Uncovering Covid-19
How COVID-19 hijacks your cells
Viruses are called “infectious agents,” meaning they cause disease. However, they are not considered to be living things because they don’t work the way cells do. They are not made of cells and they can’t produce energy, keep themselves stable, or grow. That’s why they need our cells to replicate.
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How COVID-19 affects your body
Immune cells arrive at infected cells to help fight the virus. They communicate with other cells using tiny proteins called “cytokines.” Too many cytokines cause cells to become inflamed.
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How a cytokine storm works
In some people, COVID-19 causes an extreme immune response called a cytokine storm. This causes widespread inflammation and can lead to another extreme immune response called sepsis. These can both be fatal.
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COVID-19 MIGHT MAKE IT HARDER FOR THE BODY TO FIGHT INFECTION
Doctors are noticing that some immune cells play a big role in COVID-19.
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WHAT DOCTORS ARE CURRENTLY DOING TO TREAT AND PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19
Doctors manage COVID-19 in 2 ways: “supportive management” and treatment. Supportive management is treating the symptoms of COVID-19. Treatment refers to drugs that directly treat COVID-19. Remdesivir is an FDA approved treatment. The FDA has also granted emergency use authorization to two IV treatments.
It’s best to prevent COVID-19 infection altogether. Many vaccines have been authorized for use to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and make infections less severe.
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