Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Effect of human genes on severity and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2

Now, a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* reports the results of an analysis of the association between the genetic variants in the patients and the clinical progression of the disease. The study included 332 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in a single-center, with widely varying laboratory and clinical features. There were 25, 12, and 17 patients with asymptomatic, mild, and critical disease.

14 Jun 2020

Early neutralizing response to SARS-CoV-2 dominated by IgA antibodies

Researchers from France and the U.S. demonstrated how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection could induce an early and vigorous virus-specific IgA response that paves the way for the production of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, with even better neutralizing properties. Their paper is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

14 Jun 2020

NIAID and Moderna scientists describe SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Moderna Inc., have described the potent neutralizing effects of a candidate vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is currently being tested in a phase II trial.

14 Jun 2020

Survey: UK public understand that fast-tracking COVID-19 treatments could bring greater risks

The majority of the British public understand that fast-tracking vaccines, treatments and tests for COVID-19 could bring greater risks, according to a survey commissioned by law firm Hill Dickinson’s Life Sciences practice.

12 Jun 2020

Does COVID-19 injure the placenta of pregnant women?

News-Medical speaks to Dr. Jeffery Goldstein about whether COVID-19 is damaging the placentas of pregnant women and what women can do to protect themselves.

12 Jun 2020

Drug-like molecules offer a promising treatment for COVID-19

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia has successfully demonstrated that a set of drug-like small molecules can block the activity of a key SARS-CoV-2 protein - providing a promising path for new COVID-19 therapeutics.

12 Jun 2020

Facemasks will prevent COVID-19 in the "new normal"

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has left many countries grappling with high infection rates. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has negatively impacted societies and economies. Now though, many countries are starting to lift restrictions to prepare for a "new normal."

12 Jun 2020

UNC scientists develop new kind of antibody test for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues with many thousands of new infections reported each day, there is a need for widely applicable surveillance testing to gain a better understanding of infection rates, especially the number of infections in people with mild or no symptoms, who can still be carriers.

11 Jun 2020

WVU researchers develop new diagnostic and antibody tests for COVID-19

COVID-19 tests are in short supply. The companies that make the necessary chemicals--called reagents--can't keep up with demand. But researchers at West Virginia University are developing new tests on their own to identify who has COVID-19 now and who had it in the past but recovered.

11 Jun 2020

New insight could aid in the development of universal vaccines for respiratory viruses

A significant site of damage during COVID-19 infection is the lungs. Understanding how the lungs' immune cells are responding to viral infections could help scientists develop a vaccine.

11 Jun 2020

Computational approach to design peptide-based vaccine against SARS-Cov-2

There are currently no licensed vaccines available for COVID-19. While several antiviral drugs have been tested, none has proved to be completely effective against the disease.

11 Jun 2020

Article calls for international governance system to oversee access to Covid-19 vaccines, treatments

Human challenge trials to test the efficacy of vaccine candidates against SARS? CoV? 2, the novel coronavirus behind COVID? 19, could save considerable time and many lives.

11 Jun 2020

A lead compound can significantly reduce or eliminate toxoplasmosis and malaria

Toxoplasma gondii infection is one of the most frequent parasitic infections of humans. This parasite is present in the brain of an estimated two billion people--about 40 percent of all humans on earth. It is endemic throughout the world, causing water and food-borne epidemics that result in toxoplasmosis.

10 Jun 2020

Scientists investigate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike immunogens

The coronavirus pandemic is actively spreading across the globe, with millions of people infected. Amid the global health crisis, scientists race to develop an effective vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

10 Jun 2020

Researchers evaluate survivin expression in neuroendocrine tumors

Volume 11, Issue 23 of @Oncotarget reported that tissue microarrays of 132 patients were stained for survivin using immunohistochemistry and correlated with outcomes.

10 Jun 2020

Unique antiviral action of cholesterol 25-hydroxylase against SARS-CoV-2

A new study by U.S. and Chinese researchers, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, demonstrates how cholesterol 25-hydroxylase and its enzymatic product 25-hydroxycholesterol can inhibit membrane fus

10 Jun 2020

The 2019 3Rs prize awarded to two pieces of novel research

The 2019 3Rs prize has been jointly awarded to Dr Francesca Nunn and Dr Marta Shahbazi for papers describing research that reduces the number of chickens and mice respectively. The 3Rs prize is awarded by the NC3Rs and sponsored by GSK.

10 Jun 2020

COVID-19 mouse model could accelerate the search for treatments, vaccines

The global effort to quickly develop drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 has been hampered by limited numbers of laboratory mice that are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

10 Jun 2020

Tocilizumab in Critical COVID-19 Patients

A new study by scientists at Metro Infectious Disease Consultants and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 reports that the cytokine blocker tocilizumab is a useful adjunct to supportive medical care in severe COVID-19, with increased survival and a lower requirement for mechanical ventilation.

10 Jun 2020

Specific immune signature identified in COVID-19 patients

Researchers at King’s College London and collaborators have identified an “immune signature” that could help researchers better understand coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and serve as a valuable resource for predicting patient prognosis and informing clinical risk-based stratification.

10 Jun 2020