https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gXdbY8Rh03gYdYrmzcmQ6agks5uudiPC5u4w8gWfVb4/edit?usp=sharing
Friday, December 17, 2021
Why would an increase in ocean temperatures endanger many species that depend on coral as a home and food supply
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LH36vnRyPqYkIwwGgqQranIMFPhhIk0Awy1dlRojFdM/edit?usp=sharing
Some risks and benefits of human intervention to the biodiversity of aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Lu-1B4G2oP0dph2sUP0DfGHE6Roe0Y2rCjqqgbBViE/edit?usp=sharing
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
SNC2D Unit 1 B1 (COVID-19 Research)
COVID-19 Research by Sarangan Sothyrupan
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory and recover fine without special treatment, but some can fall seriously ill especially those with underlying medical conditions. The scary part of the virus is anyone can get sick with the virus and become seriously ill or die at any age.
Most researchers believe the COVID-19 virus originated from bats, but how exactly it jumped to humans is unknown. Other coronaviruses have been passed on to humans from an intermediate animal host. The intermediate animal host that passed the virus from bats to humans has not yet been identified, but researchers think it could have been a wild species sold as food in ‘wet markets’, which typically sell live animals.
B1.1
Basis of Covid Vaccine research, ethical issues related to it.
Topic: COVID-19 Vaccines.
Issue: Vaccines are biological preparations to produce active acquired immunity to a specific infectious disease. As long as there have been vaccines there have been people who objected to them, the reasons range from religious to political objections.
The fastest any vaccine had been developed was four years, so it was no surprise to most when scientists began researching a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, they were careful not to promise quick success. But by the start of December 2020, the developers of several vaccines had announced promising results in large trials. On December 2nd, a vaccine manufactured by Pifzer with German biotech firm BioNTech became the ‘first fully tested immunization to be approved for emergency use’.
There are multitudes of reasons behind vaccine opposition. Some people forgo getting vaccines due to the high risks of allergic reactions. But most people’s reasons for opposing vaccinations are due to misconceptions. Many use religious beliefs as a reason for not getting vaccinated even though most mainstream religions do not condone the use of it. There was the belief of diseases disappearing due to better sanitation and hygiene, not vaccines, but this is proven false due to the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Parents cite medical risks, including autism as a potential consequence leading to the belief of risks outweighing the benefits. These reasons are medically unfounded and unfortunately, the decision to not vaccinate yourself or your children endangers those who come into contact with your person.
What are the arguments for and against COVID-19 Vaccines?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is very important. There are many reasons getting the vaccine is a positive not a negative, like it protects you from other coronavirus variants like the delta, even if you’ve had COVID-19 previously and came out fine getting the vaccine will add extra protection. Not only does it help you but also prevents those around you from getting sick. As stated previously the reasons for the opposition of vaccines mainly stem from misconceptions. Other than valid reasons like high risk of allergic reactions there shouldn’t be any reasons not to get vaccinated.
B1.2
Topic: Importance of Covid Vaccines to human health and society.
Issue: Anti Vaxxers are people who oppose or refuse to get vaccines and as vaccines are the most effective way to counter COVID-19 they pose a problem. Especially when they are parents and refuse to let their children get vaccinated due to false beliefs.
How important is the administration of COVID-19 Vaccines to people and society as a whole?
It need not be answered how many negative consequences COVID-19 has caused for society as a whole, even worse is the number of lives the virus has taken. It's an unprecedented situation. So it should be common sense how important the vaccines are. The more people vaccinated the less chance of getting COVID. Not only is it important for your health but also important for your community and loved ones as it puts them at less risk. Getting vaccinated allows you to resume most activities you were doing before the pandemic. Even if you get COVID-19, as long as you are vaccinated it helps you from getting seriously ill. Truly words couldn’t describe how important these vaccines are, every person vaccinated is a step closer to getting your life and the world back on track.
B1.3
Topic: Public health strategies relating to the prevention of COVID and their impact on society.
Issue: To prevent the spread of COVID drastic measures were taken as we’ve never faced anything to this scale in recent history. This led to dissatisfaction and outcry from many people.
What strategies has the government employed to prevent the further spread of COVID-19? What impact have these strategies had?
The government's encouraged measures like social distancing, which includes staying six feet or two meters apart and avoiding gathering of large groups, wearing face masks in public, proper ventilation and air-filtering, frequent use of sanitary measures like disinfecting surfaces and hand washing, finally and most importantly the quarantining of people who were exposed or showing symptoms. The more severe preventive measures employed by authorities worldwide are travel restrictions like quarantine before and after travel or entry bans to the most affected areas, lockdowns, workplace hazard controls, testing protocols, etc… There were also lots of businesses being shut down causing financial issues and unemployment for a fair amount of people.
The pandemic and some of the preventative measures caused severe social and economic disruptions. Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the pandemic has caused the largest global recession. Multitudes of educational institutions and public areas, in general, have been partially or completely closed. Many events around the world have been postponed or canceled due to government-imposed restrictions because of large gatherings. Also due to the mix of above-mentioned negatives, it is triggering mental health conditions or worsening existing ones like increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety to name a few. Having said that the use of these strategies are valid and effective methods to stop the spread of COVID-19, although it isn’t ideal quite yet, or has the world returned to normality we are taking steps towards it.
References:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03165-9