Tag Archives: Coronavirus insights

Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin The COVID vaccines are working. Data from Israel and Scotland shows that they are protecting people and may also be decreasing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If it all holds up, people will be protected from severe disease, the amount of virus will progressively decrease, and we can truly plan for a way out …

Rob Reddick, The Conversation Updated versions of already authorised COVID-19 vaccines, tweaked to deal with new variants of the coronavirus, will not have to go through a lengthy testing and approval process, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has said. The announcement follows a week in which UK authorities have desperately tried to contain the spread of P1, …

Sarah Pitt, University of Brighton When the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was first authorised by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, it was hailed as a milestone in turning the tide on the coronavirus. But in the time since, this highly efficacious vaccine has suffered a lot of reputational damage. In January, the German press and French president Emmanuel Macron …

Sharon Peacock, University of Cambridge A coronavirus variant called B1525 has become one of the most recent additions to the global variant watch list and has been included in the list of variants under investigation by Public Health England. Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on this variant because it has several mutations in the gene that makes the spike …

Do genetic differences make some people more susceptible to COVID-19? males_design/Shutterstock Vikki Rand, Teesside University and Maria O’Hanlon, Teesside University Coronavirus affects people differently – some infected develop life-threatening disease, while others remain asymptomatic. And a year aftere COVID-19 emerged, it’s still unclear why. To try and answer this question, researchers have started looking at the genetics of people who …

Iurii Stepanov/Shutterstock Grace C Roberts, Queen’s University Belfast Over 16 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. The government is now expanding the vaccine rollout to more people, including those who are “clinically vulnerable”. But millions of people with asthma will not be in this priority group, which may sound surprising, given …

Zania Stamataki, University of Birmingham South Africa has temporarily halted its rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after a preliminary study (not yet released or reviewed by other scientists) found it provided limited protection against the South African coronavirus variant for mild and moderate cases of COVID-19. The variant, which has been found worldwide, has presented challenges for all the available …

simplystocker/Shutterstock Margaret Rayman, University of Surrey and Philip C Calder, University of Southampton If we’re going to rely on COVID-19 vaccines to bring an end to the pandemic, we need to maximise their effects. But one thing that risks undermining their protectiveness is nutritional deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Older people have weaker immune responses and are known to respond …

Rob Reddick, The Conversation As vaccine programmes gather pace worldwide, attention continues to focus on both viral mutations and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – sometimes simultaneously. South Africa has temporarily halted the vaccine’s rollout. This is because a preliminary study (yet to be released or reviewed by other scientists) suggests that the vaccine provides limited protection against mild to moderate cases …

Lightspring/Shutterstock Christian Yates, University of Bath When I was asked to calculate the total volume of SARS-CoV-2 in the world for the BBC Radio 4 show More or Less, I will admit I had no idea what the answer would be. My wife suggested it would be the size of an Olympic swimming pool. “Either that or a teaspoon,” she …