COVID -19: REPLICATION INHIBITORS AS PROMISING THERAPY FOR SYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS

Abstract

COVID-19 is unprecedented pandemic threading the mankind existence in the recent time, with globally reported (256,966,237) confirmed cases, including (5,151,643) death, as of 22 of November 2021(WHO. 2021). The COVID-19 vaccine doses administered globally were (7,408,870,760) doses as of 22 of November 2021 (WHO. 2021). Strategy to face this serious threat include prevention of getting infection and rational treatment of symptomatic infected ones. Treatment can adopt one or all of the three strategies; prohibiting the virus from entry into the human cells, halt replication of the virus inside the human cells, and neutralizing the inflammatory and other effects of the virus pathogencity. Replication inhibitors are important tool in the tools box against COVID-19, however they are not substitute for vaccination against COVID-19 and other adopted preventive measurements. Still prevention is the best medicine for any disease. The aim of this review is to further explore the replication inhibitors as emerging tools for treatment of symptomatic cases of COVID-19. Many encouraging results have emerged from recent clinical trials. This may help to bridge the gap in existence knowledge and stimulate further discussion to enhance conducting more clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 and repurpose already existing other viral replicating indictors for treatment of COVID-19. Remdesivir, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid are promising viral replicating inhibitors drugs for treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Since Molnupiravir and Paxlovid are given orally as five days short course, are significantly of great value for low-income countries