The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID https://niaid.nih.gov on April 23, 2020, released their Strategic Plan detailing COVID-19 research priorities. The plan includes four key priorities needed to improve the fundamental knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
Key research priorities include:
- Develop rapid, accurate diagnostics and assays to identify and isolate COVID-19 cases and then make it possible to track the spread of the virus
- Improve the speed and accuracy of the diagnostic assays to mitigate the spread of diseases along with new and improved serologic assays to detect antibodies to the virus to enhance surveillance efforts
- Characterize and test potential treatments for COVID-19 to include identifying and evaluating drugs already approved for other conditions that could be repurposed to treat COVID-19 and test novel broad spectrum antivirals
- Develop safe and effective vaccines to protect individuals from infection and vaccines to prevent future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks
Go to https://niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/NAID-COVID-19-Strategic-Plan-2020.pdf to view the Strategic Plan.