by Gertrud Rey In a highly publicized press release dated May 18, 2020, the biotech company Moderna announced preliminary results from a phase I clinical trial for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate. However, the company only provided brief, conclusory statements at that time. On July 14, the results from the trial were finally published in the New …
Don’t believe the headlines that SARS-CoV-2 is becoming more transmissible! Virologists are making conclusions that are not justified by the data. SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates from many parts of the world have a single amino acid change in the spike protein, D614G. This observation in itself doesn’t mean very much. It could be that the change …
No evidence for increased human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Read More »
by Gertrud U. Rey It is well established that children experience less severe disease after infection with SARS-CoV-2. However, to what extent infected children contribute to transmission of the virus is less clear. This topic is of great interest as we prepare for the start of a new school year. Are children less susceptible to infection …
The role of children in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Read More »
Most of the 172 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development will be administered by intramuscular injection, a traditional route for many effective vaccines. In my opinion the use of needles for immunization will one day be replaced by microneedle patches, which can not only be self-administered but have a variety of other advantages compared with injection. A …
Despite recent proclamations to the contrary by WHO, there is good evidence that individuals who are asymptomatically infected with SARS-CoV-2 can efficiently spread infection to others. The levels of virus and the immune response in asymptomatically infected individuals has not been well studied to understand the infection events taking place. A recent small study provides …
Virus and antibodies during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections Read More »
SARS-CoV-2 not only infects humans but can also spread occasionally from humans to cats, dogs, and tigers. A recent addition to this menagerie is the farmed mink. In mid-April 2020 mink on two farms in the Netherlands developed signs of respiratory disease which included nasal discharge and respiratory distress. Examination of the lungs revealed interstitial …
