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 …
Not only the popular press but even some of my distinguished science colleagues are claiming that the recent report of reinfection of a COVID-19 patient is the end of the world. Nothing could be farther from the truth. First, the facts. The patient is a healthy Hong Kong male who was diagnosed by PCR with …
All human viruses have their origin in a virus that crossed from a different animal species. The encounters that lead to these spillovers are driven by explosive human population growth and incredible change occurring in all ecosystems brought about by human occupation of almost every corner of the planet. The extent to which land-use change …
Pandemics and anthropogenic environmental change Read More »
What does the future hold for SARS-CoV-2? Will it remain in its current configuration, with 20% of infections causing serious damage? Will everyone on Earth need to be vaccinated regularly to prevent infection? Allow me to indulge in some speculation and suggest that SARS-CoV-2 will eventually become the fifth common cold coronavirus (CoV). There are …
