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Review
. 2022 Oct;395(10):1159-1165.
doi: 10.1007/s00210-022-02265-9. Epub 2022 Jul 2.

Pandemic COVID-19, an update of current status and new therapeutic strategies

Antonio Vitiello  1 , Raffaele La Porta  2 , Ugo Trama  3 , Francesco Ferrara  4 , Andrea Zovi  5 , Amogh Milind Auti  6 , Marina Di Domenico  6   7 , Mariarosaria Boccellino  6
Affiliations
Review

Pandemic COVID-19, an update of current status and new therapeutic strategies

Antonio Vitiello et al. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic is underway. In recent weeks, several countries throughout the globe, and particularly in Europe, have experienced an exponential increase in the number of individuals infected with COVID-19, probably induced by a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, called the "Omicron variant." Mass vaccination against COVID-19 continues worldwide. Are authorized mRNA vaccines effective against the new Omicron variant? Recently, several pharmaceutical companies have developed oral antiviral pills against SARS-CoV-2, i.e., molnupiravir and paxlovid, that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 viral replication by acting on the RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV. In pre-registration clinical trials, molnupiravir and paxlovid have shown excellent clinical efficacy results, but what impact will these new oral antiviral agents have against pandemic COVID-19? In what specific clinical situations are they preferred over other antivirals such as remdesivir? In this brief review, we explore these important aspects.

Keywords: Antiviral; COVID-19; Omicron; Therapeutic; Variants.

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References

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