COVID 19 Vocabulary- An Assortment

Our vocabulary is influenced by what we see, hear and observe every day. Words are the currency of communication involving listening, speaking, reading and writing. A rich and robust vocabulary is a major contributor to success in life. Children who know more words are likely to read better, think better and write better. It cannot be denied that knowing more words gives more argil to the brain to hew ideas. From well-being to employability, vocabulary plays a vital role.

The coronavirus pandemic introduced new words in our daily conversations. Social media and news headlines were dominated by catchy phrases. However, knowing and understanding what they mean can help us to protect ourselves as also alleviate the fears and anxiety triggered by such catastrophes.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Disease is a disorder of structure or function in a human of such a degree as to produce distinguishing signs and symptoms.

Virus is a small infectious particle containing genetic material (DNA or RNA) within a protein capsule. Some have additional lipoprotein envelopes. Viruses depend on the host cells that they infect to reproduce.

Corona virus belongs to a large family of viruses that can infect people and many animals. Corona means crown and refers to the appearance that corona viruses get from the spike proteins sticking out of them.

COVID 19 is coronavirus disease 2019 caused by SARS-CoV-2( Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2).

Pandemic is the rapid spread of a transmissible disease across several countries or continents and may be worldwide.

Incubation Period is the time interval between exposure to the virus and symptom onset.

Infectious disease is one that is caused by a pathogen(virus, bacteria, fungi or parasite) and can be transmitted directly or indirectly from one person to another.

Contagious disease is an infectious disease that is easily transmitted from person to person by direct contact with the infected individual or their secretions.

Super spreader is a person infected with a virus who transmits it to an unusually large number of people.

Contact is defined as a healthy person that has been in such association with an infected person or a contaminated environment as to have exposed and is therefore at a higher risk of developing disease.

Contact tracing is a public health tool involving the process of identifying, assessing and managing persons who have been exposed to a disease to prevent onward transmission.

Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.

Lockdown is a state or period in which there is stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction and access to public spaces in the interests of public safety or health.

Symptom is a subjective evidence of disease perceived by the affected person.

Sign is an objective evidence of disease that can be felt, heard or seen by a Physician.

Social distancing is an intervention to prevent spread of a contagious disease. It implies always putting a safe space between oneself and others. It is better called Physical Distancing.

A symptomatic case is a person who is infected with the virus but does not have symptoms.

Cluster is a group of cases that are linked by the same location or event around the same time.

Community spread implies that the virus is now circulating in the community and can infect people with no history of contact with a confirmed case of viral infection or recent travel to an area where the disease is prevalent.

RT-PCR is a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for detection of nucleic acid from the virus in nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs.

RAT is rapid antigen test that detects viral proteins.

Hotspot is an area of elevated incidence or prevalence of disease.

Immunity is the ability of the body to prevent injury caused by pathogens.

Herd immunity is also known as community immunity and it occurs when a high percentage of the community is immune to a disease through vaccination and/or prior illness, making the spread of this disease from person to person unlikely.

COVID care center is a makeshift facility that may be set up in a hostel, school, stadium, etc. and provides care for patients with mild diseases.

Containment zone is a well-defined geographical area around the residence or premises where a positive person resides or works and where the most intensive measures to break the chain of transmission need to be implemented. Only essential activities are allowed.

Proning is a medically approved position in which patients are made to lie flat on their belly with their chest and face down to boost their oxygen levels.

SpO2 is peripheral capillary oxygen saturation. It is an estimate of the amount of oxygen in the blood and is expressed as a percentage.

Pulse oximeter is a clip like device which when placed on a finger, passes a beam of red light through the fingertip and gives a measurement of SpO2.

Ventilator is a machine that helps a person breathe by getting oxygen into the lungs and removing carbon dioxide.

PPE is personal protective equipment worn by health care workers to protect themselves from infectious materials. This includes gowns, gloves, goggles, face shields and masks.

N95 mask is a piece of fabric that fits over the nose and mouth to protect other people from the wearer’s germs and the wearer from germs in the air. It meets the U.S National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 classification of air filtration, meaning that it filters atleast 95% of airborne particles.

Vaccine is a biological preparation that enhances immunity to a particular disease.

Flattening the curve refers to the idea of slowing a virus’ spread so that fewer people need to seek treatment at any given time.

Post COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health problems people can experience more than four weeks after first being infected with the virus.

As the pandemic was progressing, we were getting bombarded with new words like covidiot(someone ignoring public health advise), covidcation(being confined at home due to COVID19),covidian(related to or occurring during COVID19), quarantigue((fatigue brought on by a period of quarantine) and acronyms like WFH(work from home). Children catch words that are frequently repeated around them. Toddlers are uttering words like mask, lockdown, sanitiser, curfew etc. with ease. Due to virtual mode of teaching, children have started using words like log in/log out, mute,headphone, zoom etc.

People need clear, concise and correct information in relation to health. Health literacy is a useful tool to achieve better results in disease prevention and control.The pandemic proved that the public healthcare facility is crucial in dealing with widespread public health crisis and hence needs to be strengthened. Public health messages need to be simple and effective in motivating the public to follow guidelines. Correct words can facilitate understanding and spark action needed to fight the virus. Let us all remember that words are infectious, and truth and knowledge can be easily transmitted through them.

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