Korean J Med.  2020 Dec;95(6):364-369. 10.3904/kjm.2020.95.6.364.

Vaccines and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019

• Choe PG

• KMID: 2509481
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2020.95.6.364

Abstract

In December 2019, a new strain of betacoronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerged in Wuhan, China. Subsequently, the virus quickly spread worldwide and the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. In response to the pandemic, many researchers are working on repurposing existing drugs to alter the course of severe COVID-19, and are testing experimental treatments. Among antiviral agents, remdesivir, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor, showed clinical benefit in a randomized clinical trial. In October 2020, the Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir for treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19, making it the first drug approved for the disease. The race to produce safe, effective vaccines is also progressing at unprecedented speed, with over 200 under development and 45 candidates already being tested in human clinical trials (as of October 2020).

Keyword

코로나19; 급성호흡기증후군 코로나바이러스-2; 항바이러스제; 면역조절제; 백신; COVID-19; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Antiviral agents; Immunomodulation; Vaccines