• One-third of global infections come from XBB.1.5 variant, health expert says
• The combination of antiviral drugs may be more effective; best mRNA vaccine shield
• Vaccines against poliomyelitis, hepatitis, tuberculosis and measles can help fight Covid
ISLAMABAD: While a third of global Covid-19 infections are due to the same variant of the coronavirus, the treatment of the disease has undergone a paradigm shift and it is now generally accepted that a combination of antiviral drugs may be more effective against the dreaded virus, which has infected more than 672 million people and killed more than 6.7 million worldwide.
Additionally, the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine, which targets the original strain of the coronavirus and has been shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19, is considered the best shield against the disease. .
Professor Dr Javed Akram, health expert and member of the Covid-19 Scientific Task Force, told Dawn that it has been observed over the years that people treated with a combination of antiviral drugs have recovered more. quickly than others.
“As Covid-19 was a new virus to the world, therefore any drug believed to be effective was initially declared a treatment or authorized as emergency use,” he said. “Even chloroquine, a drug mainly used to prevent and treat malaria, has been used to recover and avoid Covid-19. Later, a number of herbs were considered as a treatment for the infection.
“However, after a number of studies, more than one antiviral drug is now considered better for the treatment of Covid-19. In Pakistan, a study titled “Pakistan Pandemiced Clinical Trial in Coronavirus Treatment” took place in 13 centers and gave a similar result,” he said.
Responding to a question, Dr Akram said the XBB.1.5 Covid-19 subvariant – a new version of the Omicron variant – was sweeping the United States, Canada, China and several other countries, and about 30% current infections were due to the same variant.
“It is too early to say that the new variant is more virulent, but it has been shown to be more transmissible. Moreover, it remains to be proven that if he escapes vaccines, ”he said.
However, mRNA vaccines, necessary for protein production, are still considered the best against the virus and they have been modified twice by Moderna and Pfizer,” he said, referring to the two pharmaceutical companies. American technology pioneers.
On another question, Dr Akram said the world is now gearing up to organize studies to analyze the effectiveness of booster doses of the vaccine.
“Chinese studies regarding booster trials can be conducted in Pakistan, because in China, by law, boosters have been given to 100% of the population, but in Pakistan, about 70% of the population have not yet received booster doses. Studies are needed to analyze the effectiveness, level of protection and side effects of booster doses,” he said.
When asked why there were fewer cases in Pakistan while the number of infections was rising in other countries, Dr Akram said the immune system of Pakistanis was much better than that of other countries because they were exposed to vaccines.
“We receive vaccines through the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) and a number of other vaccines. Even the poliomyelitis vaccine, the use of which is mandatory when traveling abroad, strengthens the immune system,” he said.
Similarly, vaccines for hepatitis, tuberculosis, measles, etc., were given to people and were becoming useful in the fight against Covid-19, he said, adding: “I would suggest that People should maintain the level of vitamin D in the body because, according to a study, it also speeds up the rate of recovery after infection.
Posted in Dawn, January 23, 2023
