mRNA Vaccine Booster Shots Likely Required Within Six Months To Protect Against Covid-19 Variants
The majority of new infections in the US, Europe, and most other countries are now driven by variants. Until recently, the B.1.1.7 variant was the most dominant strain in the UK and throughout Europe and is prevalent in the United States as …
Vaccines Vs Variants: Three Studies Provide New Insight
Two new studies have shown the real-world effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rollout against two deadly Covid variants, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351. The news is decidedly positive, especially when considered alongside data from a third study, released today, on the effectiveness of a …
New Antiviral Drug Cocktail Could Help India Control Brutal Covid-19 Surge
As a brutal second wave of Covid-19 infections rages on in India, more and more states are reporting critical shortages of ventilators and vaccines. The relative scarcity of these provisions means they’ll be difficult to wrangle in time to staunch further suffering …
The Recent Rise of Indian Covid-19 Cases Display The Dangers Of SARS-CoV-2 Variants
In mere weeks, the second wave of Covid-19 to hit India has gone from bad to worse. At the beginning of March, seven-day averages in India were around 15,000 cases per day. By late April, the rate reached almost 300,000. Today, infection …
An Indian SARS-CoV-2 Variant Lands In California. More Danger Ahead?
Yet another variant of SARS-CoV-2 has arrived on our shores from afar. A recent survey of the viral sequences infecting Californians turned up six independent isolates of a variant that is now circulating widely in India. Over the past two months, infection …
Covid-19 Cases Are Rising Again Globally
Random variation is an essential component of all living things. It drives diversity, and it is why there are so many different species. Viruses are no exception. Most viruses are experts at changing genomes to adapt to their environment. We now have …
Will Population (Herd) Immunity To Covid-19 Be Permanent Or Seasonal?
In just three weeks, the number of Covid-19 cases in the United States has plummeted by 35 percent. Death rates have yet to follow suit, but they have leveled out, with hospitalization rates on the decline, too. Given that the vaccine rollout is …
Understanding Vaccine Effectiveness
There has been a flurry of press releases on vaccine effectiveness. There is a risk of misunderstanding these numbers by lay people. Multiple factors influence the risk of developing Covid-19 illness. These include innate immunity (first defense response when body is exposed …
One Tenth Of Americans Infected By Covid-19 Are Children
Children aren’t as likely to become severely ill from Covid-19 as adults, and for this reason their ability to contract and transmit infection is often downplayed or unrecognized. But according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than …
The COVID Commentaries: A Chronicle of a Plague —Volume I-V
Nearly a year and a half from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world is still struggling to contain this viral threat. Will the 2021 surge in new cases continue throughout the year? What effect will our vaccines have? Will …