As global researchers continue to test and understand the novel coronavirus disease, several countries are emerging at the forefront. The Finbold.com Coronavirus Research Index shows that ten countries are currently conducting 1,141 Covid-19 related clinical studies.
The United States which is the most impacted country is leading with 335 clinical studies. France comes second with 274 clinical studies followed by Italy at 87 studies. On the other hand, Spain is fourth with 86 studies while China closes the top five categories with 78 clinical studies. The top five countries that are spearheading the coronavirus clinical studies are among the most impacted and have recently made efforts in flattening the infection curve.
The United Kingdom occupies the sixth spot with 73 clinical studies followed by Germany at 55. Canada comes seventh with 54 clinical studies while Egypt is ninth with 44 studies. Turkey comes tenth with 35 clinical studies. It worth noting that the studies are concentrated in Europe, which emerged as a hot spot for the virus after China.
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By press time the global coronavirus cases calculated were at least 6.3 million with the United States leading with about 1.85 million infections. The Finbold.com coronavirus calculator also ranks the United States’ most infected regions by a percentage of the population.
New York which was the epicenter of the pandemic in the States has a rate of 1.91%. New Jersey is second with 1.76% of the population being infected. Massachusetts has a rate of 1.34% while Rhode Island stands in the fourth spot with 1.32%. District of Columbia closes the fifth slot at 1.16%. Other states with leading infection rate by population include Connecticut (1.14%), Delaware (0.92%), Illinois (0.88%) , Louisiana (0.81%) and Maryland (0.77%).
Different states in the US had imposed lockdowns to contain the virus and the measures had begun to pay off for regions like New York. However, ongoing protests calling for justice in the murder of George Floyd might spur a second wave of the virus. Protestors in the countrywide mass action are not observing social distancing guidelines hence increasing chances of infection.
Advances in coronavirus clinical studies
The current Covid-19 pandemic which is unprecedented heavily relies on response lessons learned from other disease outbreaks in the previous years. The current clinical studies are meant to accelerate diagnosis, vaccines, and therapeutics for the virus. As the clinical studies continue, they rely on a blueprint developed by the World Health Organization to improve coordination between scientists and global health professionals to accelerate the research and development process.
About five months into the crisis, well-run trials have started to generate more reliable outcomes. However, the delay in coming up with a possible cure and vaccines is because there is a need to first understand the virus. Secondly, researchers also lookout to understand which targets need to be used in the course of the studies. A tangible outcome in regards to vaccines is expected from next year.
Most studies are currently looking at two approaches mainly to innovate new ways of helping contain the pandemic and facilitate care for the affected. Additionally, studies are preparing for a framework that will equip the world in case of a similar outbreak in the future.
The Finbold.com Coronavirus Research Index analyzes all the active clinical COVID-19 studies reported to ClinicalTrials.gov. The index shows countries that are putting in the biggest efforts in understanding the coronavirus thus helping to find an effective way to treat the disease.
