What a year! Towards the end of the previous, we had started hearing about a new infectious and deadly virus, with reports coming only from one place in the world - Wuhan in China. Perhaps some of you, and I likewise, thought or foolishly hoped that the effects would manage to be limited to that geographical location.
It didn't take us long to realise that not only reports were coming out of that location, and perhaps some other locations we're as yet unaware of. This is because in today's world, or yesterday's to be precise), communications and transport are truly global, and at the same time many people were flying around with the virus but not necessarily displaying symptoms, from there to all corners of the globe, directly or indirectly.
Today we are where we are, with millions infected, and hundreds of thousands dead, and amazingly, the highest number of infections and deaths can be found in the country strongest economically, technologically and militarily, that is the United States of America. The leaders of this country are to this day patting themselves on the back and boasting of their success in dealing with the disease. We don't need to put a name to these idiots.
Many countries have passed through a first barrage, then the second wave arrived. Most countries shut off substantial parts of their economies so that community transmission of COVID-19 would be minimised, and in the absence of a vaccine, this together with basic precautionary measures such as social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing and isolation are the only weapon we have to avoid becoming infected, or else if already infected avoiding infecting others.
Apart from these, there are another 142 candidates that are in the preliminary phase, that is in animal testing.
People are tired. They're tired of being careful. They're sick of holding back, locking themselves at home or in their suburbs, working from home (if they have a job). Some are defying orders made in the interests of public health, even when risking their own personal health and the fear of getting slapped with a fine.
Attention is more or less shifting towards the one thing that can give some light onto today's darkness, that is a vaccine. Some polemics have already started about whether a recommended vaccine should be taken or otherwise. There are naturally people who are against any type of vaccine (anti-vaxxer). There are also those against a vaccine developed using some cell line that in the past was part of an abortion, as is the case with the vaccine from Oxford University, one of the 6 most advanced in testing and the one on which the Australian (and Maltese) governments have an agreement for.
We, the ones living in this period, will not forget it in a hurry!
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X'sena qed ngħaddu minnha, hux? Lejn tmiem ta' qabilha, konna bdejna nisimgħu b'virus ġdid, infettiv u qattiel, bir-rapporti joħorġu biss minn post wieħed fid-dinja - Wuhan fiċ-Ċina. Forsi wħud minnkom, u jien ukoll, ħsibna jew ittamajna b'mod fieraħ li l-effetti jirnexxielhom ikunu mrażżna f'dak il-post ġeografiku.
Ma tantx domna biex indunajna li mhux ir-rapporti biss kienu ħerġin minn dak il-post, u forsi minn xi postijiet oħra wkoll li ma nafux bihom. Dan għaliex fid-dinja tal-lum, (jew tal-bieraħ biex inkun preċiż), il-komunikazzjoni u t-trasport huma verament globali, u fl-istess żmien kienu qed itiru ħafna nies bil-virus imma mhux neċessarjament b'sintomi, minn hemm għal kull rokna tad-dinja, direttament jew indirettament.
Illum wasalna fejn wasalna, b'miljuni ta' nies infettati, u mijiet tal-eluf mejtin, u ħaġa tal-għaġeb, l-ikbar numru ta' infezzzjonijiet u mwiet jinsabu fl-iktar pajjiż b'saħħtu ekonomikament, teknoloġikament u militarment, jiġifieri l-Istati Uniti tal-Amerka. Il-mexxejja ta' dan il-pajjiż għadhom sal-ġurnata mqaddsa tal-lum itaptpu lilhom infushom fuq daharhom u jiftaħru x'suċċess qed ikollhom fit-trażżin tal-marda. M'hemmx għalfejn insemmuhom b'isimhom dawn l-idjoti.
Ħafna pajjiżi għaddew mill-ewwel burraxka, imbagħad ġiet it-tieni mewġa. Il-maġġoranza tal-pajjiżi tfew partijiet sostanzjali mill-ekonomiji tagħhom sabiex it-tifrix komunitarju tal-COVID-19 jitrażżan, u f'nuqqas ta' vaċċin, din flimkien ma' miżuri ta' prekawzjoni bażiċi bħad-dbegħid minn xulxin, l-ħasil tajjeb tal-idejn, l-ilbies tal-maskri u l-iżolament huma l-uniku arma li għandna biex nippruvaw ma nitteħdux, jew jekk aħna infettati ma ninfettawx lil ħaddieħor.
Apparti minn dawn, hemm ukoll 142 kandidat ieħor li għadhom fl-istadju preliminarju, jiġifieri fejn it-testijiet isiru fl-annimali.
In-nies għajjew. Għajjew jiftakru li jridu joqogħdu attenti. Xebgħu joqogħdu lura, wħud jissakkru ġod-dar u/jew fis-subborgi tagħhom, jaħdmu mid-dar (jekk għad għandhom impjieg). Hemm min jisfida l-ordijiet li jsiru fl-interess tas-saħħa pubblika, anke b'riskju għal saħħithom personalment u anke l-biża' li jlaqqtu xi ċitazzjoni sħuna sħuna.
L-attenzjoni xi ftit jew wisq bdiet iddur fuq dik il-ħaġa li tista' tagħti xi xaqq ta' dawl fid-dlam tal-lum, ċjoe vaċċin. Diġà bdew il-polemiċi fuq jekk vaċċin li jkun rakkomandat, għandux jittieħed. Hemm naturalment dawk li huma kontra kull vaċċin (anti-vaxxer). Imbagħad hemm dawk li huma kontra vaċċin li ġie żviluppat minn xi linja ta' ċelluli li kienet parti minn abort, bħal ma hu l-vaċċin tal-Università ta' Oxford, wieħed mis-sitta l-iktar avvanzati fit-testijiet u li l-gvern Awstraljan (u dak Malti) għandu ftehim għalih.
Aħna li qed ngħixu f'dan il-perjodu, m'aħniex se ninsewh kif ġieb u laħaq!
1https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines, retrieved 27/8/2020
2https://npin.cdc.gov/pages/hiv-and-aids-timeline#1980, retrieved 27/8/2020
3https://www.contagionlive.com/publications/contagion/2020/june/how-close-are-we-to-a-cure-for-hiv, retrieved 27/8/2020
4https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/health/hiv-cure.html, retrieved 27/8/2020
5https://theconversation.com/russias-coronavirus-vaccine-hasnt-been-fully-tested-doling-it-out-risks-side-effects-and-false-protection-144347, retrieved 27/8/2020
6https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-25/sydney-archbishop-questions-ethics-of-potential-covid-vaccine/12591286, retrieved 27/8/2020
1https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines, retrieved 27/8/2020
2https://npin.cdc.gov/pages/hiv-and-aids-timeline#1980, retrieved 27/8/2020
3https://www.contagionlive.com/publications/contagion/2020/june/how-close-are-we-to-a-cure-for-hiv, retrieved 27/8/2020
4https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/health/hiv-cure.html, retrieved 27/8/2020
5https://theconversation.com/russias-coronavirus-vaccine-hasnt-been-fully-tested-doling-it-out-risks-side-effects-and-false-protection-144347, retrieved 27/8/2020
6https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-25/sydney-archbishop-questions-ethics-of-potential-covid-vaccine/12591286, retrieved 27/8/2020
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