This is a biology report. Do not include psychological or other non-biology answers. The report must cover biology/science of COVID at the biochemical, cellular, tissue and organ-system levels.
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The report must include the following elements and always answer scientifically.
1. Introduction and Statistics (25/100 pts)
(a) Background information:
-When and where was COVID-19 first identified? Why was it named “COVID-19”?
-What are the common symptoms of COVID-19?
– What are the less common symptoms?
(b) The vaccine:
-What is a vaccine and what effect does it have on your body? Answer in scientific terms.
-Is the new mRNA vaccine a brand new technology (some people say it was rushed)? When was the mRNA technology first developed?
-Compare the mRNA vaccine and the older, traditional vaccines. How are they different? How are they the same? What is found in each type of vaccine that causes its effect on the body? You can use the following references to help you answer these questions:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-do-mrna-vaccines-work
(c) Mortality rate for different groups in New York City:
– different age groups: give data for: under 25, 35-54, and over 75
– sex: give data for men versus women
– race: Give data for: Hispanic/Latino, Black/African-American, and White
– poverty level: give data for: low poverty vs medium poverty vs very high poverty
– analyze the data. who are the people most likely to be badly affected by COVID-19? (Give that person’s approximate age, race, sex and poverty level)
**: In order to be able to compare groups, use deaths per 100,000. You can’t directly compare the number of people who die, since there can be a lot more people in one group than in another. DO NOT USE THE NUMBER OF CASES. USE NUMBER OF DEATHS. Use this website to provide statistics. When you go to this page, click on the box that says “totals” and scroll down to find the data about the deaths/100,000 in NYC depending on age, sex, race and poverty: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-totals.page
**To find the data, click the “totals” link and scroll down to find the CURRENT data. This is here to show you what to look for. You must go to the website yourself:
(d) Comparing COVID-19 to the flu
– which causes more deaths/year, COVID-19 or the flu? Give the statistics.
– based on your analysis of the data, which is worse?
2. Biology of COVID-19 (25/100 points)
Explain how COVID-19 enters cells and causes the known symptoms. Use your understanding of anatomy and physiology to explain. Be sure your explanation includes:
(a) chemistry and/or the biochemistry of the virus and/or the effects of the virus on the human body (this could include any of the following: homeostasis, sodium or potassium ions, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, DNA, and/or RNA)
(b) – How does the COVID-19 virus attach to cells?
– What happens when the COVID-19 virus gets into body cells?
– When infected, what happens to the mucous membranes that line the respiratory tract? How does this explain the respiratory issues that happens with severe cases of COVID-19.
(c) Describe how COVID-19 affects two others organ-system besides the respiratory system, since the effect on the respiratory system was described above. Please provide biological explanations of how these two organ-system are affected by the virus. (Don’t just list symptoms)
Note: you may use any of these article, or an article of your own choosing:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/what-does-covid-do-to-your-blood
https://www.webmd.com/lung/covid-and-your-heart#1 or
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-kidney-damage-caused-by-covid19 or
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uoc–sdh120720.php
article about mice model for covid, non-respiratory affects, Dec 7, 2020
(d) The new wave of COVID-19 omicron variant is causing hospitalizations. Is the vaccination helping against omicron? Provide data to support your answer.
3. Two biological pros of vaccination for COVID-19 (10/100 points).
4. Two biological cons of vaccination for COVID-19 (10/100 points).
5. Reflection (10/100 points) Reflect on the biology that you have learned about COVID-19. Based on this knowledge, what is your opinion on this matter. Should people get the vaccination? What is the scientific evidence that helped you make this choice?
6. Shared Experience (10/100 points). Share your own experiences with the COVID illness (1 point). If you have not had direct experience, you can speak to friends and family to learn about the actual experiences of people you know and ask them if it could be anonymously shared in your report.
7. Proper format of paper (2/100 points). The report should be between 3-5 double-spaced, typewritten pages, Font Times New Roman, 12 pts, and 1 inch margins. Images and reference lists should not be counted toward required pages. Upload on Blackboard since that will automatically check for plagiarism. Please submit as aword or google document.
8. References (8/100 points) At least 3 reliable, appropriate references in addition to the references I have provided you. Since new information is constantly coming in about COVID-19, use information that has been recently reported (2021 articles). The more recent, the better. See information on allowed references below.
