The death toll due to novel coronavirus is increasing with each passing day and has affected more than 859,796 people till April 1, 2020. The highest number of cases have been reported in U.S., Italy, and Spain other than China.

At present, the internet is flooded with information on coronavirus. However, it is difficult to segregate the relevant information from what is not. Recognizing this information gap,  analysts at BIS Research have compiled a list of information that is important for the people to know.

What are some of the vaccines that are being developed to manage novel coronavirus disease?

Presently, several companies are developing vaccines and medications that can treat coronavirus patients. Some of these vaccines are in phase 1, while others are in the pre-clinical stage (as on March 23, 2020).

Coronavirus Vaccines Underdevelopment in Phase 1

Other than these five vaccines, there are several other vaccines that are in the research and development stage with several of them in preclinical testing phase, and some in phase I/II. Currently, there are 77 anti-coronavirus drugs (vaccines) in the preclinical pipeline, three are in Phase I/II, six in Phase I, and 47 are in biological testing phase. Among the various drugs that are being tested, maximum drugs are specifically related to directed immunity inducers.

Which companies are providing test kits for testing coronavirus infection?

With the widespread outbreak of coronavirus globally, several companies are rushing to providing test kits for assessing the symptoms of coronavirus. Some of the leading companies providing these test kits include:

• Thermo Fisher Scientific, Massachusetts
• LabCorp, North Carolina
• Cepheid, California
• Hologic, Massachusetts
• Danaher, Washington, D.C.
• Roche Diagnostics, Indiana
• bioMérieux, North Carolina
• Integrated DNA Technologies, Iowa
• Abbott Laboratories, Illinois

Other than these companies, several other companies too, are providing test kits for coronavirus. Everlywell, the Austin-based medical diagnostics company, is providing home testing kit for COVID-19. In addition, a COVID-19 test kit developed by Mylab has received commercial approval.

What is the current status of COVID-19 in India?

AThe John Hopkins University has created a model to study the case of India – and also of the world through a global map – during the coronavirus outbreak. The data as per the John Hopkins global map as on April 1, 2020 depicts that total number of registered cases in India are 1397, out of which 1239 are active cases, 123 recovered cases, and 35 death cases.  

However, as per the model, it is expected that the total number of people affected including asymptomatic, symptomatic, and hospitalized cases is going to be maximum during the end of March to end of May, 2020. Post April 2020 the number of affected cases is anticipated to decrease.

During the time frame from March to May 2020, maximum number of population is expected to suffer from states including Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana, among others. Further, it has been observed that the demand for ventilators is approximately going to be 1 million in India, while currently, only 100K ventilators are available. To overcome this condition, companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra are offering to manufacture ventilators. Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance, received approval for manufacturing low cost ventilators on March 26, 2020.

What useful resources can one follow in order to keep themselves updated related to coronavirus disease?

With truckloads of information available on the coronavirus, it’s difficult to  identify the reliable piece of information. Here’s list of credible sources one can refer to, for updates related to coronavirus disease.

• WHO - Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Situation Dashboard
• John Hopkins - Coronavirus COVID-19 global cases
• Health Map - Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak timeline map
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control - Geographical distribution of COVID-19 cases worldwide
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US
• University of Virginia - COVID-19 surveillance dashboard