COVID-19 is an infectious disease triggered by a new ( or refreshing ) coronavirus , SARS - CoV-2 , that was first discovered in 2019 . It has since caused more than 770 million confirmed case globally , leading to 7 million dying , according to theWorld Health Organization ( WHO ) .
There presently is no therapeutic for COVID-19 , but there are okay and investigational handling . International group of scientist have also created COVID-19 vaccine , with three super in force ones useable in the United States .
On top of the powerful protection of vaccinum , citizenry can take other precautions to avoid getting and spreading COVID-19 .
Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19
Many people with COVID-19 experience symptoms ranging from mild to life - threatening . Symptoms may seem 2 to 14 days after coronavirus exposure , according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , although a important number of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic , meaning they never explicate any symptom .
According to the UK - found Zoe Health Study , the10 most usual symptom of the COVID-19caused by the omicron chance variable are :
Other symptom of COVID-19 , according to the CDC , include feverishness or pall , fatigue , andgastrointestinal issuessuch as nausea , regurgitation , or looseness .
sign of austere COVID-19 countenance emergency medical attention , says the CDC . These include :
Causes and Risk Factors of COVID-19
COVID-19 in the main spreads through respiratory fluid ( droplets and small particles called aerosols that float in the melody ) emitted from an septic soul ’s back talk or nose when they cough , sneeze , speak , spill the beans , or breathe , according to theWHO .
Another person can become septic if they inspire the fluid or if the fluids come into contact with their eye , nose , or mouth .
The WHO says the hazard of COVID-19 transmittal is mellow in three mise en scene :
Anyone with COVID-19 can go around it , even if they do n’t have symptom , order theCDC .
Age and COVID-19 Risk
Older people ( especially those over eld 50 ) who contract COVID-19 are at high risk of infection for a more severe case than younger masses , with the jeopardy increase with age , says theCDC . Most COVID-19 - colligate death occur in people older than 65 .
Seniors who are unvaccinated or who have a handicap , weaken immune system , or certain aesculapian conditions are at especially high peril .
Health Conditions and COVID-19 Risk
A number of inveterate diseases are known to increase the chances a individual will grow serious sickness from COVID-19 . According to theCDC , the conditions that demonstrably increase risk in adults of any eld include :
Children at increase risk of severe COVID-19 include those with complex medical problems ; neurologic , genetic , or metabolic conditions ; and congenital heart disease . Children with conditions such as obesity , asthma , or chronic lung disease , diabetes , or sickle cell disease , or who are immunocompromised , are also peculiarly vulnerable to austere COVID-19 , per the CDC .
Variants and COVID-19 Risk
All viruses , include the virus that have COVID-19 , forever change by mutate , creating new variants and subvariants . In many cases these unexampled forms of the computer virus quick go away or stay at very low grade , but sometimes they spread , give the axe their viral challenger .
SARS - CoV-2 variants have evolve over time , from alpha , beta , and delta to omicron , the currently prevalent var. , saysYale Medicine . Subvariants of omicron are look at especially contagious because of the high-pitched number of mutations on their spike protein , the part of the computer virus that attach to human cellular phone .
The three COVID-19 vaccines usable in the United States significantly lessen the danger of serious illness and death do by omicron and its subvariants . When so - called breakthrough contagion hap in the great unwashed who have been immunise , those illness are likely to be less wicked than they would be in unvaccinated someone , says theInfectious Diseases Society of America ( IDSA ) .
How Is COVID-19 Diagnosed?
There are three type of run for COVID-19 : molecular tests ( also called PCR tests ) , antigen test , and antibody tests .
Molecular (PCR) Tests
Typically requiring a misstep to atesting land site , molecular mental test are used to determine if someone is currently infect with COVID-19 . A PCR ( polymerase chain reaction ) psychometric test looks for the virus ’s transmitted material . specimen can be collected with a os nasale or throat mop or through a spittle sample , says theFDA , then sent to a laboratory for depth psychology . Molecular tests are considered more exact than other types of COVID-19 tests .
Antigen (Rapid or Home) Tests
Most home COVID-19 tests are antigen mental test . Antigen tests seem for specific protein from the coronavirus . Although not as precise as PCR trial , antigen test do n’t demand as much equipment and results are usually fork over in minutes .
If you test electronegative , test again after 48 hours ( whether or not you have symptoms ) to come down the odds you ’ve received a so - prognosticate false - negative result , enounce the FDA .
Antibody Tests
These tests use a fingerbreadth prick or line draw to look for COVID-19 antibodies — an immune answer to COVID-19 . For anyone who has n’t received a COVID-19 vaccine , the presence of antibody indicates preceding infection and retrieval , according to the FDA .
Duration of COVID-19
When it comes to how long a person might feel sick with COVID-19 , there is a panoptic spectrum . “ Some people never feel sick or have symptom — that ’s one extreme , ” saysDavid Lee Thomas , MD , MPH , an infective - disease specialiser and a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore . “ On the other side , you have individuals who were infected with the virus over three months ago and have not stopped feel grisly . ”
While most people with COVID-19 get adept within a couple of days or weeks , some people do n’t recover fully , developing a condition calledlong COVID . TheCDC define long COVIDas “ a wide range of raw , returning , or ongoing wellness problems that people experience after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 . ”
foresightful COVID is n’t identifiable until at least four weeks after the initial coronavirus infection , per the CDC .
Treatment and Medication Options for COVID-19
mass with mild or restrained COVID-19 who are not at high risk for severe COVID-19 can get relief from symptoms from over - the - buffet medications like acetaminophen ( Panadol ) or Nuprin ( Advil , Motrin ) , per the CDC .
COVID-19 treatments for mass at high risk of infection of serious illness can help keep an infection from developing into severe malady . All these antiviral therapies work well when taken as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms , says theCDC .
The discussion are :
To bump doctor , health centers , and pharmaceutics near you where Paxlovid or Lagevrio is available , use theCOVID-19 Test to Treat Locator . Another political platform , Home Test to Treat , simplifies access to free COVID-19 trial and discourse for those who are eligible .
masses who are immunocompromised may benefit from an experimental treatment called convalescent plasma , say the CDC .
sure soul who are hospitalized with severe COVID-19 may take in drugs such as remdesivir ( Veklury ) ; the rheumy arthritis drugs baricitinib ( Olumiant ) and tocilizumab ( Actemra ) ; and the steroid hormone dexamethasone , saysMayo Clinic .
Prevention of COVID-19
Here ’s a rundown of the unlike agency to stave off COVID-19 .
COVID-19 Vaccines
There are currently three main steel of COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States , for purpose as primary vaccines and as boosters .
Pfizer - BioNTech and Moderna vaccinesAs the CDC explicate , these vaccinum ramp up immunity against COVID-19 using a familial speck call in messenger RNA ( mRNA ) .
The messenger RNA in the vaccinum hold in instructions that help the body ’s own cells produce a harmless bit of a protein resemble one that live on the surface of the coronavirus ; this triggers an resistant response .
Novavax COVID-19 vaccineThis vaccine employ a more traditional technology than mRNA vaccinum . It is a “ protein subunit ” vaccine , meaning the vaccinum incorporate parts of the coronavirus ’s spike protein , stimulating an resistant response , plus another ingredient called an adjuvant that strengthens protection .
mention that the Johnson & Johnson ( J&J ) COVID-19 vaccinum is no longer administered in the United States as of May 2023 .
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of old age and olderstay up - to - dateon their COVID-19 vaccinum . People who are immunocompromised should follow a special vaccination schedule , per theCDC .
To find a vaccination site near you , enter your zip code atVaccines.gov .
Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines
So - called “ adverse effects ” of COVID-19 vaccination are rare , says theCDC , with the benefits of inoculation far surpass the risk . These admit :
uncommon conditions linked to the J&J vaccine , which is no longer available in the United States , includeGuillain - Barré syndromeand thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome ( rip clots with crushed thrombocyte ) .
Other Ways to Avoid Getting or Spreading COVID-19
In addition to inoculation , Mayo Clinicadvises the following ways to protect yourself and those around you from COVID-19 :
Complications of COVID-19
COVID-19 can cause serious aesculapian tortuousness and even destruction . Although anyone can develop complicatedness as a result of the computer virus , the risk is great in older adults and people with survive medical condition . Mayo Cliniclists the following as among the most common serious complications that grow with the disease :
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome ( MISC ) is a rare complication of COVID-19 that can feign minor and adults . Multiple organs can become inflame , let in the tenderness , lungs , kidney , brain , skin , eye , or GI tract . According to theCDC , symptom include ongoing fever plus more than one of the following :
Long COVID
Long COVID is generally defined as the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms , or the egress of novel wellness job , four weeks or longer after the acute ( initial ) phase of COVID-19 , saysYale Medicine .
accord to a scientific investigationpublished inJAMAin May 2023 , the top 12 symptom of longsighted COVID are :
Research and Statistics: How Many People Have Had COVID-19?
accord to theWHO , more than 770 million case of COVID-19 have been confirmed globally and about 7 million deaths as of September 2023 .
In the United States , COVID-19 has killed more than 1.1 million citizenry and sent more than 6 million people to the hospital , harmonize to theCDC .
COVID-19 and Racial and Ethnic Disparities
COVID-19 has had an outsize impingement on communities of color in the United States , causing a disproportionate numeral of deaths .
A 2023 report from theKaiser Family Foundationfound that while the pandemic shaved 2.7 years off overall U.S. life anticipation between 2019 and 2021 , multitude of color experience the steepest declines , and long - tolerate health disparity exacerbate .
American Indian and Alaskan Native ( AIAN ) citizenry fall behind 6.6 years in life-time anticipation , while life-time anticipation for Hispanic mass and Black people declined 4.2 and 4 years , severally , compared with a drop of 2.4 years for ashen people and 2.1 year for Asian mass .
Common Questions & Answers
Jane Yoon Scott , MD , is an infectious disease physician and an assistant professor of medicine atEmory Universityin Atlanta . Dr. Scott enjoys connecting with her patient , empowering them to realize and take possession of their health , and promote them to ask questions so that they can make informed and attentive decision .
She graduated with the highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology , then received her MD from the Medical College of Georgia . She completed her interior medication residency training and master residency at Temple University Hospital , as well as a society in infectious disease at Emory University . She is board - certify in both internal medical specialty and infective disease .
When she is not seeing patients , Dr. Scott work with neighboring health departments to advance public health , especially to residential district that have been historically underserved . She also teaches aesculapian trainee and lectures medical students at the Emory University School of Medicine .
In her free time , Dr. Scott apprise a good coffee berry workshop , weekend hikes , play guitar , strolling through city , try out eatery , and move around to new places .
Becky Upham has been professionally involved in health and wellness for almost 20 years . She ’s been a race theatre director , a recruiter for Team in Training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society , a sales rep for a major pharmaceutical company , a blogger for Moogfest , a communications handler for Mission Health , a fittingness instructor , and a health autobus .
She majored in English at the University of North Carolina and has a schoolmaster ’s in English writing from Hollins University .
Upham enjoys learn cycling classes , running , record fiction , and making playlist .
Pamela Kaufman assigns and edit stories about infective disease and general health topics and strategizes on news coverage . She began her news media career as a junior editor on the wellness and physical fitness beat atVogue , followed by a long stretch atFood & Wine , where she rose through the ranks to become executive editor . Kaufman has write for Rutgers University and Fordham Law School and was selected for a 2022 Health Journalism Fellowship from the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
Kaufman enjoys going on restaurant adventure , interpret novel , making soup in her slow cooker , and hanging out with her dog . She lives in New York City with her husband and two kids .
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