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Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected more than seven million individuals in 213 countries
worldwide with a basic reproduction number ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 and an estimated case fatality rate ranging from 2% to
7%. A substantial proportion of COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic; however, symptomatic cases might present with fever, cough, and dyspnoea or severe symptoms up to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Currently, RNA RT-PCR is the
screening tool, while bilateral chest CT is the confirmatory clinical diagnostic test. Several drugs have been repurposed to
treat COVID-19, including chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin, lopinavir/ritonavir combination, remdesivir, favipiravir, tocilizumab, and EIDD-1931. Recently, Remdesivir gained FDA emergency approval based on
promising early findings from the interim analysis of 1063 patients. The recently developed serology testing for SARSCoV-2 antibodies opened the door to evaluate the actual burden of the disease and to determine the rate of the population
who have been previously infected (or developed immunity). This review article summarizes current data on the COVID-19
pandemic starting from the early outbreak, viral structure and origin, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, discharge criteria,
and future research.
Influenza immunization and COVID-19 – can viral structure be responsible for the effect?
