As rage trumps social distancing among civil rights protesters in the United States, spurring fears of an increase in COVID-19 cases, a new report claims to show that the US leads the way in conducting clinical studies aimed at curing the disease.
The news perhaps is not surprising as the US, with over 1.9 million affected individuals and 109,000 plus deaths, leads the world in coronavirus cases by a 3:1 ratio over the next most afflicted nation (Brazil). The pandemic has affected more than 6.4 million people worldwide.
Moreover, the number of US cases is expected to spike as “George Floyd” protesters in dozens of cities around the country continue to march and congregate in close quarters, many without protective masks.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms warned protestors earlier this week, “If you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a COVID test this week.”
At the same time, data aggregated by Finbold.com shows that the US is leading global testing efforts on the Coronavirus pandemic with 335 clinical studies under way. Canada is eighth with 54.
Collectively, the top 10 members of the global testing initiative have produced 1,141 active studies. Following the US, the list includes France (274 studies), Italy (87), Spain (86), China (78), UK (73), Germany (55), Canada (54), Egypt (44) and Turkey (35).
Two months ago, in early April, British-based financial information provider Finbold, which has launched the Coronavirus Research Index, reported that there were 300 active clinical studies underway globally – led by China, with only 49 in the US. While the number of global studies has quadrupled since then, the number of US studies has increased nearly seven-fold.
The current clinical studies are meant to accelerate diagnosis, vaccines, and therapeutics for the virus.
About five months into the crisis, trials have started to generate more reliable outcomes, Finbold states, adding, “A tangible outcome in vaccines is expected from next year.”
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.