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Preliminary phase I/II results of ChAdOx1 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

2 Comments / Basic virology, Gertrud Rey, Information / By

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 …

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Microneedle patch SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate

2 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

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 …

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Virus and antibodies during asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections

1 Comment / Basic virology, Information / By

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 …

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Cigarette smoke and COVID-19

2 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

Some evidence suggests that cigarette smokers are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 disease than non-smokers. Chronic smoke exposure appears to trigger the expansion of cell types in the respiratory tract that produce ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2. This observation provides a plausible hypothesis to explain why cigarette smokers might experience more severe COVID-19. A …

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