{"id":125760,"date":"2021-03-19T02:06:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T09:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/?p=125760"},"modified":"2024-04-16T01:36:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T08:36:01","slug":"one-year-later-what-have-we-learned-from-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dherbs.com\/articles\/one-year-later-what-have-we-learned-from-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Later: What Have We Learned From COVID-19?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Depending on which state you live in, you are either approaching or passing the one year anniversary of COVID-19 lockdowns<\/strong>. We all remember the empty shelves of canned goods, toilet paper, disinfectant sprays, and paper towels. There were long lines outside grocery stores and people scrambled to get as much bleach as possible. Times were tough, businesses went under, and the virus unfortunately claimed the lives of millions worldwide. The good news is that we have made a tremendous amount of progress and the future looks brighter and promising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s safe to say that people never experienced anything like this pandemic ever before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended limited gatherings, social distancing, frequent hand washing, and mask wearing. For many Americans, March 2020 was a time of relearning, acclimating to the new times. \u201cUncertain times\u201d and \u201csocial distancing\u201d became part of the lexicon, and people worried like crazy<\/a>. Would we ever emerge from COVID-19? Could we ever return to some sense of normalcy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not over, but the ride will hopefully be a little less bumpy from now on. Numbers continue to drop and vaccines roll out daily. Additionally, health experts know so much more about the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, than they did back in March 2020. Infectious disease specialists always knew that something like COVID-19 could happen, but it\u2019s different when it happens on a global scale. It\u2019s even worse when nobody is ready for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The theory that is still most plausible is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in bats and was passed to humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a month-long investigation and this is the conclusion they arrived at. There are other narratives and conspiracy theories in existence, but this theory is the most valid. Virologists also think people should know that seven different human coronaviruses are also exist. Four mild strains circulate among humans and are likely responsible for 30% of common colds. SARS-CoV-2 is more like a combination of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). SARS-CoV-2 is less lethal than SARS and MERS is more global, according to scientists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not uncommon for someone to experience a flu or common cold with less severe symptoms. At the first sign of these symptoms, it\u2019s always been best to isolate until they diminish. This is not the case for COVID-19. A high percentage of infected people experienced no symptoms, but they could still transmit the virus to others<\/a>. Infectious disease specialists found it common for younger, healthier people to contract it, walk by a more at-risk person, and pass it to them. That person could then become very sick. According to a study published on January 7th, 2021, roughly 59% of transmission occurs from asymptomatic carriers. That\u2019s why health experts agree that temperature checks are not enough for detection<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children and adults experience COVID-19 differently. It\u2019s common for children between ages 5 and 17 to have much lower infection rates. The current estimate is that children in that age bracket make up 10% of all confirmed cases, while children between 2 to 4 accounted for only 2% of confirmed cases. Virologists suspect that this has to do with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a protein found in human cells. Children have less ACE2 than adults, which is a physiological difference. Since SARS-CoV-2 binds to ACE2 to enter cells, this explains the lower infection rate in children. This remains a hypothesis and there is still no definitive answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMore Than One Year Later<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We Learned About Its Origins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We Learned That Asymptomatic People Can Spread It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We Learned That It Affects Children Differently<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We Learned Misinformation Slowed The Fight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n