What do I need to know about the coronavirus and COVID-19?
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses named for crownlike spikes on their surfaces. COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which spreads through respiratory dropletsfrom coughs, sneezes, or speech.
COVID-19symptoms: Fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills and shaking, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or a loss of sense of taste or smell. Severe cases can lead to pneumonia and severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Variants:New variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, will continue to evolve as they spread and replicate. Some disappear. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)tracksand continues to monitor variants.
Learn more from the CDC’s latest update on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
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Is the coronavirus worse than the flu?
COVID-19 is more infectious and severe than the flu, with a higher mortality rate and limited preexisting immunity. While both are contagious respiratory illnesses, the novel coronavirus causes more widespread and prolonged disruptions to health and society, according to the CDC.
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World Vision’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Vision acted quickly to support vulnerable families across the U.S. by distributing Family Emergency Kits in key locations, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle. Each kit included essential supplies — nutritious food for a family of five for a week, along with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, first-aid antiseptic, paper products, and children’s games and school supplies — helping families during this challenging time.
Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we distributed 87,600 Family Emergency Kits, serving more than 328,700 children and adults through our church partners as of February 1, 2024. In partnership with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program, we also distributed more than 3.6 million Fresh Food Boxes to nearly 14.3 million people across the U.S. through a network of over 1,300 churches between May 2020 and May 2021.
World Vision also supplied more than 3 million items of personal protective equipment to healthcare systems, first responders, and schools across the U.S., including adistribution to the Navajo Nation.
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World Vision’s response to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide?
World Vision prioritized our COVID-19 responsein every country where we work.Our global response focused on four main objectives, with programs that were adapted based on context and local need:
- Scaling up preventive measures to slow the spread
- Strengthening healthcare systems and workers
- Supporting children impacted by the effects of the pandemic
- Collaborating and advocating with partners to ensure that vulnerable children got the care they need
We served vulnerable populations in countries where the health systems and monitoring were weak; where people have been suffering from diseases common among impoverished populations, such asmalaria,tuberculosis, pneumonia,HIV and AIDS, andEbola;or where severe malnutrition compromised immune systems.
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How many people has World Vision supported during the pandemic?
World Vision has supported more than 99 million people globally to stay safe during the pandemic with supplies and information about protecting themselves from COVID-19, including handwashing, social distancing, mask usage, hygiene practices, and vaccines. As of September 2022, marking the end of our program’s reporting, here are response highlights:
- Partnered with more than 207,614 faith leaders to ensure vulnerable families have information on COVID-19 prevention and care and vaccines.
- Distributed more than 12.8 million supplies, including handwashing materials, hygiene kits, and cleaning kits, to keep communities safe.
- Established or maintained nearly 297,000 facilities, like community handwashing stations, school toilets, household latrines with handwashing facilities, clean drinking water systems, and community drainage systems, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
- Reached more than 54 million people with health interventions, including preventative behavior and vaccine messaging, safe quarantine and/or isolation spaces, and transportation support and services.
- Trained 291,430 community health workersin COVID-19 prevention measures, including vaccines.
- Aided more than 5.2 million people with educational materials, support, or training so children could keep learning during pandemic-related school closures.
- Helped more than 13 million people in 64 countries with cash and vouchers or food assistance.
- Supported over 1.9 million children with child protection activities.
- Assisted more than 5 million people with psychosocial support or age-specific health information, education, and communication materials.
- Equipped people and communities to recover and thrive during COVID-19 through VisionFund’s microfinancing, recovery loans, and savings groups.
Vaccines play a critical role for the most vulnerable
In 2022, World Vision reached more than 10.5 million people, including 4.2 million children, with support for vaccine programs and interventions to reduce the pandemic’s indirect impacts on the most vulnerable people.
Globally and through our local staff, World Vision has extensive experience confronting pandemics, supporting vaccination programs, and improving child health. We worked alongside our partners to implement immunization campaigns and ensure communities understood the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccination. The availability of COVID-19 vaccines for vulnerable people globally will continue to enormously benefit the hundreds of millions of children whom the pandemic has negatively impacted by giving them a lifeline to return to their childhoods. Vaccines are a game changer for children, as they allow kids to resume school and families to recover their livelihoods.
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