The COVID-19 outbreak seems to be the most dangerous challenge of the third millennium due to its highly contagious nature. Amongst natural molecules for COVID-19 treatment, the flavonoid molecule quercetin (QR) is currently considered one of the most promising. QR is an active agent against SARS and MERS due to its antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and some other beneficial effects. QR may hold therapeutic potential against SARS-CoV-2 due to its inhibitory effects on several stages of the viral life cycle. In fact, QR inhibits viral entry, absorption, and penetration in the SARS-CoV virus, which might be at least partly explained by the ability of QR and its derivatives to inhibit 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro). QR is a potent immunomodulatory molecule due to its direct modulatory effects on several immune cells, cytokines, and other immune molecules. QR-based nanopreparations possess enhanced bioavailability and solubility in water. In this review, we discuss the prospects for the application of QR as a preventive and treatment agent for COVID-19. Given the multifactorial beneficial action of QR, it can be considered a very valid drug as a preventative, mitigating, and therapeutic agent of COVID-19 infection, especially in synergism with zinc, vitamins C, D, and E, and other polyphenols.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; infection; nanopreparations; prevention; quercetin; treatment.

Gasmi A, Mujawdiya PK, Lysiuk R, Shanaida M, Peana M, Gasmi Benahmed A, Beley N, Kovalska N, Bjørklund G. Quercetin in the Prevention and Treatment of Coronavirus Infections: A Focus on SARS-CoV-2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022 Aug 25;15(9):1049. doi: 10.3390/ph15091049.

In this paper, the theme of medical neutrality is highlighted, in particular, the definition of the concept and principles are defined, and examples of medical neutrality violation through the prism of armed aggression in Ukraine are given. Medical neutrality is seen as a social agreement that obliges society to protect health workers both in time of war and peacetime, and obliges medical personnel to provide medical care to all, regardless of religion, race, ethnic origin, political affiliation or other characteristics. The internationally coordinated system for the observance of human rights is clarified, attention is focused on the guarantees enshrined in Protocol I regarding the provision of medical care, as well as on the international axioms of the protection of medical workers and guarantees of their professional activity in martial law conditions, defined in Protocol I. The issue of legal assessment of the professional activity of medical workers in the territories in which the aggressor state has established or is trying to establish an occupation regime is revealed, and a fine line between the essence of the concept of medical neutrality and the professional activities of medical workers in the temporarily occupied territories is stated, which emphasizes the need for clarity and certainty in the presentation of legal norms to prevent human rights violations.

Informed consent is one of the key principles in safeguarding human rights in the sphere of healthcare. It presupposes the expression of the patient's free will relating to his medical examinations, treatment and diagnostic procedures, as well as the physician's duty to inform the patient on the forthcoming medical interventions, including the facts regarding the potential risks of these medical interventions. This principle is one of the elements of contemporary medical law, which has marked the transfer from paternalistic medicine to a modern model of medicine, where the patient is an active participant in the process of medical treatment. In this paper, the authors illustrate the legal aspects of safeguarding the patient's right to informed consent in the legislation and legal practices of Ukraine and the Republic of Latvia. The institute of informed consent, which needs to be safeguarded, as a key element of the legitimacy of a medical intervention (such as surgery, or vaccination), requires a specific form of fulfillment, which is conducted in writing. A medical intervention, excluding cases of emergency, is legitimate only when the consent of the patient is provided; unconsented medical interventions frequently cause lawsuits, where plaintiffs seek to recover damages for performance of a medical intervention without their informed consent. The authors have highlighted these issues while commenting on the recent case law of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia.

The author has hallmarked the principles of the Oviedo Convention, in particular, the preambular and Conventional axioms. The author has established, that the Oviedo Convention’s fundamental principle is the principle of human dignity, which lies in the foundation of the majority of values, which have been declared in the standard. The author has also established, that the norm-principles, which were laid down in the preamble part, and Chapter I, act through the provisions of distinct conventional institutes, for example, “Consent”, “Prohibition of discrimination”. The national case law and the normative-creational practice justifies the necessity to ratify the Oviedo Convention by Ukraine.

Briefly describe the current legal framework (all sources of law) regarding the protection and empowerment of vulnerable adults and situate this within your legal system as a whole. Consider state-ordered, voluntary and ex lege measures if applicable. Also address briefly any interaction between these measures.