Is there a Coronavirus vaccine? Here's where the quest to prevent & cure currently stands

dely Coronavirus has infected more than 90,000 people and killed about 3,000 globally since it was first detected in central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December last year. vast majority of infections and deaths have occurred in mainland China, but rapid spre of  virus has caused a devastating effect across globe. Governments have shut borders and imposed quarantines, and companies have imposed travel bans.

A possible vaccine to be discovered by end of year

However, re is vaccine and specific anti-viral medicine to prevent or cure COVID-19. Those affected should receive care to relieve symptoms and WHO says most patients recover due to supportive care. In medical research labs around world, scientists are racing to develop a vaccine. According to a report, Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Monday that it identified certain anti-viral compounds it h in development that have potential to inhibit Coronaviruses and is engaging with a third party to screen compounds.

company said it hopes to have results from that screening by end of March and if any of compounds are successful, it would hope to start testing m by end of year. Some drugmakers are repurposing old antivirals. Some are mobilizing tried-and-true techlogies, and ors are pressing forward with futuristic approaches to human medicine to find a cure to COVID-19.

Most commonly reported symptoms

Cases of COVID-19 virus seem to be levelling off in China. But elsewhere, infections – and deaths – are rising. most commonly reported symptoms include fever, dry cough and tiredness. In most severe cases, people with virus can develop difficulty breathing, and may ultimately experience organ failure. Some cases are fatal. For w, health vice in most countries is same – avoid areas experiencing an outbreak, cough or sneeze into tissues before binning m, and wash your hands.

're is need to panic'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said re was need to panic and urged people to work toger, a day after two Indians tested positive for dely coronavirus in country. Prime Minister also said he h held an “extensive review” with several ministries and state governments about level of preparedness to tackle coronavirus. “re is need to panic. We need to work toger, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection,” Prime Minister tweeted.

government on Tuesday put export restrictions on 26 pharma ingredients and medicines, including paracetamol, vitamin B1 and B12, amid coronavirus outbreak in China. With this, export of se active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulations requires licence from Directorate General of Foreign Tre (DGFT), an arm of commerce ministry. Earlier, re were restrictions on outbound shipments of se products.

What is Coronavirus?

vel virus was first detected in December 2019. It is a respiratory disease that has been named 'SARS-CoV-2' and was initially named 'Coronavirus disease 2019', n abbreviated to 'COVID-19'. World Health Organization (WHO) was first alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan at end of December. Chinese authorities confirmed y h identified a new virus a week later.

RE | Arrangements me for testing of Coronavirus samples across laboratories in India

RE | Coronavirus: Centre vises citizens to refrain from travelling to affected countries

On January 30, International Health Regulations Emergency Committee (IHREC) of WHO declared situation as critical but expressed full confidence in China's ability to dress public emergency and contain virus. After WHO called situation a public health emergency of international concern, governments around started issuing travel visory while simultaneously evacuating its nationals stranded in Wuhan.

RE | Coronavirus outbreak: Czech Republic confirms five cases of epidemic

RE | Civil aviation ministry, AAI hold meeting to review coronavirus situation