Understanding the Interplay between COVID-19 and Diabetes Mellitus

COVID-19 pandemic has shown greater severity in people with co-morbidities; diabetes being the leading cause of higher mortality rates in COVID-19 patients. Besides compromised immunity, there are other factors that make diabetics more prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection. To date, there is no clinically proven treatment for this disease, but fortunately there are several reports of vaccines in different stages of development. This review compiles some commonly used anti-diabetic drugs and their probable efficacy during a COVID-19 attack. This is also an attempt to understand the cause of severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in diabetic patients. Until a proper cure or approved vaccine is available, it is best to manage the disease by improving the immune status and making use of already available drugs that show potential against the virus.