An unprecedented global challenge, emerging trends and innovations in the fight against COVID-19: A comprehensive review

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious and dangerous virus that caused the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. It primarily affects the respiratory system, leading to severe illness and high rates of mortality worldwide. The virus enters the body by binding to a receptor called ACE2, which is present in specific cells of the lungs known as type 2 alveolar epithelial cells. Numerous studies have investigated the consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, revealing various impacts on the body. This review provides an overview of SARS-CoV-2, including its structure and how it infects cells. It also examines the different variants of concern, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and the more recent Omicron variant, discussing their characteristics and the level of damage they cause. The usage of drugs to treat COVID-19 is another aspect that has been covered and compares the effectiveness and use of antiviral drugs in the treatment and its potential benefits in COVID-19 treatment. Furthermore, this review explores the consequences and abnormalities associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, including its impact on various organs and systems in the body. And also discussing the different COVID-19 vaccines available and their effectiveness in preventing infection and reducing the severity of illness. The current review ensures the recent update of the COVID research with expert's knowledge, collection of numerous data from reliable sources and methodologies as well as update of findings based on reviews. This review also provided clear contextual explanations to aid the interpretation and application of the results. The main motto and limitation of this manuscript are to address the computational methods of drug discovery against the rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been discussed. Additionally, current computational approaches which are cost effective and can able to predict the therapeutic agents for the treatment against the virus have also been discussed.