by Gertrud U. Rey This post was written in honor of Virus Appreciation Day, which occurs annually on October 3. Public awareness of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) began in the early 1980s when separate clusters of infected individuals were identified in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. These individuals all shared a group of …
by Gertrud U. Rey During the first few months of life, residual maternal antibodies that crossed the placenta during gestation and antibodies from breast milk protect infants from infection with various microbes. This type of immune protection is known as “passive immunity,” and differs from “active immunity,” which develops in an individual following vaccination or …
by Gertrud U. Rey You are fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and have presumably never been infected with the virus. But how can you know for sure? One way to find out is by testing your blood for the presence of antibodies against the viral nucleocapsid protein, which can only be encountered during natural infection. This …
A heterologous vaccine regimen consisting of a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine induces a stronger immune response than a regimen consisting of two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Accumulating data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination of pregnant and lactating people is safe and beneficial for both mother and child.
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 …
