By Nsunjo Erica
How long can I expect a COVID-19 illness to last? has been the question on people’s lips lately and according to the World Health Organization, recovery typically takes two to six weeks.
According to experts, recovery also depends on the nature of the patient’s immunity, most coronavirus patients have mild to moderate illness and recover quickly.
However, Older, sicker patients tend to take longer to recover from COVID-19, which includes those who are obese or have high blood pressure and other chronic diseases.
One U.S. study found that around 20% of non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, ages 18 to 34 still had symptoms at least two weeks after becoming ill. The same was true for nearly half of people age 50 and older.
Additionally, among those sick enough to be hospitalized, a study in Italy found 87 percent were still experiencing symptoms two months after getting sick. Lingering symptoms included fatigue, stress, and shortness of breath.
Experts also say that many of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients still have coughing episodes, breathing difficulties, and fatigue three to four months after infection.
Experts however said it’s hard to predict exactly when COVID-19 patients will return to feeling well. It’s also hard to predict which patients will develop complications after their initial illness subsides, but some patients with strong immunity recover faster than two weeks.
Current Update On COVID-19 Vaccine
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Covid-19 vaccine may be ready by the end of this year, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this in his closing remarks to the global agency’s board on Tuesday last week.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for solidarity and political commitment by all leaders to ensure equal distribution of vaccines when they become available.
The comment from the WHO Chief came even as drugmakers and scientists all over the world are racing against time to develop a safe, effective vaccine against Covid-19.
According to the report, nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the WHO-led COVAX global vaccine facility that aims to distribute two million doses by the end of 2021.
So far, some 168 countries have joined the COVAX facility but neither China, the United States nor Russia are among them. The Trump admiration has said it is relying instead on bilateral deals to secure supplies from vaccine makers.
Previously, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that over 8,000 Boeing 747s will be needed to ship a COVID-19 vaccine around the World and that this will be the “largest transport challenge ever”
The Association added that not all planes will be suitable for delivering the COVID-19 vaccines as they need a typical temperature range of between 2 and 8C for transporting drugs. According to the IATA, Some vaccines may require frozen temperatures which would exclude more aircraft.