Omicron News and Research

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Is universal coronavirus immunity possible?

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers at Columbia University characterized reciprocal and non-reciprocal T-cell responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jan 2023

New research on nirmatrelvir resistance in SARS-CoV-2 using powerful replicon cell culture systems

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers at Emory University used severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Washington (WA.1) and Omicron (BA.1) strains to test for mutations that could result in resistance to the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir.

8 Jan 2023

COVID-19 vaccine potency and breadth improved by nanoparticle-conjugated adjuvants

In a recent study posted to bioRxiv*, researchers designed a nanoparticle (NP)-conjugated toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist to improve the adjuvanticity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines.

8 Jan 2023

Does the duration between SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination affect immunity?

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University assessed the impact of the duration between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and vaccination on immunity against infection.

8 Jan 2023

New model for detecting and estimating pathogen variant dynamics and risk

A recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server developed a hierarchical modeling method to estimate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant fitness advantage and prevalence.

8 Jan 2023

Pan-vaccine antigen strategy confers protection against cross-clade SARS-CoV-2 variants, including vaccine-resistant Omicron variants

Researchers developed a novel pan-vaccine antigen (Span)-based subunit vaccine against COVID-19.

6 Jan 2023

SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron transmission within educational settings in relation to community-based outbreaks and mitigation measures

Researchers assessed whether school closures during COVID-19 outbreaks prevented viral transmission in Australia.

6 Jan 2023

Hybrid immunity confers increased protection against omicron BA.5 for up to 8 months

Study in the population living in Portugal shows that immunity conferred by infection of people vaccinated against COVID-19 confers up to 8 months of protection against omicron BA.5.

6 Jan 2023

Study shows XBB.1.5 exhibits a substantially higher hACE2-binding affinity compared to BQ.1.1 and XBB/XBB.1

Researchers investigated the reasons for the rapid advent of SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.5, a sublineage of the Omicron recombinant mutant XBB in the USA.

6 Jan 2023

Scientists pinpoint the routes taken by SARS-CoV-2 to enter and exit cells in our nasal cavity

Somebody just coughed on you. On a plane. At a dinner party. In a supermarket line. If only there were a "morning after" nasal spray that could knock out respiratory viruses' ability to colonize your nose and throat.

5 Jan 2023

Seroprevalence study demonstrates vaccination could boost impaired humoral immunity against Omicron BQ.1.1 subvariant

Researchers conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional seroprevalence study in emergency departments of five hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between August and September 2022. They assessed point seroprevalence and neutralization activity against Wu01, BA.4/5, and BQ.1.1.

5 Jan 2023

Study shows angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 decoy protein as a promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent

Researchers presented a microbody recombinant decoy protein with high affinity to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as an option for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment.

5 Jan 2023

How effective is the bivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths?

Researchers examined the effectiveness of the bivalent mRNA vaccine against severe outcomes of COVID-19.

5 Jan 2023

COVID booster shots cut Omicron transmission in closed environments

In a recent paper published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers in the United States investigated the infectiousness of incarcerated individuals with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron infections in prisons, high-risk settings where transmission is intense.

3 Jan 2023

Study compares effectiveness of Pfizer vs. Moderna booster COVID vaccines after third dose

In a recent scientific paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology, researchers reproduced two target trials using electronic health records (EHRs) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to compare the effectiveness of the third dose of BNT162b2 or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-1273 vaccine among United States (US) veterans.

3 Jan 2023

What is the global state of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children?

Researchers conducted a systematic review to assess global pediatric SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence.

3 Jan 2023

Phase III trial shows noninferiority of VV116 compared to nirmatrelvir–ritonavir among adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 at risk of progression

Researchers presented the results of a phase III randomized controlled trial of oral SARS-CoV-2 antiviral VV116.

3 Jan 2023

Effects of hybrid immunity on humoral immune response following COVID mRNA vaccination in a cohort of essential and frontline workers

Researchers longitudinally evaluated humoral immune responses to the second and third doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines among individuals with and without prior history of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

3 Jan 2023

BA.4/BA.5 mutations reduced responsiveness of epitope-specific T cells with original mRNA vaccine

A new study in the journal Viruses examines the phenomenon of breakthrough infections due to the evasion of T-cell immunity by the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants, showing this to be due to spike gene mutations.

2 Jan 2023

Study demonstrates the benefits of vaccination and boosting in reducing COVID-19 transmission

Vaccination and boosting, especially when recent, helped to limit the spread of COVID-19 in California prisons during the first Omicron wave, according to an analysis by researchers at UC San Francisco that examined transmission between people living in the same cell.

2 Jan 2023

Omicron News and Research

Is universal coronavirus immunity possible?

New research on nirmatrelvir resistance in SARS-CoV-2 using powerful replicon cell culture systems

COVID-19 vaccine potency and breadth improved by nanoparticle-conjugated adjuvants

Does the duration between SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination affect immunity?

New model for detecting and estimating pathogen variant dynamics and risk

Pan-vaccine antigen strategy confers protection against cross-clade SARS-CoV-2 variants, including vaccine-resistant Omicron variants

SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron transmission within educational settings in relation to community-based outbreaks and mitigation measures

Hybrid immunity confers increased protection against omicron BA.5 for up to 8 months

Study shows XBB.1.5 exhibits a substantially higher hACE2-binding affinity compared to BQ.1.1 and XBB/XBB.1

Scientists pinpoint the routes taken by SARS-CoV-2 to enter and exit cells in our nasal cavity

Seroprevalence study demonstrates vaccination could boost impaired humoral immunity against Omicron BQ.1.1 subvariant

Study shows angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 decoy protein as a promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent

How effective is the bivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths?

COVID booster shots cut Omicron transmission in closed environments

Study compares effectiveness of Pfizer vs. Moderna booster COVID vaccines after third dose

What is the global state of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children?

Phase III trial shows noninferiority of VV116 compared to nirmatrelvir–ritonavir among adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 at risk of progression

Effects of hybrid immunity on humoral immune response following COVID mRNA vaccination in a cohort of essential and frontline workers

BA.4/BA.5 mutations reduced responsiveness of epitope-specific T cells with original mRNA vaccine

Study demonstrates the benefits of vaccination and boosting in reducing COVID-19 transmission

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How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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