covid 19 News and Research

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TriSb92 as a potential inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 variants including Omicron

New findings indicate that TriSb92 is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 infection targeting a conserved site in the RBD of the spike, which is insensitive for immune escape mutations found in the relevant variants of concern, including Omicron

31 Dec 2021

Less severe clinical consequences of infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

New evidence implies that the Omicron variant may cause a less severe and/or faster recovery from clinical COVID-19 disease.

31 Dec 2021

Exploring the increase in hACE2 binding affinity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

A new study provides detailed information about the molecular level binding interaction pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and wt variant with the hACE2 receptor

31 Dec 2021

Altered cytokine profiles of COVID-19-infected mother-infant dyads may impair long-term infant health

New study findings suggest that both SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers and their fetuses have increased levels of inflammatory cytokines throughout gestation, which may potentially impact fetus health in the long term.

31 Dec 2021

Omicron infection induces cross-reactive immune responses

New research revealed that vaccine-breakthrough infections might elicit cross-reactive bNAbs against all variants of concern.

31 Dec 2021

COVID-19 vaccine appears safe in children aged 5–11 Years

A new report notes menial or nil severe adverse events from vaccination against COVID-19 in children and therefore recommends COVID-19 vaccination among children aged 5-11 years old.

31 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant may be less severe than the delta variant

A new study reveals that omicron infections in South Africa are associated with lower rates of hospital admissions and lower disease severity compared to beta and delta infections.

31 Dec 2021

Impact of a pan-sarbecovirus dendritic-cell targeting vaccine on SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new study used in silico approaches for designing a next-generation CD40-targeting vaccine, CD40.

31 Dec 2021

A reliable assessment of COVID-19 vaccine protection duration

Researchers from the University of North Carolina, University of Washington, and the US Food and Drug Administration propose fitting a Cox model with two time indexes, the event times measured from the start of the study in calendar time and the log hazard for the vaccine effect.

30 Dec 2021

How much do mutations reduce vaccine effectiveness in the Omicron variant?

In new research, scientists from Adaptive Biotechnologies have been investigating the impact of spike protein mutations on vaccine efficiency for the Omicron variant. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

30 Dec 2021

Loss of smell is the best predictor of COVID-19

A large international team of researchers has conducted a crowdsourced cross-sectional study, in which they have investigated the reliability of the olfactory loss (or loss of smell, or anosmia) as a predictor of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).

30 Dec 2021

Vaccine-induced T-cells vs. Omicron well preserved compared with all variants

A team of international scientists has recently revealed that T cell responses induced by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are able to cross-recognize different variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

30 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity in pregnancy and fetal development

A review conducted by a team of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of Colorado, and Active Motif, Incorporated compiles information on SARS-CoV-2 virology, in utero transmission from infected pregnant mothers to fetuses, new findings on possible methods of SARS-CoV-2 cellular trafficking through exosomes, and the transcriptomic effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, in order to inform future studies aimed at a better understanding of COVID-19 and the development of therapeutic solutions against SARS-CoV-2.

30 Dec 2021

The use of monoclonal antibodies against infectious pathogens

Joshua Tan of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health wrote a review article in the journal DNA and Cell Biology about the role of monoclonal antibodies and briefly described a study on bispecific antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2.

30 Dec 2021

Antibody neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant via BNT162b2 vaccine booster dose

New study findings highlight the need for a rapid booster vaccine campaign to prevent COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant since the neutralization of Omicron by the two-dose BNT162b2 vaccine is not effective in controlling the spread of the infection.

30 Dec 2021

Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated individuals

New study findings showed that the SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections are rare and show mild or asymptomatic profiles generally. The breakthrough infection occurs early after vaccination in almost 50% of the cases within 70 to 80 days post full vaccination.

30 Dec 2021

Clinical-grade soluble human ACE2 shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

New study findings show that the clinical-grade soluble ACE2 effectively inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which proves the principle of an effective therapeutic approach against Omicron-driven COVID-19 infections.

30 Dec 2021

P323L mutations in SARS-CoV-2 are highly predictive of the emergence of new variants

In a new study, findings suggest that in some cases, tracking the distribution and frequency of SARS-CoV-2 minor variant genomes at a population level would help in predicting the emergence of a new dominant viral genome sequence.

30 Dec 2021

Study shows varying population immunity against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers analyzed the combined distribution of COVID-19 vaccination and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in each state and county in the US since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic to estimate the changes in the population immunity during this period.

30 Dec 2021