famous canals have been pictured being the cleanest they've been in decades and animals like dolphins and geese are showing  up to make themselves feel at home.

The canals of Venice look immaculate ever since humans stopped using them.
(Business Insider) 

In this vast emptiness of human presence, we see other planetary life thriving. This shows us one thing, we need to treasure mother nature more because we are just a pigment in her million years of existence. So when or if we ever get out of this pandemic we find ourselves in we need to sit back and realize that we all need Earth.

UNCERTAIN TIMES AHEAD AS UGANDA LOCKS DOWN

On Wednesday 18th March, 2020 Uganda received the first set of guidelines of the lockdown as President Museveni looked to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Museveni addresses the nation at State House on Wednesday 18th March,2020

Those revelations precceded those of Monday, 30th March as the President introduced more strict measures as the number of confirmed Corona virus cases soared to 48 within two weeks.

The Minister of Health, Ruth Acheng has had to constantly update the public on the COVID-19 situation in the country. (WHO) 

The new measures included a 14 day ban on public and private transport, all non food markets, shopping malls, bars, salons and all non-essential services. He on the other hand said that all Government offices were to be shut down except the army, police, health sector and other priority organisations like media.
Among other measures included a natiom wide curfew from 7pm to 6am which despite prior retaliation from the public was duly followed. The government hence sought the service of the Local Defence Unit along with the police to further enforce the curfew.

The streets of Kampala after the complete lockdown was announced by the President on Monday, 30th March.
(The Observer) 

The President in his address showed empathy for the estimated 1.6 million people in Kampala, he is clearly aware of the dire struggle that faces them but the virus spread must be controlled, he said, "We have  therefore decided to error on the side of caution. We must deny the virus the fuel to move."
There was however caution given to the food markets that would remain open, they were given guidelines like maintaining the 4 meter distance and all sellers should remain at the market for the 14 days.

A woman sleeps in Owino Market as they were ordered to not leave the market for 14 days on Monday.
(Courtesy photo) 

These measures attracted unrest from Ugandans as they decried the fact that they didn't have the luxury of working from home and having enough food for their households. On the back of these unrests, parliament held a session on 2nd April, 2020 to discuss the proposed shs 304 billion supplementary budget for this pandemic. Among the details debated on was the relief food aid to be delivered to the people of Kampala and Wakiso on 4th April. These food rations included 6kgs of maize flour with 3kgs of beans and salt for each person as well a 2kgs of powdered milk and 2kgs of sugar for breast feeding women and the sick.

Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance presents the details of the supplementary budget to parliament on Tuesday, 1st April.
(Daily Monitor) 

The current number of confirmed global cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, 3rd April, 2020 stands at 1,026,974 infected people and 53,975 deaths with countries like USA, Italy and China being the most affected. The right statistics of these cases is hard to determine because they grow each day and not all are reported.

The situation the world finds itself in is unprecdented and demands social changes to halt the spread of the virus and Uganda just like many other countries now, has decided to go the same direction of Lock down.

The Ugandan Economy will definitely feel a pinch from the Corona Virus pandemic as markets struggle.
(The East African) 

One thing is certain, there will be a lot of damage on Uganda's economy and social structures as nobody knows for how long.

A BILLION LIVES TURNED TO ASHES

Australia was hit with a massive heatwave from June, 2019 to January 2020 and with this, over a billion animals were lost and billions of dollars worth of human property destroyed.

A Helicopter sprays foam to help put out the fires in Canberra, Australia
(Reuters) 

2019 was a year of immense pressure on political heads to actualize plans to curb global warming efforts and sadly for the case of Australia, even the death of billions of animals and over 20 people didn't sway the government. Many climate activists had called for an end to fossil fuel mining which the state argued was bringing in lucrative deals for the country. These claims by the state simply angered the activists more with a large outcry for the Australian Prime Minister, Scot Morrison to resign.

It was because of this pressure that the Australian government issued out in excess of 10 Billion Australian pounds to help combat the fires. Though this seems like a step forward, many of the public feel more can be done or else Australia will continue to be in ash.

EUROS POSTPONED TO 2021

The corona virus pandemic has pushed the globe into a state of disorder and this is very evident in the footballing world as major tournaments and leagues have been postponed or cancelled.

UEFA President, Alexander Ceferin adressing the General Assembly on Monday morning in Monaco,France (Reuters)

The EUROS have been pushed forward by a year to June 11, 2021 as UEFA struggles to contain the spread of the virus.This comes after various consultations with health agencies on what to do at this time of unprecedented fear for life and health. The news was first brought out by the Norwegian Football Association and the European Football Governing body later confirmed the post.

The postponement  of this tournament will have a dominoes effect on other tournaments like The Nations League which was supposed to start also in June 2021 and also the 2024 FIFA World Cup qualifiers that were set to proceed in 2021.The situation the football world finds itself in mirrors that of the society, a situation never seen before and one with no immediate solution in sight. 

A SHOCK IN THE ROYAL FAMILY

In early January, 2020 the British Royal family was shaken to the core as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would step down as royals from the world's oldest monarch.

Prince Harry and Markle after meeting Queen Elizabeth in January
Photo:Gettyimages

These revelations come as a result of the a times harsh treatment Meghan has received from the British press. British tabloids like the Sun have published stories of how she us trying so hard to act like the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry's wife. There have been even reports suggesting she is being targeted because she is from a biracial background with a White father and Dark mother.
Whatever the case behind their abdication, the Duke and Duchess have undoubtedly left a void in the family. They now plan to settle in Canada and work so as to be able to earn their own money without reliance on state funds.

THE CORONA VIRUS SCARE IN THE VATICAN

Pope Francis tested negative for the Coronavirus, this came after the Holy Father had to skip the Ash Wednesday mass because of a cold he has been battling.

Pope Francis coughed as he led mass on Sunday
(VaticanMedia)

These fears arise because Italy is the most affected country outside China with over 2000 people having been infected by the deadly virus. At the time of writing, Italy was the first country in Europe to go on lockdown with all of its occupants being told to isolate themselves for a minimum of a month. Italy has now been joined by France, Germany and U.S.A in adopting the social distancing policy.