ANTIVIRAL DRUG DEVELOPMENT POST-PANDEMIC: LESSONS FROM SARS-COV-2

The unprecedented pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), which leads to COVID-19, is threatening global health. Over the past two years, there has been rapid advancement in research aimed at developing new antiviral vaccines and drugs, alongside academic and clinical efforts to better understand the biology and pathology of COVID-19. The development of vaccines and medications, as well as the encouragement of preventive measures, are some of the prevention and control measures that have been put into place globally in response. These tactics have successfully stopped the virus's spread, decreased infection rates, and progressively brought back regular social and economic activities. Nevertheless, the number of fatalities is still rising as a result of SARS-CoV-2 mutations that have caused infectious infections and reinfections. Thus, improving current prevention and control measures is still necessary, with a primary focus on creating new vaccinations and medications, accelerating the medical authorization procedure, and maintaining epidemic surveillance. In order to prevent, manage, and control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and attain long-term, sustained prevention, several actions are essential. Here, we outlined the salient features of current COVID-19 vaccines and medications and proposed possible avenues for further research and development. Moreover, we talked about the COVID-19-related policies that have been put into place in recent years and offered some future plans.