Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, more than 220 million people have been infected, and approximately 4.56 million people have lost their lives worldwide. The causative agent of the pandemic is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2…
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Older adults with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection benefit from two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
Older adults living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are at high risk of becoming infected and spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to other residents. They are also at a higher risk of developing severe infections…
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SARS-CoV-2 delta variant associated with several vaccine breakthrough cases in Houston
Scientists from the United States have recently estimated the prevalence of vaccine breakthrough cases caused by the delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Their findings reveal that about 58% of all new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)…
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How SARS-CoV-2 vaccination symptoms differ from early COVID-19 symptoms
With tens of millions of people worldwide having been infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), long-term monitoring efforts have been ongoing to pick up symptoms of long COVID-19. With the onset…
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3D assembloid shows how SARS-CoV-2 infects brain cells
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, into the human…
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New York City SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough cases predominantly Alpha and Iota variants
While Delta (B.1.617.2) has overtaken Alpha (B.1.1.7) as the dominant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant in the United States, Alpha remained a force to be reckoned with in New York City earlier this year. New research published…
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Striking increase in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seen with prime dose AstraZeneca vaccine followed by Pfizer-BioNTech
Researchers in Germany have provided evidence that a booster shot of a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine following prime immunization with AstraZeneca’s adenoviral vector-based vaccine is sufficient to achieve high levels of neutralizing antibodies against severe acute…
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Engineered T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells
Once severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) successfully enters a host cell, the virus adopts host machinery to facilitate replication and proliferation, abrogating host messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in this process. The production of interferon and interferon-stimulated genes within…
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Immune memory responses differ between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A
Researchers in Canada have shown that the long-lasting immunity that develops following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by different T cell responses than those observed for influenza A virus-specific immune memory. The SARS-CoV-2 virus…
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New article explains the pros and cons of nasal vaccines
Vaccines are mostly synonymous with needles, an efficient and effective way to provide immunity to myriad infections. As COVID-19 vaccination efforts roll out across the U.S. and the world, some experts believe that a vaccine administered through the nose could…
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