Innately Immune
New data suggest that children are less susceptible to severe COVID-19 because they have a stronger innate immune response than adults.
Basic virology
More coronaviruses in rodents
This week President Biden received the report he commissioned on the origin of SARS-CoV-2. As I predicted three months ago, nothing was learned, because to find the origin of the virus it is necessary to conduct extensive wildlife surveys. Consequently this week I would rather write about a new study that identified coronaviruses in rodents. …
Estimate of infectiousness during COVID-19
Understanding the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is complicated by the large numbers of presymptomatic, asymptomatic, and mildly symptomatic (PAMS) patients. The reproductive number, R0, is a measure of population-level dynamics, but it cannot provide information on infectiousness of different groups such as PAMS subjects; when peak infectiousness occurs; and the effect of intrinsic properties of the …
Heterologous Vaccine Regimens Might be Better
A heterologous vaccine regimen consisting of a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine induces a stronger immune response than a regimen consisting of two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Paul and the Mosquitos
From the authors of Paul Has Measles and Paul Stays Home comes Paul and the Mosquitos, an illustrated book for children about mosquito-borne diseases.
T cells will save us from COVID-19, part 3
In the two previous installments (one, two) of what has now become my praise of T cells, I explained that the SARS-CoV-2 protein sequences recognized by T cells do not change, likely explaining why vaccines prevent serious disease and death caused by any variant. Today I will explain that virus-specific T cells appear a week …