Vaccines work by educating the host’s immune system to recall the identity of a virus years after the initial encounter, a phenomenon called immune memory. Viral vaccines establish immunity and memory without the pathogenic consequences typical of a natural infection. The success of immunization in stimulating long-lived immune memory is among humanity’s greatest scientific and …
It is well past the time to stop blaming a laboratory in China for the release of SARS-CoV-2. Such fallacies reflect an ignorance of scientific facts, including the recent finding of closely related coronaviruses in bats in Thailand. The bat CoV RatG13, sampled in 2013 in Yunnan province, shares 96% whole genome identity with SARS-CoV-2, …
SARS-like bat coronaviruses are not only in China Read More »
Vaccine development has far outpaced antiviral discovery for COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine was a disaster, and the repurposed remdesivir, which must be administered intravenously, has modest effect when given to hospitalized patients. The situation is unfortunate because antiviral drugs may be used to either prevent infection (prophylactic) or treat infection (therapeutic). A promising antiviral drug candidate is …
An antiviral to prevent or treat SARS-CoV-2 infection Read More »
In recent months variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected that are unusual in that they have many more genome mutations than previously found. These have been called ‘variants of concern’ (VOC) as it has been suggested that the genome mutations might impact transmission, immune control, and virulence. Below I cover each of these issues separately. …
The Biden-Harris administration has released a document describing its plans to bring the United States out of the ‘worst public health crisis in a century’. It is a roadmap for not only ending the pandemic in the US, but to re-establish leadership in the global health care community and provide assistance to other countries. I …
Human monoclonal antibodies that block infection with SARS-CoV-2 are being used to treat COVID-19 patients, but an alternative, antibodies produced in camelids (alpacas and llamas) might have advantages. Camelid monoclonal antibodies can be more cheaply produced in mass quantities in bacteria, and protein engineering can be quickly used to produce a better therapeutic product. Human …
