Studies offer new evidence for possible link between blood type and COVID-19 susceptibility

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201014161544.htm


The six strains of SARS-CoV-2

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200803105246.htm

A rare Covid-19 complication was reported in children. Now, it's showing up in adults.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rare-covid-19-complication-was-reported-children-now-it-s-n1243161?.tsrc=bell-brknews

The first time I've seen furin mentioned as related to COVID-19.

This names several antiviral medicine candidates.

An overview of COVID-19 with an emphasis on computational approach for its preventive intervention

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13205-020-02425-9?utm_campaign=SRBM_AWA_YM01_GL_13205_HP_TrendMDQ420

https://rdcu.be/b8MSl

English study suggests T cells could be sufficient to protect from COVID-19

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-tcell/english-study-suggests-t-cells-could-be-sufficient-to-protect-from-covid-19-idUSKBN27Q004

I'm late, so I'm only catching up with the UK's update on Saturday regarding the new strain in London and the South East.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser has said (paraphrasing)

The new variant contains 23 different changes, many of them associated with changes in the protein the virus makes.
This is an unusually large number of variants.
It's also got variants in areas of the virus that are known to be associated with how the virus binds to cells and enters cells.

There are 3 questions that need to be asked
- does the new variant transmit more readily?
- does it alter the course of the disease - does it make people sicker?
- does it alter the way the immune system, the way the body responds to it if it's been previously affected or following a vaccine?

1) there are genetic, frequency and laboratory studies all suggesting this variant has a significant and substantial increase in transmissibility and is becoming the dominant variant recently
2) no evidence it causes a more severe disease or causes more hospitalisation - it looks similar
3) there are theoretical reasons to suspect some of the changes <might> alter some of the immune response, but nothing's been seen to suggest that's the case. Our working assumption is the vaccine response should be adequate for this virus, but that needs to be looked at going forward and we need to be vigilant.

The big change, therefore, is not disease progress, not immunity, but transmission.
This variant spreads more easily so therefore more measures are needed to keep spread under control

I do wonder if that will mean renewed analysis back here

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I do wonder if that will mean renewed analysis back here

Good question. I get the impression that it is just a matter of time before the changes pile up enough that the treatments (and vaccines) will need to be redone.
But in particular, the protein "caps" that Rosetta/IPD does are a bit different than anything else. Who knows how they are affected?

The Telegraph has pretty good coverage, but I don't know how accessible it is. They sometimes allow free access, especially for the coronavirus.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-christmas-tier-4-boris-johnson-lockdown-london/

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I do wonder if that will mean renewed analysis back here

Good question. I get the impression that it is just a matter of time before the changes pile up enough that the treatments (and vaccines) will need to be redone.
But in particular, the protein "caps" that Rosetta/IPD does are a bit different than anything else. Who knows how they are affected?

The Telegraph has pretty good coverage, but I don't know how accessible it is. They sometimes allow free access, especially for the coronavirus.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-christmas-tier-4-boris-johnson-lockdown-london/

I happen to have a subscription - nothing additional there.

A short twitter thread here

links to an article here for better info

Someone a lot cleverer than me will have to interpret it

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The MMR vaccine offer some protection against COVID-19.

Analysis of Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Titers of Recovered COVID-19 Patients

https://mbio.asm.org/content/11/6/e02628-20

Rosetta/IPD is doing work on COVID-19, they just don't tell us here.
https://twitter.com/UWproteindesign

It is well worth our support.

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The Mystery Of India's Plummeting COVID-19 Cases

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/01/962821038/the-mystery-of-indias-plummeting-covid-19-cases

AstraZeneca Vaccines Dramatically Slows Down Coronavirus Transmission, Study Shows

https://www.thedailybeast.com/astrazeneca-vaccines-dramatically-slows-down-coronavirus-transmission-study-shows?ref=home

FDA Allows More Flexible Storage, Transportation Conditions for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Update Provides Alternative Temperature for Transportation and Temporary Storage for Frozen Vials Before Dilution

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Not quite on-topic - rather, a consequence of the success of mRNA tech vaccines

Academic Times: First vaccine to fully immunize against malaria builds on pandemic-driven RNA tech

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POZ: Scientists Are Working on mRNA Vaccines for HIV, Flu, Cancer and More

The technology used in COVID-19 vaccines may also be used to prevent other viral infections and to treat cancer and multiple sclerosis

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We've seen mention of this before - administration via a nasal spray - but now we discover it works against UK, Brazil & South African variants of CoVid19 as well as the original version
and effective when the spray is used up to 5 days before and 2 days after infection!

Biorxiv: Ultrapotent miniproteins targeting the receptor-binding domain protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease in mice

SUMMARY
Despite the introduction of public health measures and spike protein-based vaccines to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths continue to rise.
Previously, we used a structural design approach to develop picomolar range mini-proteins targeting the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain.
Here, we investigated the capacity of modified versions of one lead binder, LCB1, to protect against SARS-CoV-2-mediated lung disease in human ACE2-expressing transgenic mice.
Systemic administration of LCB1-Fc reduced viral burden, diminished immune cell infiltration and inflammation, and completely prevented lung disease and pathology.
A single intranasal dose of LCB1v1.3 reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung even when given as many as five days before or two days after virus inoculation.
Importantly, LCB1v1.3 protected in vivo against a historical strain (WA1/2020), an emerging B.1.1.7 strain, and a strain encoding key E484K and N501Y spike protein substitutions.
These data support development of LCB1v1.3 for prevention or treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Lead contact: M.S.Diamond is a consultant for Inbios, Vir Biotechnology, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, and Carnival Corporation and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Moderna and Immunome
David Baker & others

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CDC says fully vaccinated people can gather without masks, distancing

https://www.healio.com/news/primary-care/20210308/cdc-says-fully-vaccinated-people-can-gather-without-masks-distancing?utm_source=selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news&M_BT=6620114329042

Could the COVID-19 vaccines make long-haulers feel better?

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-long-haul-vaccine-symptoms-20210313.html


Are vaccines safe in patients with Long COVID? A prospective observational study

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.11.21253225v2

A great round-up of the new CV19 vaccines in development

Nature: Innovators target vaccines for variants and shortages in global South

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Penny Moore was one of the first scientists to show that a coronavirus variant identified in South Africa could dodge the immune system. So the virologist was expecting more grim news when she tested the immune responses of people who had been infected with that variant, named B.1.351. Instead, her team found a ray of hope: B.1.351 infection triggered antibodies that fended off variants old and new. “That was a surprise,” says Moore, who is based at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00722-8

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The Mystery Of India's Plummeting COVID-19 Cases

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/01/962821038/the-mystery-of-indias-plummeting-covid-19-cases

This article didn't age well...

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