COVID 2.0: What You Need to Know

One year into the pandemic, we’ve learnt a lot about the coronavirus, but new questions have emerged. Here are answers to some of the more pressing ones

- Dr Chandrakant Lahariya

SUN TZU, THE MILITARY GENERAL from ancient China is credited with the quote “Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.” By now we have understood a lot about both the virus, SARSCoV-2, the disease, COVID-19, as well as who is most vulnerable, but in recent months, there have been a few developments. New strains of the virus have been reported and a new route of transmission has been confirmed. Many COVID-19 patients have suffered plummeting oxygen saturation levels. COVID-19 vaccines have been licensed and are being administered.

What do these developments mean for us? What steps should one take to protect oneself? Do we need additional measures? How effective are the vaccines? How long will I be protected once I get my jab? Understanding each of these can help us protect ourselves from the pandemic that has laid the world so low.

Has the virus changed?

Different parts of the world have reported a few new strains of SARSCoV-2. This is a natural phenomenon among viruses. Every time a virus multiplies, errors—called mutations— creep in during the replication process, which results in changes in its transmissibility (ability to pass to others), infectivity (ability to cause disease) and/or immune escape (ability to avoid detection by the human immune system). The more a virus circulates, the higher the probability of mutations. Once a virus with mutations begins to circulate and affect a population, it is termed a new strain or variant.