Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

In a study published July 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report on the results of the first COVID-19 vaccine to be tested in people. The trial, which involved 45 healthy volunteers, was designed to test the safety of the vaccine, but results offer early hints of its effectiveness.

Moderna Therapeutics, the Mass.-based biotech firm that developed the vaccine along with researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, first reported the results in a press release on May 18. The NEJM paper formally describes those results.

The 45 participants, aged 18 to 55 years, were enrolled at either the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle or at Emory University in Atlanta; the first volunteer was vaccinated on March 16, just two months after the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was published. All of the volunteers received one of three levels of doses of the vaccine, which were given in two injections about a month apart.

There were no serious side effects associated with the vaccine at any of the dosing levels, though more than half of the study participants who received the vaccine experienced minor events including fatigue, headache, chills, and pain at the injection site. All of the participants produced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. And when researchers tested these antibodies against a lab version of SARS-CoV-2, they found these antibodies neutralized the virus as effectively as antibodies taken from people who were naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 and recovered. They also tested the antibodies taken from a smaller group of study participants against actual samples of SARS-CoV-2 and found their ability to neutralize virus was at least equivalent to that found in people who had recovered from infection.

In both cases, the responses were stronger after the second shot, which experts expected. We saw robust responses after the second vaccination, says Dr. Lisa Jackson, lead author of the NEJM study. It seems that two doses are needed, which is what is expected from this type of vaccine and from a vaccine against an emerging virus that hasnt been present in the population. The immune system needs to be set up by the first dose to then respond more vigorously to the second one.

The preventative treatment relies on a new technology that hasnt yet yielded an approved vaccine for an infectious disease. Using mRNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the shot uses the bodys own cells to mimic the process of a natural infection, by producing viral proteins that are recognized by the immune system.

How long the vaccine-induced immune response lasts to protect against COVID-19 isnt clear yet; the 45 participants in this study will be monitored for a year to find out. In the meanwhile, Moderna is already planning for its phase 2 study of the vaccine, which will include 300 peoplehalf placed in a placebo group. The study will continue to evaluate safety and efficacy of the vaccine, as well as narrow down the right dose for the final phase of testing. Given the urgent need for a vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also already authorized that phase 3 study involving 30,000 people, which will also compare the efficacy of the actual vaccine against a placebo.

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Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine Looks Promising In First ...

Social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing are all important steps we should all be taking to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Its clear at this point that the US decided to reopen far too soon, and many states are now seeing record numbers of new cases piling up fast. A vaccine could turn the tide, but as weve known all along, developing such treatment takes time.

David Rach, who was one of the first people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine trial. It was administered by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Rachs status has been monitored along the way, with the hopes that the vaccine can bolster his bodys immune system with antibodies that fight off the virus preemptively. Now, Pfizer, which developed the vaccine, says it appears to be working, at least for now.

Rach spoke with WJLA and revealed that, in a recent Pfizer update, the company says the vaccine is producing antibodies in the volunteers bodies in a similar way to those who were actually infected with the coronavirus.

Its exciting from the side of a participant and graduate student studying immunology and also exciting in the promise of a vaccine by next year and life returning to a semblance of normal, Rach said. I found out when Pfizer put out the announcement and my friends started pinging me on Facebook, Oh your picture is in the news again! and Im like wait what happened? There is a component of relief seeing that its actually producing results, that the vaccine is producing antibodies.

Its important to note that while Rach was the first participant, hes not the only one involved in the trial, and since the structure of the trial is double-blind, Rach doesnt know whether or not he was given the vaccine or a placebo. Nevertheless, Pfizer says that the trial itself is showing results, so if Rach received the vaccine he thinks he did, based on a reaction he had to the second shot he may be one of the first people on the planet to have immunity against COVID-19 without first being infected.

At the moment, theres still no reason to believe that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready for wide distribution prior to early 2021. Trials for vaccines take significant time to complete, even when its being fast-tracked by the FDA, so wear your mask until we can be sure were not all making the pandemic even worse.

Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones, and future tech. Most recently, Mike served as Tech Editor at The Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other web and print outlets. His love ofreporting is second only to his gaming addiction.

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The first coronavirus vaccine recipient just broke his ...

When will a COVID-19 vaccine be available? How effective will it be? Those are two of the most pressing questions being asked by many with the number of COVID-19 cases rising in much of the U.S.

Unfortunately, the questions can't be answered yet with a high level of confidence. But there are 23 COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in clinical testing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The progress of these candidates can at least provide a clue as to when a COVID-19 vaccine might be available. Here are those vaccine candidates and how likely they could be to win regulatory approval.

Image source: Getty Images.

The field of early stage COVID-19 vaccine candidates is crowded. Of the 23 COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in clinical testing, 18 are in phase 1 studies:

Vaccine Candidate

Status

BNT162

(Four candidates)

Data sources: WHO, ClinicalTrials.gov, company press releases.

BioNTech and Pfizer reported positive results on July 1 for BNT162b1, one of four candidates in development. The FDA recently granted Fast Track designation to two of those candidates, which paves the way for an expedited review process.

Novavax has attracted a lot of attention for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate as well. Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government's program to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development, selected NVX-CoV2373 to receive $1.6 billion in funding.

What are the chances of FDA approval for a vaccine candidate in phase 1 testing? Very low, at least based on historical data. Only 16% of experimental vaccines in early stage studies between 2006 and 2015 ultimately won FDA approval, based on an analysis conducted by biopharmaceutical industry trade organization BIO.

Two Chinese drugmakers are currently evaluating COVID-19 vaccine candidates in phase 2 clinical studies:

Vaccine Candidate

Status

Data sources: WHO, ClinicalTrials.gov, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, company press releases.

The Chinese military is already using Cansino's experimental Ad5-nCoV vaccine under a one-year special permission granted by China's Central Military Commission. The vaccine candidate isn't approved for use outside of military personnel at this time, though.

Neither of these two COVID-19 vaccine candidates is being tested in the U.S. at this point. The odds an experimental vaccine in a phase 2 clinical trial will eventually win FDA approval is low, based on BIO's historical data -- less than 25%.

There are three leaders in the COVID-19 vaccine race based on the clinical progression of their respective candidates. Each of these companies' COVID-19 vaccine candidates is either in phase 3 clinical studies or soon will be.

Vaccine Candidate

Status

Data sources: WHO, ClinicalTrials.gov, company press releases.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine program has received the most publicity in the U.S. The biotech recently announced the publication of results from a phase 1 study of mRNA-1273 in The New England Journal of Medicine. Those results showed that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate produced neutralizing antibodies (which can prevent viral infection) in all 45 participants in the study.

It's not surprising that Moderna ranks as a big winner among biotech stocks in 2020. So far this year, Moderna's shares are up well over 300%.

Chinese drugmaker Sinovac reported in June that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate CoronaVac produced neutralizing antibodies in over 90% of patients in a phase 1/2 clinical study. Results from a phase 1 study of AZD1222, the COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, are expected to be published on July 20 in The Lancet medical journal.

It's still too soon to know whether any of these vaccine candidates will be successful in late-stage testing. However, 74% of experimental vaccines that made it to phase 3 clinical trials between 2006 and 2015 went on to win FDA approval, according to BIO.

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Here Are All the COVID-19 Vaccines Currently in Clinical Testing - Motley Fool

A recent military study shows military personnel evaluated who received the flu vaccine were at 36 percent increased risk for coronavirus with varied benefit in preventing some strains of the flu.

Examining noninfluenza viruses specifically, the odds of both coronavirus and human metapneumovirus in vaccinated individuals were significantly higher when compared to unvaccinated individuals (OR = 1.36 and 1.51, respectively) (Table 5).

The flu vaccine studied demonstrated varied benefit in flu prevention some strains showed significant benefit while others did not.

Titled, Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of Defense personnel during the 20172018 influenza season, the report on the study addresses the phenomena of vaccine virus interference of the influenza vaccine.

Paraphrasing, the study highlights the value of the human bodys ability to fight against viruses. Apparently, by contracting influenza, the body naturally may reduce the risk of non-influenza respiratory viruses

Due to the flu vaccines interference with the naturally occurring biological process, there may be an increased risk of contracting non-influenza viruses:

While influenza vaccination offers protection against influenza, natural influenza infection may reduce the risk of non-influenza respiratory viruses by providing temporary, non-specific immunity against these viruses. On the other hand, recently published studies have described the phenomenon of vaccine-associated virus interference; that is, vaccinated individuals may be at increased risk for other respiratory viruses because they do not receive the non-specific immunity associated with natural infection.

I started digging into this topic on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) advice two weeks ago when I noticed the agencys top advice about coronavirus was to get a flu shot.

This advice seemed a bit too simplistic when given to a population of largely elderly veterans with significant disabilities, vaccine histories, and exposures to various pathogens worldwide.

After writing about it, one reader sent an email citing this study in PubMed.

I was later provided a copy of the full study and reviewed it with an expert to verify my own conclusions based on the information in that report.

Now, the feedback I received that really caught my attention was mainly in a question: Is the heightened risk of coronavirus and other pathogens worth the benefit of the influenza vaccine based on this study as broken down in Table 5 above?

The column to focus on is OR in Table 5.

Coronavirus is 1.36 meaning 36% higher risk.

The influenza virus overall is 0.57 meaning the risk of contracting the flu was reduced overall. Three variants of flu did not receive a statistically significant reduction in risk.

Three of 8 evaluations noted a statistically insignificant benefit for the flu shot. Meanwhile, shot takers were at increased risk for coronavirus of 36%. I would bet $1 that this year, many Americans would likely rethink taking the vaccine with that bit of information.

If VA has this information, and they likely do, should the agency be required to share this increased risk factor with individuals considering the shot?

The study, published in the scientific journal Vaccine January 2020, was conducted by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch Air Force Satellite at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.

Taken at face value, the study indicates people who receive the flu vaccine are at increased risk for coronavirus pre-COVID-19. Like veterans, current service members, school teachers, and medical professionals, the study population consisted of a population with a history of being heavily vaccinated.

The DoD provides a unique population for vaccination studies as mandatory vaccination against influenza is required by the DoD for all Active Duty and Reserve Component personnel. This study aims to examine the relationship between specific respiratory viruses and influenza vaccination. The protocol for this study was reviewed and approved as exempt by the Air Force Research Laboratory Institutional Review Board.

Will veterans who contract the coronavirus after receipt of the flu vaccine based on VAs top recommendation be eligible for 1151 claims for malpractice?

How will the US Court of Claims Vaccine Court handle an influx of US citizens injured by contracting the coronavirus due to the significant risk in the study?

Given that this report was published by DOD researchers in a scientific journal, why is VA telling veterans to get the influenza vaccine?

What is the motive behind their advice?

Veterans, and many disabled veterans, may be at higher risk of contracting coronavirus based on vaccine history alone. That is especially true for veterans who took the flu vaccine at the encouragement of VA doctors.

Who stands to gain with the current recommendation?

There are winners and losers with each of these decisions. The virus itself appears to more severely impact the elderly, of which the veteran population has many.

How about Vietnam veterans exposed to toxic herbicides?

This virus is basically a death sentence for our poorly treated disabled Vietnam veterans who rely on VA to provide safe and effective medical care for their diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc.

I encourage all readers to do your own research. Ask your VA medical doctor about this study and whether they agree with the blanket recommendation of the agency to get a flu shot to get ahead of coronavirus.

Is this solid medical advice?

For those interested, the studys data came from the Department of Defense Global Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance Program (DoDGRS) is a DoD-wide program established by the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS).

The individuals included in the study provided respiratory specimens to the DoDGRS for 2017-2018 influenza season. Individuals who were sick prior to receipt of the flu vaccine were excluded from the study:

All people submitting a respiratory specimen to the DoDGRS for the 20172018 influenza season were eligible for the study. The influenza season began 1 October 2017 and ended 29 September 2018. Those who submitted a sample and only tested positive for Chlamydia pneumoniae and/or Mycoplasma pneumoniae were excluded because these illnesses are bacteriological in nature, not viral. People with influenza and non-influenza coinfections were excluded because they could not be uniquely classified as either influenza or non-influenza respiratory virus. Individuals with multiple specimens collected during the season were also removed from the study as they could have had multiple different viruses over the season. Specimens where neither vaccination status could be obtained via databases nor a questionnaire was completed were excluded because vaccination status could not be confirmed. Subjects who were ill before receiving vaccination were excluded as vaccination status would therefore be unrelated to illness. Lastly, those people for whom the laboratory rejected the specimen were not included in the final study population.

From what I can tell, the odds of being exposed in the US are high. The death rate if you get sick is high enough to warrant concern.

Wouldnt it be nice to get good advice from the socialized healthcare system managed by the VA that is supposed to provide us with care?

For some non-US centric news about the virus, I wanted to include a YouTube video of 60 Minutes Australia about their perspective on the disease.

Now, this video pushes the narrative that the disease originated from the wet markets in Wuhan that also happened to be located near the level 4 biological laboratory studying the virus. I do not believe we know enough to confirm whether the origin is from such markets or manmade.

I am personally not getting the flu shot and do not plan on taking any vaccines moving forward beyond what I was forced to take in the military due to vaccine injury.

What are your thoughts? Getting the flu shot to get ahead?

UPDATE 3/19/2020: According to the chief medical officer for England, cited by news media publisher Mirror, Britons who received the influenza vaccine for this flu season were cautioned to self-isolate for 12 weeks as they fall into the governments high risk category.

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Flu Vaccine Increases Coronavirus Risk 36% Says Military Study

We're making coronavirus coverage available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider joining others in supporting local journalism in Alaska for just $3.23 a week.

The state of Alaska reported 119 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday, the most statewide cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic.

No new deaths or hospitalizations were reported. There were 82 resident and 37 non-resident cases, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services coronavirus response site.

Thirty-six of the 37 non-resident cases were found in Unalaska and one in Juneau.

In Alaska residents, there were 36 cases in Anchorage, 10 in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area, nine in Fairbanks, seven in Wasilla, four each in Eagle River and Juneau, three in Soldotna, two in Homer and one each in Nikiski, Seward, Palmer, Sutton-Alpine, Ketchikan, a community marked as other in the Southeast Fairbanks census area and a community labeled as other in the Nome census area.

Six seafood workers in Unalaska aboard the American Triumph, an American Seafoods vessel, tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, after which all of the remaining 119 crewmembers were tested, the company wrote in a statement. It was not immediately clear if the spike in cases Sunday was tied to the outbreak on the vessel. There are now 48 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Unalaska.

The City and Borough of Juneau announced Sunday that 26 seafood workers tested positive for COVID-19. The results were not included in the states Sunday count because the test results were processed on Sunday, making them too late to include in the states full count of Saturday cases.

Nine employees at Juneaus Alaska Glacier Seafoods tested positive for the virus last week, the city said in an online statement. The cases stemmed from one employee who had contracted COVID-19 through community spread. The remaining 113 employees were then tested for the virus and about 23% were positive. The infected individuals are isolating, the city said. It was not immediately clear how many of them are non-residents.

There have been 2,277 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska since the beginning of the pandemic. Eighteen Alaskans who contracted the virus have died, including an Anchorage woman in her mid-50s whose death was reported Saturday. She had pre-existing health conditions, DHSS said in an online statement.

There are 1,427 active COVID-19 cases in Alaska and 832 people have recovered from the virus.

Currently, there are 27 people in the hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 or are suspected to have contracted it and are awaiting test results, according to the state of Alaska. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 99 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide.

The number of cases across the state has been steadily rising in previous weeks. Sunday marks the second time the state has seen over 100 cases in a single day. The previous daily high case count was reported last Sunday, with 116 cases on July 12.

As cases have risen during the last few weeks, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz noted that restrictions may be placed on the city again out of concern that the rising case numbers could overwhelm local hospitals. There were a record number of new cases in Anchorage reported last week, with 231 new cases and nearly twice as many nonresident infections as reported during the previous week.

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State reports 119 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily number yet in Alaska - Anchorage Daily News

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 19,2020, there have been 229,368 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 4,983 total cases and 100 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (25/0), Berkeley (547/19), Boone(57/0), Braxton (7/0), Brooke (39/1), Cabell (221/7), Calhoun (5/0), Clay(15/0), Fayette (100/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant (21/1), Greenbrier (76/0),Hampshire (48/0), Hancock (55/4), Hardy (48/1), Harrison (137/1), Jackson(149/0), Jefferson (267/5), Kanawha (509/12), Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (20/0),Logan (43/0), Marion (132/3), Marshall (80/1), Mason (26/0), McDowell (12/0),Mercer (72/0), Mineral (71/2), Mingo (51/2), Monongalia (712/15), Monroe(16/1), Morgan (20/1), Nicholas (19/1), Ohio (177/0), Pendleton (19/1), Pleasants(4/1), Pocahontas (37/1), Preston (90/25), Putnam (111/1), Raleigh (92/3),Randolph (196/2), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (12/0), Summers (2/0), Taylor (29/1),Tucker (7/0), Tyler (10/0), Upshur (31/2), Wayne (149/2), Webster (2/0), Wetzel(40/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (195/10), Wyoming (7/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Cabell,Fayette, Lincoln, Mason, Nicholas, and Summers counties in this report.

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 7-19-2020 - 10 AM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Written by Abhishek De | New Delhi | Updated: July 19, 2020 9:32:54 pm Coronavirus (Covid-19) Symptoms, Treatment: A health worker speaks with a child at an isolation center for Covid-19 at CWG in New Delhi

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Symptoms, Treatment: What began with a handful of infections in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, has now spread to over 216 countries, with cases of the novel coronavirus infection crossing 14 million worldwide, including more than 6 lakh deaths.

While initially animal-to-person spread of the disease was suspected, by January, person-to-person spread of the virus was reported around the world. In the first week of March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic, triggering unprecedented national lockdowns, upending economies and stretching healthcare systems to the brink.

However, even after seven months, scientists are still to come to a conclusion on the source of the virus, how the disease is transmitted, why some cases are more severe than others and whether people who have recovered from Covid-19 can get it again.

Till now, 12 symptoms of the virus have been identified by the US health protection agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last month, the agency included congestion or runny nose, nausea, and diarrhea as possible indicators of the infection.

The list already included fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell and sore throat. They may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.

Recently, in several countries, including India, children have often shown some symptoms associated with a rare illness called Kawasaki disease about 2-3 weeks after getting infected with coronavirus. These symptoms include rashes and inflammation. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) termed this new illness as multi system inflammatory disorder.

The WHO recently updated its brief on Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19 and formally acknowledged evidence emerging of the airborne spread of the novel coronavirus. In the brief, the WHO has formally acknowledged the possibility that the novel coronavirus can remain in the air in crowded indoor spaces, where short-range aerosol transmission cannot be ruled out.

However, the WHO still maintains that transmission through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings is still understood to be the primary mode of transmission of the virus.

It also mentions another type of transmission called fomite transmission. It refers to transmission through infected surfaces such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, handrails, phones, switches, pens, keyboards and, if not disinfected, even a doctors stethoscope.

Researchers across the world are studying whether antibodies developed by the body in response to the virus can provide permanent immunity. A new study by Kings College London has found that those recovering from Covid-19 may have antibodies for only a few months.

Upon analysing the immune response of more than 90 people, the researchers found that antibody levels peaked about three weeks after the onset of symptoms and then started declining. Thus, the findings suggest that people can become reinfected just like the common cold and other kinds of flu.

Meanwhile, Dr Randeep Guleria, director of AIIMS and one of the experts leading the countrys novel coronavirus disease response, has also said cell-mediated immunity, an immune response that does not involve antibodies, may also be protecting the body.

While initially Covid-19 was thought to be just a respiratory infection, patients were now suffering from strokes and neurological disorders, including inflammation, psychosis and delirium, and some have also complained of weakness after weeks.

Lung damage, known as lung fibrosis, and blood clots in the pulmonary artery Pulmonary Thrombo Embolism or PTE have also been seen in persons who have recovered from very severe cases of the disease. A study by University College London researchers revealed 43 patients who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects.

Besides, Dr Guleria also said medical examination of patients with severe illness showed that even months after recovery, their lungs continued to be in bad shape, and they required oxygen at home.

According to the World Health Organisation, there is no evidence so far that pets or animals can transmit the disease to humans even though several dogs and cats in contact with infected humans have tested positive for Covid-19.

It has been found that ferrets appear to be susceptible to the infection and it has been found that both cats and ferrets were able to transmit Covid-19 to other animals of the same species.

Recently, minks raised in farms have also been detected with the virus. In a few instances, the minks that were infected by humans have transmitted the virus to other people. These are the first reported cases of animal-to-human transmission.

To date, there are no specific vaccines or medicines to prevent Covid-19 and the drugs being used only help reduce the viral load. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency-use authorisation for antiviral drug remdesivir while the UK government has approved the use of a low-cost, widely used steroid dexamethasone.

India has also authorised off-label use of immuno-suppressant drug tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy on specific groups of patients apart from oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Moreover, India has also been using hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic drug.

Besides, India is also using Favipiravir for Covid-19 treatment. Last month, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launched the drug under the brand name FabiFlu, making it the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of Covid-19.

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What we know of Covid-19 now: Updated symptoms, modes of transmission, immunity and complications - The Indian Express

How is the world going to go back to the days when we could grab a coffee, see a movie, or attend a concert or footy game with anyone? Opinion suggests there are two options: an effective vaccine, or herd immunity via at least 60%-80% of people becoming infected. Either one of these options requires that people become immune to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

An important new study released online this week could have a large bearing on how our future looks in 2021 and beyond.

It suggests our immunity to SARS-CoV-2 does not last very long at all as little as two months for some people. If this is the case, it means a potential vaccine might require regular boosters, and herd immunity might not be viable at all.

Antibodies are an important part of our immune system that mainly work by physically binding to virus particles and stopping them infecting cells. They can attach to infected cells to induce cell death in some cases.

We also have T cells, another part of the immune system that is much better at recognising and killing virus-infected cells. But for Covid-19, antibodies are important in the lungs because T cells arent good at getting to airways where the virus first invades.

The newly-released research, from Katie Doores and her team at Kings College London, looked at how long the antibody response lasted in people who had Covid-19. It has been submitted to a journal but hasnt been peer-reviewed, so it must be treated with some caution.

Of the 65 patients studied, 63 produced antibody responses. The important measurements in the study relate to how good the response is. This is measured in the lab by putting patients blood serum together with infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus and seeing whether the virus can infect cells in a lab dish. This is called a neutralisation assay, and here the results were good. Around 60% of people produced a very potent neutralisation response that stopped virus growing in the lab cells.

Finally, the researchers measured how long the antibody response lasted. This is the most important data. Unfortunately, antibodies levels began falling after day 20 and only 17% of patients retained a potent level at day 57. Some patients completely lost their antibodies after two months.

This suggests our immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may be lost much faster than we might have hoped, and people might thereafter be susceptible to reinfection with the virus.

It therefore follows that Covid-19 vaccines may not be as effective as we hope. The fact antibody levels reduce over time is normal, but this typically happens much more slowly. Antibody responses against the mumps, measles and chickenpox viruses last for more than 50 years. A tetanus vaccination wanes more quickly but still lasts five to 10 years before a booster is needed.

So why is this happening? It comes down to the nature of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus itself. The four normal strains of coronaviruses that cause common colds in humans also fail to prompt a long-lasting immune response, with most people losing antibodies completely after six to 12 months. Coronaviruses in general seems to be particularly good at not being well recognised by our immune system. Indeed, a feature of common cold coronaviruses is that people get reinfected by them all the time.

SARS, another coronavirus which caused a pandemic in 2003, seems to produce a slightly longer antibody response, lasting up to three years. Its still a long way short of a lifetime, but it perhaps helps explain why the virus disappeared in 2003.

So herd immunity may not be the solution some think. This is because if immunity is short-lived, we will be in an ongoing cycle of endless reinfection. For herd immunity to be effective we need a high percentage perhaps more than 60% of people to be immune at any one time to disrupt chains of transmission. This cant happen if a lot of reinfection is occurring.

The hope is vaccines will give much stronger and longer lasting immune responses to the virus than getting and recovering from Covid-19 itself. Indeed, the first vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Moderna, reported in early July, show very strong immune responses.

However, these studies only reported out to 14 and 57 days, respectively, after vaccinations were completed. They dont tell us whether there is a long-lived response that we would need for a vaccine to be truly protective. Phase 3 trials designed to measure this are due to report in December 2020, so watch this space.

While we wait, we should reflect on the fact that although the results of the Kings College study are in one sense disappointing news, this knowledge adds to the truly remarkable scientific progress we have made in understanding a virus that only emerged in December 2019.

Nigel McMillan, Program Director, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

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Will a vaccine and herd immunity really end the coronavirus pandemic? - Scroll.in

As state and local governments move through phased re-openings amid Covid-19, with resurgences in some states, many organizations are trying to decide how best to responsibly return employees. The reality for all employers is that we cannot return to what was before, and a thoughtful, phased approach will be needed. This is probably the case for at least another year or more until our country achieves the gold standard of herd immunity from widespread access to an effective vaccine or exposure.

As a physician, Ive been wrestling with how to judiciously return our own CVS Health colleagues and protect our frontline professionals through a clinically-driven approach that aligns and evolves in step with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I know firsthand that other business leaders are concerned with the same, and thats why we recently launched a solution, with Covid-19 testing at its core, to help organizations return to and maintain worksites.

Without an effective vaccine or treatment, widespread Covid-19 testing is the next best tool for organizations working to responsibly reopen. This is especially important as the CDC has suggested that up to 40 percent of those with Covid-19 could unknowingly spread the virus before they experience symptoms. Testing helps organizations support effective population health surveillance, facilitate contact tracing and ultimately help reduce the virus R0 or reproduction number. But, organizations are asking: Who to test? How? Where? When?

Because every organization has specific population health management needs, flexibility is key. That is why our medical affairs team mapped out clinical protocols, based on the latest science and technology, and aligned with CDC guidance for viral testing, to help guide our own and other organizations. The first crucial step is segmenting an onsite population into clinical cohorts, which become the foundation for guidance and protocols for testing and containing COVID-19. They include:

Based on these cohorts, we can guide on how and where these populations should be tested, which could include either point-of-care testing with rapid results or third-party lab-processed testing with results in a few days, and in addition, organizations should have the flexibility to determine where testing takes place, either onsite or in the community. That flexibility is critical, as no two organizations are alike and its clear that a one-size-fits all solution will not work. Further, testing is just one component. Organizations should also consider implementing symptom checking and temperature screening, among other protocols.

For CVS Health, helping employers and universities is our next big area of focus as we continue to increase access to widespread Covid-19 testing, which started first in the community and for vulnerable populations most impacted by the virus. Now more than ever, its incumbent on us to use our vast presence in communities across the country to support organizations and the economy.

Photo: KaanC, Getty Images

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Responsibly reopening in the Era of Covid-19: A Perspective from CVS Caremark's CMO - MedCity News

Six new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Manitoba on Sunday, including more inHutterite colonies.

The update brings the total number of cases identified in the province to 343, the Manitoba government said on Twitter.

Eighteen of those cases were announced this week,after the province went 13 days without reporting a new case of the illness.

Public health officials confirmed seven of Manitoba's most recent COVID-19 cases have been on at least two Hutterite colonies, includingfive new caseson acolony in the Interlake-Eastern Health region announced on Friday.

But according to Mark Waldner of the Hutterian Safety Council's COVID-19 task force, there are more.

"We believe there's a few additional cases among our communities," he told CBC News on Sunday.

Waldnercouldn't provide details or say how many of the new cases are from Hutterite colonies until he has exact numbers.

He said overall, Hutterites in Manitoba are worried, but are working hard to prevent the spread.

Manyare restricting all travel in and out of colonies, a number of people are going into voluntary self-isolation and communities are ramping up their sanitization procedures.

"Everybody is a bit anxious there's no doubt about it, but people are coping. We've got to get through this and we will. Hopefully in a couple of weeks just be history and a story that we can tell."

He added as soon as communities learned of the cases, they began their owncontact tracing procedures,leading to droves of community members going to get tested.

Waldner said overall he's been amazed at the widespread response across Manitoba, but he's also worried about drawing negative attention to the community.

"I think there's a bit of concern that the spotlight may shine on us as a minority group We've heard of cases in other jurisdictions where visible minorities have been targeted somewhat and we don't want to go there," he said.

"We're hoping that we do the right thing and everybody does the right thing and recognizes that this virus has no boundaries."

As of Friday, there was no one in hospital in Manitoba with the illness caused by the new coronavirus. In total, seven people who contracted COVID-19 had died in the province and 318 had recovered.

There had been73,885 COVID-19 tests done in Manitoba to date as of Friday. Meanwhile, the province's five-day test positivity rate a rolling average of the percentage of completed tests that came back as positive was 0.43 per cent.

On Friday evening, Manitoba Health officials saidsomeone with COVID-19 visited four Winnipeg locations and one location in Brandon while symptomatic onthree days last week.

Numbers on testing, recoveries and active cases will be updated again on Monday.

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6 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Manitoba, including more in Hutterite colonies - CBC.ca