Another fortnight gone, another COVID-19 round-up. Check out some of the latest news and research surrounding SARS-CoV-2.
Statistics
At the time of writing, there have been:
- 260,452,193 cases
- 5,202,433 deaths
- 235,410,873 recoveries
Research
- New research has explored the connections between COVID-19 severity and gene expression in many types of immune cells. (Schmiedel et al, 2021)
- A recent study has examined the factors associated with risk of postdischarge blood clots in COVID-19 patients. (Li et al, 2021)
- A team of researchers has discovered that exposure to harmless coronaviruses boosts SARS-CoV-2 immunity. (Abela et al, 2021)
- An optimised second-generation mRNA vaccine has demonstrated improved protection against COVID-19 in preclinical testing. (Gebre et al, 2021)
- The first real-world assessment of BBV152, a COVID-19 vaccine developed in India, has reported that two vaccine doses result in 50% effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19. (Desai et al, 2021)
- A recent genome-wide association study has identified an association between severe vaccine side effects and HLA-A*03:01. (Bolze et al, 2021)
- A same-day test has been shown to successfully identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients. (Charalampous et al, 2021)
- Researchers have developed a protein-based vaccine with custom adjuvants that can induce full protection in aged mice and can be relatively easy to manufacture. (Nanishi et al, 2021)
- A new analysis has shown that antibody levels can predict vaccine efficacy. (Gilbert et al, 2021)
- Scientists have identified coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 from two bats sampled in Cambodia more than a decade ago. (Delaune et al, 2021)
- Researchers have proposed that secondary antibodies, anti-idiotype antibodies, may mirror antigens and result in adverse effects. (Murphy and Longo, 2021)
Other news
- Researchers have reported on the fast spreading of a variant in South Africa that is heavily mutated and could pose a threat to COVID vaccines’ effectiveness. (Callaway, 2021)
- A large, long-term study of the impact of COVID-19 on children has just enrolled its first participant. (NIAID, 2021)
- Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences will lead a study assessing the long-term effects of COVID-19. (UArizona, 2021)
Image credit: canva
