Younger individuals in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a relatively higher risk of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection. Additionally, an outbreak of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 may have occurred in Ras Tanura city between April 2015 and February 2016.

Since the first case of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019, SARS-CoV-2 infection has affected many individuals worldwide. Eventually, some highly infectious mutants—caused by frequent genetic recombination—have been reported for SARS-CoV-2 that can potentially escape from the immune responses and induce long-term immunity, linked with a high mortality rate. In addition, several reports stated that vaccines designed for the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type variant have mixed responses against the variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs) in the human population. These results advocate the designing and development of a panvaccine with the potential to neutralize all the possible emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. In this context, recent discoveries suggest the design of SARS-CoV-2 panvaccines using nanotechnology, siRNA, antibodies or CRISPR-Cas platforms. Thereof, the present comprehensive review summarizes the current vaccine design approaches against SARS-CoV-2 infection, the role of genetic mutations in the emergence of new viral variants, the efficacy of existing vaccines in limiting the infection of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and efforts or challenges in designing SARS panvaccines.

The novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2 or COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and soon became a global pandemic. The virus causes flu-like symptoms and is potentially lethal. The rapid spread of the virus leaves the world in total paralysis and has devastating effects on the health, economic, and social levels of most countries. No treatment has been approved yet and the world really needs a precise and urgent medication. Certainly, the developing of a new specific drug for COVID-19 would take a longer time than expected but it is hoped that this task will be completed sooner than later; therefore recent studies have prioritized testing previously FDA-approved drugs for other indications and whether they have significant effects on COVID-19 or not. In this study, we discuss recent applications, protocols, and the outcomes of these drugs as advised by healthcare institutions and providers, as well as to conduct a literature review.

Specificity of the Cepheid® Xpert Flu test was high; however, sensitivity for total influenza A was lower particularly in males and older patients.