Since the beginning of the pandemic a year ago, Covid-19 has caused over 2 million deaths worldwide. We are all waiting with baited breath for the day when we can get vaccinated against Covid-19 and finally travel to see our family and friends and actually hug them. No more virtual hugs! Even those who would rather not get vaccinated wish for extensive general immunity so we could resume some semblance of our pre-Covid lives. Let us take a brief look at Covid-19 vaccine development-our path to normalcy.
Vaccines are delivery systems to induce the human body to recognize an invading
virus and destroy it | Representation Image
Inside the dark caverns of the human body, a war is on. Nano-sized, silent and invisible to the naked eye, but brutal and singularly cunning. A viral predator is planning to storm the body’s citadels: the cells. Covert operations are underway.
The virus is undulating its spikes, like balloons on a string. Each spike is coated with sugar the primordial molecule to trick the cells into believing what’s landing is safe.
The camouflage works: cells pop open. Even the powerful soldiers of the body’s immune system miss the malignant presence.
With the potent protein of its spikes, the virus breaks in, to hijack, plunder and infect the cells. In a matter of hours, virus particles appear in every teaspoon of the victim’s blood. An ancient warfare between mankind and pathogens, that has turned a new page in modern times.