Behavioral

Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company based in the United States of America, announced last Tuesday it had developed a vaccine against Covid-19 virus that is 90 percent effective.
This is surely good news. For a planet that is reeling from the adverse effect of the pandemic and for its people who had to alter their lives for the worst, to adapt to the uncertain conditions, the existence of an antigen is more than a relief.
Finally, the end of the fight against Covid-19 might be coming to an end.
But Pfizer tempers the expectation of everyone concerned. Although it maintains the drug is a medical breakthrough and the percentage of its efficacy is beyond expectations, its spokesman said the side effect of the drug has yet to be ascertained. Moreover, its availability may still be months away since the approval and marketing of the drug may entail some complications. There, too, is the priority of who will be inoculated first since the productions may be on a limited scale.
Regardless, the announcement is very encouraging. On top of this, other pharmaceutical companies also announced that they are on the verge of perfecting other promising anti-Covid drugs that will be administered to patients sometime next year. By now, the doctors are already aware about the methods on how to treat the ailment. The world of science is moving somewhere positive.
Maybe it is due to the foregoing reasons that people are a bit more relaxed and less guarded than when the virus initially circulated. There is an air of confidence that humanity can cope up with the pandemic and overcome its adverse effects. Ironically, it is this same confidence that is doing us in and is contaminating more and more people by the day.
Notwithstanding the promise of a vaccine and the knowledge on how to treat the coronavirus, this is not an excuse to put our guards down. Remember, the availability of the vaccine is a good several months away and even if it is available, it might still be another year before we shall obtain the benefits of its result.
For sure, the first batch of the vaccine will prioritize those from the first-world countries. For third-world countries like ours, our access to the vaccine will be limited to what will trickle in after the more prominent countries have had their share. So, for the meantime, let’s just keep on waiting.
Yet, there are other ways to combat the spread of Covid-19 than just waiting. There are oft repeated protocols that have been proven to be as effective: wear face shield and face mask all the time; wash your hands with soap and water, observe social distancing; and observe proper cough and sneeze etiquette. Simple rules that need no vaccine. Follow these rules and there is no reason to worry.
At this point, the primary reason why the coronavirus is multiplying at an alarming rate is because of the failure of most to comply with the protocols. It is in areas where people persist to interact with each other without regard to safety standards that there are several afflictions and infections. After months of contending against the coronavirus, the problem is no longer viral but behavioral.