Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Phase I/II trial findings support use of CoronaVac vaccine in older individuals

Researchers in China have reported phase I/II clinical trial findings showing that the vaccine candidate CoronaVac is well tolerated among older individuals and effectively generates antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARs-CoV-2) - the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 Feb 2021

New study supports UK’s delay of the SARS-CoV-2 Pfizer vaccine second dose

After reanalyzing data from 500,000 people in Israel who received the Pfizer vaccine, researchers suggest a single dose provides sufficient immunity after about 21 days, thus providing support for the UK’s decision to delay the second dose to 12 weeks.

4 Feb 2021

Researchers develop thermostable RNA vaccine delivery platform

A new study describes the production of a new RNA vaccine delivery system that promises greater ease of storage and distribution. This could help boost vaccination rates in regions without adequate infrastructure for low-temperature storage.

4 Feb 2021

South African SARS-CoV-2 variant neutralized by two Chinese vaccines in case study

A new study offers some reassuring findings, reporting the successful neutralization of the South African SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC) 501Y.V2 by two vaccines developed in China.

4 Feb 2021

Monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike's N-terminal prove highly protective in vivo

A new study server reports highly protective neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2.

4 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 has developed worrying new mutation in UK

Over the past few months, surging cases have been reported due to new fast-spreading variants. Now, Public Health England (PHE) investigates cases of COVID-19 with worrying new genetic changes. The E484K mutation, which could allow SARS-CoV-2 escape antibody protection, was seen in a small group of cases in some regions of the country.

4 Feb 2021

Predicting future mamalian hosts of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at the Beijing Computational Science Research Center and Peking University analyzed sequences of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) proteins from 16 mammals and predicted the structures of ACE2- receptor-binding domain (RBD) complexes.

4 Feb 2021

Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 shown to have 91.6 percent efficacy

The phase 3 human trial is the last stage of clinical evaluation, showing how effective and safe a drug or vaccine is. In this case, the Gam- Sputnik V showed a consistent strong protective effect across all participant age groups.

3 Feb 2021

Hematological findings in Amazonian patients with COVID-19

To discriminate between patients with severe and non-severe COVID-19 quickly, researchers from Peru looked for prognostic signatures in the blood samples of COVID-19 patients. Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas et al. examined laboratory results and clinical prognosis of COVID-19 patients from a hospital in the Peruvian Amazon.

3 Feb 2021

Survey finds 41% of United States residents unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine

A cross-sectional online survey conducted by the scientists of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA, has revealed that about 41% of US residents are unwilling to receive a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine due to concern over vaccine safety and efficacy. Moreover, there are sub-group variations in willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine

3 Feb 2021

Nasodine antiseptic nasal spray shows potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2

A team of international scientists has recently investigated the efficacy of PVP-1, a complex of polyvinylpyrrolidone and iodine, in preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Using in vitro cell culture settings, the scientists observe that PVP-1 formulation used in a commercially available nasal spray (Nasodine) readily inactivates SARS-CoV-2 within a short period of time.

3 Feb 2021

Insight into role of aging in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine set out to determine the differences between young people and older adults regarding their host responses against SARS-CoV-2. The team revealed that independent of disease severity, COVID-19 was linked to a significant shift in plasma inflammatory factors. The research is posted to the pre-print server medRxiv*.

3 Feb 2021

COVID-19 vaccine should be recommended to patients with Parkinson’s disease, experts say

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthcare professionals caring for them have expressed concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine's efficacy and safety in the specific context of PD and its symptomatic treatment.

3 Feb 2021

How well do fabric face masks protect from COVID?

In a new study, published on the pre-print server medRxiv, researchers at the University of Cambridge found that fabric face masks block 62.6 percent to 87.1 percent of fine particles, making them useful tools in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

3 Feb 2021

Latest clinical trial supports UK’s decision to delay second COVID vaccine dose

Researchers in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have reported the latest efficacy results from phase III trials of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine currently being rolled out in the UK to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

3 Feb 2021

Viral load the main driver of SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A study conducted by researchers in the UK and Spain suggests that viral load is the main determinant of transmission risk in cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

3 Feb 2021

Could rapid result low sensitivity SARS-CoV-2 tests improve pandemic quarantine strategies?

Researchers in the USA have re-examined current testing and quarantining regimens for SARS-CoV-2. They suggest that the RT-PCR method and 14-day isolation rule may not be the most effective approach in managing viral transmission.

3 Feb 2021

Researchers engineer "Nanotraps" that block SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at Chicago University have developed an innovative new anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy called “Nanotraps” – a family of nano-enabled virus-trapping particles – which have shown positive results in vitro, in vivo, and in human ex vivo trials.

3 Feb 2021

Researchers survey repurposed drugs that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro

A new study by researchers at the University of Manchester, UK, reports on the compounds of interest that were identified as having potential for the treatment of COVID-19, from a library of almost 2,000 compounds from the APExBIO DiscoveryProbe library.

3 Feb 2021