©Dr. Digbijoy Choudhury
"It was the best of times".
It was hailed as the miracle cure! Marketed as the new dawn to a long and supposedly endless night. Well we sure hoped it was the end. We desperately needed one.
The vaccine trial was showing promise. The first few patients started showing improvement and signs of immunity against the virus. There were no immediate serious side effects to be concerned about. The people were clamouring for it to be released for unrestricted use...well, what could the government do?
The rest of the trial was accelerated, the results almost ignored. "What harm could it do", thought everyone. "It cant be worse than what we are already suffering from".
They couldn't be more wrong!
Some patients started showing signs of cell lysis and atypical changes. A few subjects rapidly deteriorated and died. But it was ignored, and subsequently undisclosed to the public.
Eminent researchers and doctors, involved in the trial, tried to convince the regulatory body to take it slow and not ignore the few aberrant results as insignificant. But they were threatened and silenced.
It was the beginning of the end.
'The vaccine has been released...we are finally free'....the newspaper headlines screamed!
Or were they....really free?
The vaccine was slowly administered to volunteers and subsequently the aged patients. The young received it last. It went smoothly at first.
The government, which had held its breath, heaved a sigh of relief. "The worst was over", they thought.
Then one evening, an old man, was returning home from the neighborhood market. Suddenly he stumbled and fell. He was dead instantly. 2 days later, a middle aged businessman, buying flowers for his wife, dropped dead all of a sudden.
The next day, a young woman was rushed to the emergency ward, severely coughing up blood. She was dead in an hour. Doctors were baffled. Could all this due to the vaccine, or was this a new illness? They desperately tried to find some answers but it too late.
"Sometimes the cure can be worse than the illness".
Humanity paid its price!
..........................
The man got out of his house, and carefully looked around. He slowly went out, careful not to make a sound, in search of food. The streets were deserted. It was a dead zone. No living were in sight.
The virus and subsequently the vaccine had made sure of that.
Only the undead roamed the streets now.
It was the new normal!
To be continued......
