Researchers at Southern Illinois University have reported a new variant of SARS COV-2 Virus in the USA.
According to reports published on preprint server which is yet to be peer-reviewed, researchers have identified a new variant using genomic virus surveillance approach.
Referred as 20C-US, this variant...
Interim data from the phase III clinical trial of Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine show the vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 caused due to SARS-CoV-2 virus and offers a high level of protection against the disease.
The phase III trial tested two...
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the regulator of all medicines and medical devices in the UK has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine after meeting the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards for use in the UK (1).
This is the...
A bill H.R.2316 - Fire Fauci Act1 has been introduced into the US Senate to reduce Dr. Anthony Fauci salary along with audit for his correspondence and financial statements linked to COVID-19 outbreak. During the initial days of COVID-19 outbreak, in March...
Findings from recently concluded phase 2 clinical trials in Canada and the UK suggest nitric oxide (NO) could be very helpful in preventing and treating COVID-19.
Nitric oxide NO, (not to be confused with nitrous oxide N2O used as anaesthetic in clinical...
A biotech firm, Moderna, Inc. has announced that ‘mRNA-1273’, their mRNA vaccine against novel coronavirus has shown positive results in the phase 1 clinical trials
In the race for the development of vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19, Moderna Inc.,...
A recent study suggests increased risk of formation of coronavirus hotspots caused due to deforestation and livestock revolution leading to zoonotic transmission of coronavirus from bats to humans. The study seems to sow enough subliminal seeds in the minds...
There has been a rapid increase in the delta variant of SARS CoV-2 in France in June 2021 based on the analysis of 5061 positive samples1. The next few weeks are very crucial with respect to the emergence of the third...
A recent study suggests that single dose of Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 provide protection against the new variants among individuals with prior infection.
The massive immunisation programme against the pandemic COVID-19 is currently underway. Simultaneously, there are reports of emergence of new variants...
The Lambda variant (lineage C.37) of SARS-CoV-2 was identified in Southern Brazil. This was found to have high prevalence in some south America. In view of high rates of transmissibility across south America, this variant was declared to be a variant...
The recently completed UK-wide, ISARIC Study on analysis of 16749 patients with severe COVID-19 disease across 166 hospitals indicated that those with co-morbidity were at much higher risks while those with no significant comorbidity come out alive suggesting people...
MHRA, UK regulator has issued an advisory against the use of AstraZeneca vaccine as it has been shown to induce the formation of blood clots along with thrombocytopenia in rare cases (4 events in a million). However, in people...
Molnupiravir, the world’s first oral drug (approved by MHRA, UK) against COVID-19 along with upcoming drugs such as Paxlovid and sustained vaccination drive has raised hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic may end soon bringing life back to normalcy. Molnupiravir (Lagevrio) is a broad-spectrum...
Single dose of the vaccine can increase vaccine coverage rapidly which is an imperative in many countries where level of vaccine uptake is not optimal.
WHO has updated its interim recommendations1 on the use of the Janssen Ad26.COV2.S (COVID-19).
One-dose schedule of...
The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24th November 2021. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9th November 20211. Another source2 indicates that this variant was first detected in samples collected on...
WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) was convened on 26th November 2021 to assess the variant B.1.1.529. Based on the available evidences, the group of experts has advised WHO that this variant should be designated as a Variant...
The technology used by Cuba to develop protein-based vaccines against COVID-19 can lead to development of vaccines against new mutated strains in a relatively easier manner. World’s first protein conjugate vaccines have been developed by exploiting the RBD (receptor binding...
Europe is reeling with an unusually high number of COVID 19 cases for the past few weeks and this can be attributed to the highly transmissible delta variant along with relaxation in COVID norms with respect to wearing of...
One of unusual and most intriguing feature of heavily mutated Omicron variant is that it acquired all the mutations in a single burst in a very short span of time. The degree of change is so much so that some...
Resistance to COVID-19 infection has been observed in health care workers and has been attributed to the presence of memory T cells that target the RNA polymerase in the RTC (replication transcription complex), thereby preventing infection. This makes RNA...
COVID-19 situation across Europe and central Asia is very serious. According to WHO, Europe could face over 2 million COVID-19 deaths by March 2022. Wearing masks, physical distancing and vaccination are key preventive actions that could help avoid reaching this...
Deltacron is not a new strain or variant but a case of co-infection with two variants of SARS-CoV-2. Over the past two years, different variants have emerged of the SARS CoV-2 strain with varying degree of infectivity and disease...
Sotrovimab, a Monoclonal antibody already approved for mild to moderate COVID-19 in several countries gets approval by MHRA in the UK. This antibody was intelligently designed with a mutating virus in mind. A highly conserved region of the spike protein was...
In order to raise levels of protection across the population against the Omicron variant, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)1 of UK has recommended that the booster programme should be expanded to include all remaining adults aged 18...
Fluvoxamine is an inexpensive anti-depressant commonly used in mental healthcare. Evidence from the recently concluded clinical trial suggest that it can be repurposed to treat patients with COVID-19. It is found to reduce risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, reduces need...
