BRIEF REPORT Temporal development of research publications on SARS-CoV- 2 and COVID-19 [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations] Jonghoon Kang 1 , Erin Kang 2 , Matthew L. Cowan 1 , Manuel Orozco 3 1 Biology, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia, 31698, USA 2 James S. Rickards High School, Tallahassee, Florida, 32301, USA 3 Medicine, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Suwanee, Georgia, 30024, USA First published: 12 Apr 2021, 10:283 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.42122.1 Latest published: 12 Apr 2021, 10:283 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.42122.1 v1 Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected daily life throughout the world. The scientific community has globally responded to the pandemic with research on an unprecedented scale to help prevent disease spread and terminate the pandemic, resulting in a proliferation of scientific publications. In this article, the temporal trend of research on COVID-19 is analyzed to describe its development and inform a prediction of its future. Four other viruses are included in the analysis as negative or positive controls to illustrate that the concerns of the general public and/or the interest of the scientific community are major driving forces in the development of research. Our analysis predicts that COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will be major topics of research until at least 2025. We discuss the implications of our analysis for three sectors of community: researchers, epidemiologists, and young students. Keywords COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, HCV, HIV, Ebola, Zika, PubMed, Scientometrics This article is included in the Research on Research, Policy & Culture gateway. This article is included in the Emerging Diseases and Outbreaks gateway. Open Peer Review Reviewer Status Invited Reviewers 1 2 version 1 12 Apr 2021 report report Ludovico Abenavoli , Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy 1. Mahmoud Nassar , Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/NYC Health- Hospitals, Queens, USA Queens Hospital Center, Queens, USA 2. Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. Page 1 of 10 F1000Research 2021, 10:283 Last updated: 01 DEC 2021