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 …
by Gertrud U. Rey As of today, SARS-CoV-2 has infected 18.7 million people and caused 700,000 deaths worldwide. The most realistic way to quickly curb the spread of the virus would require daily identification and isolation of individuals who are contagious, a process that is hampered by cumbersome sampling and testing methods with slow turnaround …
by Gertrud U. Rey On July 20, 2020, Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca reported preliminary results from phase I/II clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of a vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine candidate, named AZD1222 (referred to in the publication as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), consists of an adenovirus vector with an …
Preliminary phase I/II results of ChAdOx1 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Read More »
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 …
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 »
by Gertrud U. Rey Does a first infection with SARS-CoV-2 make a person immune to a second infection? This question is one of the prevailing issues in the current pandemic. The relevant immune response is adaptive immunity, which initiates during a first exposure to a pathogen and protects from re-infection and disease upon a second …
