Md Billal Hossen: Bangladesh has started administering the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine on April 8, 2021. Those who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will get the second dose as well step by step. The vaccine that is administrating into the body of Bangladeshi people is produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca which is commonly known as the Covishield vaccine. Covisheild vaccine has promising impacts on the wild coronavirus infected patient. But, recently a new variant of SARS-COV-2 has been identified which is commonly known as the UK variant or B.1.1.7 (VOC 202012/01). The new variant emerged in southeast England in September 2020. According to ICDDR’B, this variant is also spreading in our country in the last few months. After that, the rate of coronavirus infection surges very rapidly over the country. Most importantly, the case notches up to 7000 in the first week of April in Bangladesh which is worrying for us. The UK variant has some catastrophic features that make it a more dangerous variant ever invented. It is more transmissible than any other variant of COVID-19. Davies et al. characterized the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant in the UK. The authors found that the variant is 43 to 90% (range of 95% credible intervals, 38 t0 130%) more transmissible than the preexisting variants. Experts in the UK reported that B.1.1.7 variant may be associated with either milder or severe disease in people. This variant also reduces the susceptibility to therapeutic agents such as monoclonal antibodies. And more importantly, the UK variant can evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity. I think it would be the most concerning feature of the UK variant. Because already a huge number of population has been vaccinated in the whole world. If the UK variant behaves like the aforesaid feature it would be catastrophic for the globe.
In the case of Bangladesh, the rate of infection is rising day by day. As the UK variant is also reported in the country recently. According to ICDDR’B, the UK variant gradually increased over time until the second week of March 2021, with the highest positivity rate (52%). The ICU bed of the hospitals are occupied with critical coronavirus infected patients and the hospital attendance is increasing rapidly. And it is very alarming for us. As I discussed earlier that the new variant has some specific feature that is dangerous for us. Though we have vaccinated a large number of people in our country, the UK variant which is spreading currently in our country can evade the vaccine-induced or natural immunity of the people. If this happens in our country, the result will be disastrous.
Nowadays, we are seeing in the newspaper that some people caught COVID-19 after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. So it is a growing concern for Bangladesh.
On the other hand, the second COVID-19 vaccine has been introduced among the people. But, the more important consideration is will it be effective against the new variant of COVID-19. As I stated earlier that the new variant has some salient features that make the vaccine ineffective against coronavirus. That’s why it is time to think about the vaccination strategy to protect a huge population from being infected by the new variant of coronavirus. It assumed that the UK variant may contribute to the failure of the vaccination program.
To contain this deadly virus we must think about new or alternative plans and strategies for the betterment of the country. From the experience, we can say that two important things namely a. proper health guidelines b. right dietary habits can play a vital role in retarding the spread of the new variant of coronavirus. Proper implementation and practice of these things are indispensable in the upcoming days.
All the necessary health guidelines provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Bangladesh should be strictly implemented in every corner of the country. To implement these guidelines military forces can be used. We can also raise awareness about the dangerous effect of the new variant of COVID-19 among the mass people by the root level administration. Civil society organizations can be other options for increasing health awareness among general people. The second and foremost option is practicing healthy dietary habits. The immune system is the utmost barrier against this deadly virus. So we must keep our immune system healthy and strong. To keep our immune system strong we have to change dietary habits from an animal-based diet to a plant or veggies-based diet. We should keep lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber, and other vitamin and mineral-rich foods in our diet to improve immune function. As the plant-based food contain different sort of phytonutrients including polyphenol, fiber, carotenoids, flavonoids, glucosinolates, and phytosterol which is rich in several nutrients that promote the proper functioning of the immune system. We should also drink a liberal amount of water. Most importantly we have to focus on the vitamin-C, D, and A-rich foods.
By implementing health guidelines and practicing the right dietary habit we can easily fight against coronavirus. So let’s abide by the health guidelines and practice healthy dietary habits to contain the new variant of coronavirus.
Author: Md Billal Hossen is a student of Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Technology at Islamic University, Bangladesh. He can be reached at Email: billalanftiu@gmail.com
