COVID-19 - The Basics

Table of Contents:

Introduction - pg. 2

Variants of COVID-19 - pg. 3

History of COVID-19 - pg. 4

Vaccines and their side effects - pg. 5

Conclusion - pg. 6

Glossary - pg. 7

Index - pg. 8

Bibliography - pg. 9
 Introduction
You know fleas caused the Black Plague, and goats and cows continue to help spread
TB (tuberculosis), but do you know what caused COVID-19? Most people recognize COVID by
its spike proteins. Also, did you know, when water is applied to the “COVID-bug,” it gives
COVID its strength? Personally, I think it’s worth learning more about a virus that's basically
infecting the world, except Antarctica! COVID has many variants, vaccines, and the most
intriguing history of any sickness!
 Variants of COVID-19
There are many variants of COVID-19, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Eta, Iota,
Kappa, N/A, Zeta, Mu and Delta. All of the
variants are named after the Greek alphabet:
Alpha, Beta and so on. But I’m going to be
talking about Omicron, one of the recent
variants. Omicron is pronounced aa-muh-cron.
Omicron has an unusually high number of
mutations, which is causing a lot of panic.
Israel, Japan, and Morocco have barred entry
of travelers from other countries. Omicron
might be more dangerous than Delta, which is
more transmissible than other variants, but
Omicron is spreading twice as quickly than
Delta! Omicron is thought to reinfect and is less
exposed to the body’s immune defenses.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the chair of the

African Medical Association, said that most
patients did not lose their sense of smell, but only developed a slight cough. Scientists say that
vaccines can be updated if Omicron spreads more aggressively, but there is no reason to
believe that Omicron is impenetrable to existing vaccines. Scientists have expressed
confidence in being able to change existing formulas for vaccines. For example, Beta and Mu
evolved to partially avoid the body’s immune defenses, but they never became a serious threat.
Existing vaccines are thought to provide some protection against Omicron.
The good news is Omicron has distinctive mutations so it’s easy to tell if it’s Omicron
when you do a swab test. New mutations constantly arise inside the human body. South Africa
sounded the alarm because they found more than 30 mutations in one spike protein! Also,
Botswana found 50 mutations throughout the virus!
 History of COVID-19
You know what COVID-19 is, but have you ever wondered how it came to be? We don’t
know exactly when it started, but it was around December, 2019. Here’s what we know: It first
started in Wuhan, Hubei, China, where the Hunan Seafood Wholesale Market was held. Animal
samples were collected and tested negative, which meant that the virus had “floated” away from
the market.
Traces of the virus have been found in water samples that were collected in Milan and
Turin, Italy, on December 18, 2019. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commision, told various other
medical institutes that their people were infected with pneumonia, instead of saying that it was
the virus. For spreading false rumors, eight of these doctors were punished.

During the early stages, the cases doubled about every week and a half. In early and
mid-January, the virus spread to other parts of China, helped by the Chinese New Year
Migration. On January 20, China reported 140 new
cases a day. Later data shows 6,174 people had
already developed symptoms by then, and more
may have been infected.
Italy had its first confirmed cases on January 31,
2020 from two Chinese travelers. Italy overtook
China with the most deaths on March 19.
By the 26th of March, the United States
overtook China and Italy with the most confirmed
cases in the world! On the 6th of February, 2020,
the first person in the US died from COVID. As of
the first of October, 2021, a news agency(Reuters)
reported an estimated number of deaths
worldwide, due to COVID-19 to have exceeded
five million!
 Vaccines for COVID-19 and Their Side Effects
To help prevent the spread of COVID, get vaccinated, however, there are some pretty
bad side effects. There are a LOT of vaccines in the world, but let’s talk about vaccines in North
America. Here are some side effects of AstraZeneca Vaxzevria: You may experience some
redness, soreness, swelling, chills, fatigue, joint pain, headache, mild fever and muscle aches.
In rare cases, there may be blood clots with very low levels of blood platelets (very large cells
that help you heal). Another rare case is capillary leak syndrome, which is a rare syndrome
when there is a repeated, massive leakage of plasma (the largest part of your blood) into
neighboring cavities and muscles. This can cause a drop in blood pressure and if not treated
can cause organ failure and death. Some other rare cases are increased heart rate, and loss of
consciousness.
Another vaccine is Janssen (Johnson Johnson). Here are some of the side effects:
headaches, fever, fatigue, nausea, pain, irritation, muscle aches, and redness and swelling in
the place you got the injection. In rare cases, you can have difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat,
and dizziness.
Pfizer-BioNTech is another vaccine in North
America. Some side effects are: tiredness, headache,
fever, chills, muscle or joint pain, nausea, diarrhea, and in
rare cases you may have difficulty breathing, swelling of
face and throat, rapid heartbeat, rash, and dizziness.
 Conclusion
It’s important to learn about COVID-19’s history, because this can help us learn how to
cure it. Luckily, scientists have invented great vaccines to kick the variants in their butts!
If you want to learn more about COVID, look on the news, and basically everywhere
else! This was just the basics, there is so much more to know! Remember to stay safe
and………GET VACCINATED!!
 Glossary

Blood platelets-A tiny, disc-shaped piece of cell that is found in the blood and spleen.
Platelets are pieces of very large cells in the bone marrow called megakaryocytes. They
help form blood clots to slow or stop bleeding and to help wounds heal.

Capillary Leak Syndrome-A condition in which fluid and proteins leak out of tiny blood
vessels and flow into surrounding tissues, resulting in dangerously low blood pressure.
Capillary leak syndrome may lead to multiple organ failure and shock.

Chair-to preside over a meeting, committee, etc.

Evolved-to develop gradually

Greek Alphabet-the alphabetical script derived from a Semitic alphabet by way of the
Phoenicians, used from about the 8th century b.c. for the writing of Greek, and forming
the basis of many other scripts, including Latin and Cyrillic. The letters of the Greek
alphabet are: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda,
mu, nu1, xi, omicron, pi1, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi1, psi1, omega.

Impenetrable-not penetrable; that cannot be penetrated, pierced, entered, etc.

Mutations-Changes in chromosomes or genes that cause offspring to have

characteristics different from those of their parents. Mutations can be caused by the
effects of chemicals, radiation, or even ordinary heat on DNA. Mutations produce some
of the differences between members of a species on which natural selection acts.

Plasma-Plasma is the largest part of your blood. ... When separated from the rest of the
blood, plasma is a light yellow liquid. Plasma carries water, salts and enzymes. The
main role of plasma is to take nutrients, hormones, and proteins to the parts of the body
that need it. Cells also put their waste products into the plasma.

Spike Protein-In virology, a spike protein or peplomer protein is a protein that forms a
large structure known as a spike or peplomer projecting from the surface of an
enveloped virus. The proteins are usually glycoproteins that form dimers or trimers.

Transmissible-Capable of being moved or transmitted.

Tuberculosis-an infectious disease that may affect almost any tissue of the body,
especially the lungs, caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and
characterized by tubercles.
 Index
Blood platelets-pg. 5

Capillary Leak Syndrome-pg.5

Evolved-pg.3

Greek Alphabet-pg. 3

Impenetrable-pg. 3

Mutations-pg. 3

Plasma-pg. 5

Spike Protein-pg. 2,3

Transmissible-pg. 3

Tuberculosis-pg.2
 Bibliography

Kariger Brian and Fierro Daniel, Dictionary.com, January 21, 2022.

https://www.dictionary.com/

Leonard Jayne, Everything to Know About the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, January
24, 2022.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/moderna-vaccine-for-coronavirus#against-new-varia
nts

Wikipedia, COVID-19, January 24, 2022.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19

Rosenthal Alex, and Thordarson Pall, Which is better: Soap of hand sanitizer? - Alex
Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson January 14, 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7KKkElpyKQ&list=PLBOEDEYC-wbfhYKukoc4ufN
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https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-indust
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https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Moderna.
html

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-info.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/systemic-capillary-leak-syndrom
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https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/10/31/1050985458/the
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https://www.nytimes.com/article/omicron-coronavirus-variant.html

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