Covid: trial to study effect of immune system on reinfection
The immune response needed to protect people against reinfection with the coronavirus will be explored in a new human challenge trial, researchers have revealed. Read more here
Merck’s Little Brown Pill Could Transform the Fight Against Covid
The story of what might become the next major breakthrough in Covid-19 treatment starts on a hotel hallway floor in January 2020, months before you were worried about the virus, weeks before you likely knew it existed. A scientist and a business executive were at a health-care conference in San Francisco, hatching a plan to [...]
In “Challenge Trials,” Participants Put Their Bodies on the Line
Jimmy Bernot watched with interest as the nurse carefully transferred a small amount of liquid containing dozens of hookworm larvae onto a piece of gauze, and then placed it on his wrist. Bernot couldn’t see the larvae — at just about half a millimeter long, they are all but invisible — but he could soon feel [...]
Where did COVID-19 come from?
As the U.S. marks one year since its first case, questions remain about the origin of the coronavirus that causes the disease. The answers matter. Click here to know more
Johnson & Johnson Applies For Emergency Use Authorization For COVID-19 Vaccine
A third coronavirus vaccine candidate has requested emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Johnson & Johnson submitted its application Thursday for the company's single-dose inoculation. In a statement released Thursday, the company said if emergency use is granted, it aims to supply 100 million doses in the first half of 2021. Unlike Pfizer and [...]
Around 30%’ of eligible NY medical workers refusing COVID-19 vaccine: official
Nearly a third of New York health care workers so far eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are taking a wait-and-see approach, eschewing the shots at least for the time being, city and state officials said Tuesday. Click here to read more.
Study suggests Pfizer vaccine works against virus variant
New research suggests Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can protect against a mutation found in the two more-contagious variants of the coronavirus that have erupted in Britain and South Africa. Click here to read more
Rich Countries Have ‘Bought Up’ COVID-19 Vaccine Supply, Art Caplan Says
The CEO of the world's biggest vaccine producer, Serum Institute, warns that there will not be enough COVID-19 vaccines for the global population until 2024. Medical ethicist Art Caplan spoke with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday about why richer countries are getting the COVID-19 vaccine first. "It's because the rich countries bought up the vaccine supply in advance, [...]
Love thy neighbour? Allocating vaccines in a world of competing obligations
Although a safe, effective, and licensed coronavirus vaccine does not yet exist, there is already controversy over how it ought to be allocated. Justice is clearly at stake, but it is unclear what justice requires in the international distribution of a scarce vaccine during a pandemic. Many are condemning ‘vaccine nationalism’ as an obstacle to [...]
Unsafe resistance against vaccines
The United States is awash in COVID-19: Nearly 15 million people are infected and more than 281,000 are dead. COVID-19 has now become America's leading cause of death. So the arrival of effective vaccines ought to be greeted with the kind of celebration associated with ticker tape parades. Nope. Click here to read more.