New SARS-CoV-2 VOC in New York City, on-going challenges & advancements
The original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 has been evolving constantly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several studies suggest single dose of vaccine provides strong protection for people who have recovered from COVID-19
Two London-based studies have shown that people who have been infected and developed an immune response to SARS-CoV-2 react briskly to a first dose of vaccine, similar to how uninfected (i.e., infection naïve) individuals would respond to a second (booster) dose.
Can we stretch our COVID-19 vaccine supply to meet our public health objectives?
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need to manufacture and distribute vaccines rapidly and widely across the world. Currently, three products (two based on the mRNA platform from Pfizer- BioNTech, Moderna and one based on the adenoviral vector platform from AstraZeneca-Oxford) are being used under emergency-use authorization in vaccination programs around the globe.
Is there a threshold for protective immunity?
SpaceX does not just send red convertibles into space, they are also now a cohort for SARS-CoV-2 immunity.
Certain viral variants may be less susceptible to a COVID vaccine and treatments
In recent months, studies have raised the possibility that certain emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants evolved to escape antibody immune surveillance, elicited by previous infection, immunization, or by monoclonal antibody treatments.
SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutants get colourful names and nicknames. Introducing Nelly, Doug and Bluebird!
New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are introduced almost daily. Consensus on a naming system has been difficult, so scientists are developing their own creative names for the variants to help distinguish them from one another.
Study finds several new coronaviruses with mutations in the same position
Independent surveillance programs examining sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus associated with COVID- 19 cases, simultaneously detected several distinct variants carrying amino acid substitutions or mutations in the same genetic position on the Spike protein.
What we learned from Sweden’s decision to keep schools open during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
In March 2020, schools around the world closed their doors, the boisterous youthful chatter of classrooms and schoolyards replaced by an eerie stillness that will come to characterize the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 immune signatures reveal stable antiviral T cell function despite declining humoral responses
Immune mechanisms following SARS-CoV-2 infection remain largely unknown. For instance, while it is evident that COVID-19 manifests itself in a wide range of outcomes, it is unclear if differences in disease severity are associated with specific immunological determinants.
Close relatives to the pandemic virus causing COVID-19 disease found in bats across a large region of Asia
Bats are the likely ancestral host of the new coronavirus that rapidly spread out of China and across the world. Bats are the natural viral reservoir for many viruses, including several coronaviruses.