ISSN: 2574-7770
Authors: Gundu HR Rao*
Unprecedented spread of a killer coronavirus from Wuhan, China, has caused a catastrophic public health and economic crisis worldwide. Since its initial discovery in late 2019, the virus has spread to all the countries, infected 237 million individuals, and caused death of 4.8 million individuals. No country was prepared to face such a devastating infectious disease pandemic. Global Pharma industries responded rapidly to the call of ‘Operation Warp Speed’ and developed effective vaccines, faster than at any other time in our history. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines, large sections of global population, do not have access to these COVID-vaccines. Coronavirus which is highly contagious is transmitted by the respiratory particles and enters the cell by interacting with the angiotensin-converting enzyme-11- receptor (ACE2), which is present on a variety of cells in the human body. Since ACE2 receptors are abundantly expressed on vascular endothelium, upon entry, this virus replicates and spreads to all the vital organs of the body, which are served by the vasculature. Several studies have reported that the severity of the coronavirus disease increases in individuals with underlying health conditions such as hypertension, excess weight, obesity, diabetes, and vascular diseases. These metabolic diseases have increased in the last four decades to epidemic proportions. Individuals with metabolic diseases are at risk for severe coronavirus disease. In view of these observations, those ‘at risk’ population, should take extra precaution from getting infected with this virus. If infected, all attempts should be made to neutralize the virus, reduce the viral load, or initiate appropriate therapies, -to prevent known clinical complications associated with coronavirus disease.
Keywords: Coronavirus Disease; Hypertension; COVID-Vaccines
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