COVID-19 pandemic
The virus mostly spreads when people are close to each other, which is why social distancing is used. Common symptoms include fever, cough, and trouble breathing. The illness can worsen with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. As of January 2021, a number of vaccines for COVID-19 have been developed, but only a few have been found safe to use. The first vaccine to be approved was created by Pfizer and BioNTech, followed by the Oxford / AstraZeneca  vaccine. Vaccine distribution was started in many countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. The United Kingdom was the first western country to begin to give out a COVID-19 vaccine.  The vaccine was given out to all people in the country for free. No antiviral medicine for COVID-19 is available. Doctors usually give patients supportive therapy instead such as giving fluids, food, oxygen, pain relief and other treatments designed to help patients deal with the symptoms. People can avoid spreading the virus by regularly washing their hands, covering their mouth when coughing, maintaining distance from other people, staying away from crowds, wearing medical or cloth face coverings, and being alone for people who think they are infected, also known as quarantining.