How to get rid of Miss Vi? To get out of pandemics like Co Vi, it is now clear that it is not possible to rely solely on social distancing measures and aggressively tracing the virus. Closures and tracing are very important measures, and the Vietnamese government has excelled in the early stages of fighting the epidemic with these measures alone. But in an open world, the border door can’t close no matter how hard it is, tracking the ghost of Co Vi successfully this time but still wondering when it will come back. But if you keep busy with “national resistance”, “defensive counterattack”, you will be hungry all the time. Relying on medical treatment is even worse, because firstly, there is no medicine to guarantee that 100% of people infected with Co Vi will survive; the second (and more important) is that when there is an outbreak, the health system simply collapses, you have very little chance of being hospitalized, and if you do get into the hospital, there will be no more oxygen to breathe. . Some of my friends whispered to each other (=Phew) measures to eradicate Co Vi such as drinking hot water, eating garlic, steaming with leaves, or simply… fiercely drinking! If you apply it to yourself, it won’t hurt anyone other than your spouse, children, or grandchildren, but I beg you not to incite Phai to do the same, because that is verbal karma. Miss Vi is “contagious or dead” and our way out Co Vi’s principle of existence (and many other infectious viruses) is “infect or die”. Viruses are not cells, so they cannot reproduce outside of the body, and when outside the body, Co Vi does not last long. When the majority of the population is immune, the probability of transmitting Co Vi decreases, even those who are not immune are protected, the epidemic will be basically extinguished. This is the phenomenon of “herd immunity”, which has long been observed and concluded by scientists with many previous pandemics. Herd immunity can occur during natural epidemics. After about 70% of the population has been infected with Co Vi, about 1-5% will die, the rest will become immune. Assuming Vietnam followed this model, it would have to sacrifice about a million people. Certainly most of us disagree with this measure. There is another way that does not require such sacrifices to achieve herd immunity, which is to vaccinate the majority of the population. Immune cells can be “trained” to recognize Co Vi by the S protein molecule on its surface. When real Co Vi invades, immune cells secrete antibodies that “lock hands” with these S proteins. Co Vi’s protein S mimics the body’s ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) molecular structure to adhere to cell surfaces. If protein S is surrounded by antibodies, then Co Vi also “botay.com”. Not everyone wants a vaccine But in the world there is a part of people who think they will not get vaccinated. Some even think that this is a conspiracy of certain forces to invest a lot of money to profit on the sacrifice of their fellow human beings. Others will not go for injections because they find it annoying, or afraid of spending money. Attitude to vaccination is a personal choice, but is greatly influenced by social relations, by the community to which the individual belongs. Here, I would like to introduce two social issues that have a great influence on the attitude to accept vaccination, which have been analyzed quite meticulously by sociologists. 1. Religion and vaccines (Main reference: Pelcic et al 2016. Religious exception for vaccination or religious excuses for avoiding vaccination Croat Med J 56(5):516-521) Religious beliefs have a huge influence on vaccination acceptance attitudes. All major religions have favorable attitudes towards vaccination. The first precept of Buddhism is abstaining from killing, so Buddhists accept vaccinations to keep themselves and others healthy. On the other hand, Buddhism considers all species to be non-killing beings, and believes that humans can also be reincarnated into other beings. Thus killing animals for vaccine research may be contrary to Buddha’s teachings. The Catholic Church does not prohibit vaccination. Historically, Catholic and Anglican missionaries (Catholics in England and some former British colonies) have inoculated with smallpox in North America. Today’s development of biomedical research leads to an issue that may contradict Catholic doctrine, which is that some vaccines are produced on cultured cell lines of fetal origin, specifically Meruvax. , Rudivax and MR-VAX (Rubella prophylaxis), A-VAQTA and HAVRIX (hepatitis A), Varivax (chickenpox), and Polivax (smallpox). But when there are no other vaccines to choose from, parishioners are still encouraged to vaccinate to protect young children and the community, especially pregnant women. In Islam, food is divided into two categories, halal is allowed, and haram is not. Pork is haram, so pharmaceuticals that use gelatin (a glue made from animal skin including pig skin) should not be used. However, the Koran also speaks of “law of necessity”, in case the believer does not have a halal to choose from, forcing the use of haram will not be considered a sin. Immunizations are meant to protect life, as “izalat aldharar” (prevention of harm), and “maslahat al ummah” (for the public good). So even if a certain vaccine is related to pigs, it is still possible to apply “forced law when necessary”. Some religions or religious sects may be anti-vaccination. Protestantism does not have a central system, so local churches have very different attitudes on vaccination. Some Protestant priests do not raise the issue of vaccinations in their sermons because they think this is a generally accepted attitude of the whole society. Others leave it to the laity to interpret and choose their attitude towards vaccines. Still others have publicly condemned vaccines, arguing that vaccination is an intervention against God’s will (interfering with Divine Providence). 2. Belief in science and attitudes towards vaccines Key references: Sturgis et al. Trust in science, social consensus and vaccine confidence. Nature Human Behaviour May 17, 2021. This is a study published last week by three authors Patrick Sturgis, Ian Brunton-Smith and Jonathan Jackson from the London School of Economics and Politics (LSE), the University of Surrey (UK) and the University of Sydney Law School (Australia). . https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01115-7.pdf. The authors analyze data obtained from the Wellcome Global Monitor (Gallup Institute) survey, conducted since 2018 (before the Covid-19 pandemic), about people’s trust in science and the attitude to accept vaccines in Vietnam. 144 countries. The average number of participants in each country was 1000, with China, India and Russia alone being sampled 2000 people from each country. In this poll, the global average result is that more than four-fifths of the population believe in science, the highest in North America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the lowest in South America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Chau. The percentage of men who believe in science is higher than that of women. Scientific trust is also higher among the educated and high-income population. In countries where the gap between rich and poor is low, there is often high scientific trust. Regarding the attitude of accepting vaccines, about 92% of the global population think that vaccination of children is necessary, 78% think that vaccines are safe, and 84% think that vaccines are effective. This attitude also varies markedly across countries. Again, this is the result of an investigation from 2018, that is, about vaccines in general, not just the vaccine against Co Vi. Next, the authors analyzed the correlation between trust in science and vaccine acceptance attitude. A major part of the results can be illustrated by Figure 1, where countries are divided into five groups according to the assessment of science trust and vaccine acceptance from high to low (left to right). In the highest group, the consensus between scientific belief and vaccine acceptance attitude is highest (blue graph has the steepest slope). This correlation decreases, in the lowest group, the graph is horizontal, which means that there is almost no consensus between scientific beliefs and vaccine acceptance attitudes. Illustration: The relationship between scientific beliefs and vaccine acceptance attitudes. Credit: Nature Human Behaviour 2021. Someone may counter that “I know Mr. A is very rich and Mr. B is highly educated, but neither of them accept vaccines”. Please answer that the above research results are based on the science of statistical probability. That is, the results are only true for the majority, not necessarily for individuals. And statistical probability also tells us that when we deduce from a few particular observations to apply to the majority, the probability of right/wrong can be only 50/50.

Acting Premier of Victoria, James Merlino. (Source: abc.net.au) On the morning of April 21, Mr. James Merlino, acting Premier of Victoria ( Australia ) announced that it would provide AUD 50 million (approximately US $ 38.6 million) to launch a project to develop vaccine production technology for mRNA at state vaccine research facilities. Under the project, it will take at least 12 months for Australia to be able to produce any vaccine under it mRNA technology . The move will pave the way for vaccines using mRNA technology such as Pfizer and Moderna to be produced in Australia, according to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Sydney. The Peter Doherty Institute of Infectious and Immunology will join Monash University, the University of Melbourne and a number of other research centers as the recipients of the funding to develop the above plan. Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute say they are working on a “preventive” vaccine with mRNA technology that can be modified to fight variations. Mr. Merlino said that this plan is an important event, not only for Victoria but for the whole of Australia. Besides, he affirmed that the support budget will be increased when the project is developed in the future. Australia is currently only capable vaccine production of AstraZeneca with the initial plan that the CSL facility in the city of Melbourne will produce more than 50 million doses. Vaccination work COVID-19 Australia is facing many challenges due to the lack of vaccine supplies, as well as the safety of this vaccine related to the side effects of thrombosis.

This article’s Professor and Doctor of Dermatology Duong Hy Xuyen (China) talk about the history of leprosy and the miracles that humans have fought to overcome this evil disease.

When you hear the word “leprosy”, what comes to mind first?

“Phong Village” is forgotten

Without a doubt, most people have this idea first in mind.

This is a somewhat frightening and remote topic, this bizarre disease has been too distant for us in the 21st century, far enough away to be forgotten.

Fifty years ago, hundreds of thousands of shunned leprosy people were still living in China, now it is hard to see them. The miserable patients are inherently seen as symbols of sin: leprosy and death are equated.

Leprosy is a chronic bacterial illness that can be written as leprosy, but it has nothing to do with madness. Perhaps to avoid such misunderstandings, this disease is often referred to as “leprosy”.

But everyone’s association with it is not only madness, but also represents bright red eyes, short fingers, festering wounds, amputated feet, distorted appearance and even death. miserable.

For thousands of years, leprosy has been considered an evil disease, even a symbol of evil, and under the tragic fate of leprosy patients, they continue to be tortured both physically and mentally, This is beyond our imagination.

In the old era, when medical technology was limited, medical equipment was scarce, leprosy was basically determined to be incurable since it had regionally contagious properties, the only way to Control of fluid growth is isolating the patient.

So, on the mountain, on an isolated island, a group of leprosy villages were built so that the sick lived there. There is no specific medicine or vaccine, and untreated self-resisting patients will continue to develop ulcers and disfigurement until they become paralyzed or even die.

Over time, people misunderstood, dispelled, and feared it, and the “scary” Phong was now a trademark of terror.

The end of the leprosy era

The leprosy history is long, stretching for 1400 years, like an endless nightmare.

It was not until 1874 that the Norwegian physician Hansen (GerhardH.A.Hansen) broke the darkness that he discovered the culprit – the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.

Symptoms caused by Mycobacterium leprosy bacteria are manifested in the skin, peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and eyes, if not treated promptly can lead to blindness or deformity, disability and other consequences.

In other words, once leprosy is found, the disability rate will be very high. However, if the disability is detected early and treated promptly, the disability can be cured.

In current medical conditions, leprosy is already an easy-to-diagnose and treatable disease, currently in clinical use mainly a combination of many drugs and chemotherapy treatments, which can cure leprosy. Within 6-24 months, the contagiousness of the disease may disappear after a week of taking the drug.

Usually, if the patient unfortunately gets the disease, the patient does not need to have negative psychology and bewildered when treating this disease, on the one hand it will not be inherited, on the other hand, the survival rate of bacteria in vitro is low.

Generally, they can be destroyed by disinfection, most people have natural immunity (according to survey statistics with 90% or more), extremely low incidence, when infected. Nor does it need isolation, just treatment.

Darkness has long passed, the era when leprosy is “incurable disease” has been shortened by history. At present, there are basically few new cases, there is no so-called “leprosy village”, only more than 3,000 elderly people in community rehabilitation villages have survived the disease, but have also incapable of working, still facing sequelae.

Leprosy is not terrible

Although leprosy is rare, but because it is very similar to the symptoms of other diseases, it is possible to misdiagnose or omit the disease, so the prevention and treatment cannot be relaxed.

On the other hand, leprosy is a disease with a dark history. Even modern people will still have a lack of sympathy towards patients with fear of leprosy, which has become the biggest obstacle to leprosy prevention today.

So sometimes, it is not the terminal illness, but the hearts of people. Of course, society is not without action.

The last Sunday of January every year is “World leprosy Day”, many countries will organize many activities on this day to mobilize social forces to help leprosy patients overcome difficulties in their life. live and work to eliminate prejudice and discrimination.

There are also many volunteers entering the rehabilitation village, sharing, chatting, even eating, living together, giving care, warm care and making their best contributions. can.

The original purpose of writing this article was to hope everyone to have a correct understanding of leprosy, not to be bound by inherent impressions of the past. Leprosy is not as formidable and frightening as we can imagine. It can be seen from a scientific perspective, it will reduce the superficial evaluation and alienate the patient.

• According to The Paper