Abstract

In the last two years, SARS-CoV-2 infection, commonly called COVID-19, has taken a jump from being rarely talked about to becoming a household name. Making it to history as the 5th global pandemic, this public health crisis has taken millions of lives all over the world. Right from the time of identification of patient zero, the pandemic has been a series of waves of infection, causing a domino effect whose impact has been felt in all walks of life. Global efforts have been underway to combat this pandemic and minimize its repercussions, resulting in the development of efficient vaccines and drugs to control and treat the disease. However, making the benefits of these efforts available to everyone and walking the path towards the end of the pandemic remains a challenge. Keeping this in view, this review intends to present aspects of sequential development of the pandemic, different types of variants, risks associated with different categories of population, drugs currently in use, recent advancements in diagnostics and treatment, and the challenges that continue to remain in overcoming this pandemic. However, the task of controlling and managing the impact of such a massive pandemic goes well beyond the boundaries of what present-day technology in the field of medicine and health-care can offer. A collaborative and integrative approach between academic, scientific, social, and economic factors, along with close supervision and reinforcement of the current public safety protocols, can help to ensure a better management strategy to control the progression of COVID-19.