The nation has been at crisis for the past few months. Businesses have shut down, the economy has dipped, and over 110,000 people have perished because of COVID-19.
If there is a second wave of the coronavirus what can we do? Is there a cure in the works? Medical professionals have already predicted a second wave of the coronavirus. But will a second wave actually happen?
Dr Marc Lipsitch stated in an American Medical Association article from May 2020 that his research indicates the warmer weather has only reduce transmission of COVID-19 by 20%. He then states, “It’s only enough to slow it down, not to stop it.”
Will the Second Coronavirus Wave Be Worse?
Researchers like Dr. Lipsitch are stating that the second wave could be worse than the first wave of COVID-19. Dr. Marc Lipsitch said “[America] will have a harder time controlling the virus in the fall…” He goes on to state that “The hardest thing will be to protect the ICUs and keep the number of cases from flaring up.”
America can learn from countries that have already hit their second wave, these include China and South Korea. In a BBC article from June, 7 2020, Eva Ontiveros writes about what the United States can take from Asia and how it handled its second wave of COVID-19.
Will a Second Wave of Coronavirus Actually Happen?
In Eva’s article she writes that a second wave is unavoidable according to Dr Jennifer Rohn, a cell biologist at University College, London. What can we do when the second coronavirus wave hits? Restrictions may return, that can mean another month or so in quarantine, as well as limited travel outside of your home country.
America may adopt a GPS tracking of citizens traveling abroad, though some Americans may find this lack of privacy disturbing. Ontiveros finishes her article by quoting Dr Rohn saying, “there will be no immunization in the population until we have an effective and accessible vaccine, we will remain at risk of the virus.”
Will a Cure Be Ready for the Second Wave?
Work is being made on a cure. On Monday June 1st Eli Lilly and Company started human antibody therapy for COVID-19. The company is receiving test subjects from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, and Emory University in Atlanta.
Dr. Dan Skorvronsky, Eli Lilly’s senior vice president and chief scientific officer is quoted stating “Until now, scientists have been trying to respond to repurpose medicines, drugs… to see if they worked on COVID-19. When the epidemic started, we got to work making new medicine, now we can start human trials.” The treatments are like those for HIV, Lupus, Asthma, Ebola, and some forms of cancer.
Eli Lilly has already begun manufacturing the antibody therapy in large quantities for testing and potentially for use in patients beyond the trial. Under non-pandemic circumstances, the companies would usually wait to find out if it worked first before it started making it.
“For many of us, this feels a little like a moonshot or a Manhattan Project, where so many scientists are working together at breakneck speeds,” Skovronksy said. “Surely there will be other advances that come of this.”
We will continue to provide more information on the second wave as research and information becomes available.
To stay up to date on the latest official governmental news of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, don’t forget to check out the official website of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
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