ABSTRACT
Vaccines are a billion dollars business, WHO reports that the Vaccine market has grown exponentially in past few years. It was worth 5 billion in year 2000 enhancing to 24 Billion in 2013 with market growth of 10-15% per year compared to 5-7% for the pharmaceuticals and the market volume of Vaccine in 2020 is around 60 billion US dollars. More than 100 companies had been working on Corona vaccine across the globe. The Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in August this year the discovery of Corona Vaccine including his daughter to be one of trial subject. Chinese have also developed the vaccine and are conducting phase 3 trials including in Pakistan. UK and some other countries are working on similar plans, however none of these could get a response as favorable and the one announced by Pfizer on 9th November 2020.
ABSTRACT
The novel COVID-19 has emerged as a severe threat to global health globally, affecting over 210 countries and regions. The profound dilemma interrupted global trade and social activities and enormously influenced daily lives through social distance and confinements. The outbreak of COVID-19 has exacerbated human misery due to the crippling of economies globally. The effects are substantial on health, economy, environment, and society. Nearly every country is trying to prevent the transmission of this communicable disease. Remedial policies include testing and treating patients, isolating suspects through contact tracking, banning public gatherings, and asserting a complete or partial shutdown. In this context, the present paper's core objective is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment and energy market, society, economy, and global protective measures taken to reduce COVID-19 transmission. The study's main contribution is revealed lessons to provide insights for business and the efficacy of governments’ initiative globally. Finally, this paper describes future actions for governments, leaders, energy providers, and all stakeholders in response to the global pandemic crisis.
ABSTRACT
Background: High number of SARS CoV2 infected patients has overburdened healthcare delivery system, particularly in low-income countries. In the recent past many studies from the developed countries have been published on the prevalence of SARS CoV2 antibodies and the risk factors of COVID 19 in healthcare-workers but little is known from developing countries. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on prevalence of SARS CoV2 antibody and risk factors for seropositivity in HCWs in tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar city, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan. Findings: The overall seroprevalence of SARS CoV2 antibodies was 30.7% (CI, 27.8 to 33.6) in 1011 HCWs. Laboratory technicians had the highest seropositivity (50.0%, CI, 31.8 to 68.1). Risk analysis revealed that wearing face-mask and observing social-distancing within a family could reduce the risk (OR:0.67. p<0.05) and (OR:0.73. p<0.05) while the odds of seropositivity were higher among those attending funeral and visiting local-markets (OR:1.83. p<0.05) and (OR:1.66. p<0.01). In Univariable analysis, being a nursing staff and a paramedical staff led to higher risk of seropositivity (OR:1.58. p< 0.05), (OR:1.79. p< 0.05). Fever (OR:2.36, CI, 1.52 to 3.68) and loss of smell (OR:2.95, CI: 1.46 to 5.98) were significantly associated with increased risk of seropositivity (p<0.01). Among the seropositive HCWs, 165 (53.2%) had no symptoms at all while 145 (46.8%) had one or more symptoms. Interpretation: The high prevalence of SARS CoV2 antibodies in HCWs warrants for better training and use of protective measure to reduce their risk. Early detection of asymptomatic HCWs may be of special importance because they are likely to be potential threat to others during the active phase of viremia. Funding: Prime Foundation Pakistan.
Subject(s)
Viremia , Fever , Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeABSTRACT
Background Understanding risk factors for death in Covid 19 is key to providing good quality clinical care. Due to a paucity of robust evidence, we sought to assess the presenting characteristics of patients with Covid 19 and investigate factors associated with death. Methods Retrospective analysis of adults admitted with Covid 19 to Royal Oldham Hospital, UK. Logistic regression modelling was utilised to explore factors predicting death. Results 470 patients were admitted, of whom 169 (36%) died. The median age was 71 years (IQR 57 to 82), and 255 (54.3%) were men. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (n=218, 46.4%), diabetes (n=143, 30.4%) and chronic neurological disease (n=123, 26.1%). The most frequent complications were acute kidney injury (n=157, 33.4%) and myocardial injury (n=21, 4.5%). Forty three (9.1%) patients required intubation and ventilation, and 39 (8.3%) received non-invasive ventilation Independent risk factors for death were increasing age (OR per 10 year increase above 40 years 1.87, 95% CI 1.57 to 2.27), hypertension (OR 1.72, 1.10 to 2.70), cancer (OR 2.20, 1.27 to 3.81), platelets <150x103/microlitre (OR 1.93, 1.13 to 3.30), C-reactive protein >100 micrograms/mL (OR 1.68, 1.05 to 2.68), >50% chest radiograph infiltrates, (OR 2.09, 1.16 to 3.77) and acute kidney injury (OR 2.60, 1.64 to 4.13). There was no independent association between death and gender, ethnicity, deprivation level, fever, SpO2/FiO2 (oxygen saturation index), lymphopenia or other comorbidities. Conclusions We characterised the first wave of patients with Covid 19 in one of Englands highest incidence areas, determining which factors predict death. These findings will inform clinical and shared decision making, including the use of respiratory support and therapeutic agents.