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The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 , began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, it spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020.
The name "coronavirus" is derived from Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "wreath", itself a borrowing from Greek κορώνη korṓnē, "garland, wreath". [8] [9] The name was coined by June Almeida and David Tyrrell who first observed and studied human coronaviruses. [10]
Coronavirus diseases are caused by viruses in the coronavirus subfamily, a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, the group of viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal.
The COVID‑19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the spread of COVID‑19 and reducing the severity and death caused by COVID‑19. According to a June 2022 study, COVID‑19 vaccines prevented an additional 14.4 to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021.
[b] The COVID-19 pandemic also saw the emergence of misinformation and conspiracy theories, [39] and highlighted weaknesses in the U.S. public health system. [17] [40] [41] In the United States, there have been 103,436,829 [3] confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,212,060 [3] confirmed deaths, the most of any country, and the 17th highest per ...
SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh known coronavirus to infect people, after 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, MERS-CoV, and the original SARS-CoV. [105] Like the SARS-related coronavirus implicated in the 2003 SARS outbreak, SARS‑CoV‑2 is a member of the subgenus Sarbecovirus (beta-CoV lineage B). [106] [107] Coronaviruses undergo frequent recombination. [108]
While COVID-19 refers to the disease and SARS-CoV-2 refers to the virus which causes it, referring to the "COVID-19 virus" has been accepted. [9] [25] [29] Reference to SARS-CoV-2 as "the coronavirus" has become somewhat accepted despite such use implying that there is only one coronavirus species. Similarly, use of "COVID" for the disease (if ...
For even more international statistics in table, graph, and map form see COVID-19 pandemic by country. COVID-19 pandemic is the worst-ever worldwide calamity experienced on a large scale (with an estimated 7 million deaths) in the 21st century. The COVID-19 death toll is the highest seen on a global scale since the Spanish flu and World War II.