The 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice for their work leading to the discovery of hepatitis C virus. To me this prize makes a great deal of sense because each of the recipients produced key sequential discoveries, all of which were needed to find a …
by Gertrud U. Rey Antibodies are large proteins that are made by B cells of the adaptive immune system. Most people think that antibodies function only as a whole molecule, but some of the individual fragments of an antibody can also bind and neutralize antigens. An antibody consists of two heavy chains and two light …
A super spreader is an individual who is more likely to infect others compared with a typical patient (pictured). An example is the doctor who treated early SARS-CoV patients in China, traveled to a hotel in Hong Kong, and infected 10 others who then went on bring the virus to multiple countries. Superspreaders of SARS-CoV-2 …
by Helen Stillwell Recently, a Phase 3 trial investigating a COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford was put on hold in the US following a report of an adverse event in a study participant in the U.K. (Feuerstein 2020). One of the predominant vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2, AZD1222 is …
The AstraZeneca/Oxford University Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Trial €“ Why Was It Paused? Read More »
Immunity conferred by influenza virus vaccine is short-lived. After immunization with inactivated influenza virus vaccine, serum antibody levels peak within a few months and then decline rapidly. This decline was recently shown to be caused by loss of bone marrow plasma cells, a major source of serum antibodies. Results of a recent study partially address …
by Gertrud U. Rey There are currently 315 therapeutic drugs and 210 vaccine candidates in development to treat or prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Many of these vaccines are designed to be administered by injection into the muscle. Intramuscular injection of a vaccine antigen typically induces a systemic (serum) immune response that involves the action of IgM and IgG …
