When Heather-Elizabeth Brown spiked a fever in April in Detroit, the only reason she was able to get a coronavirus test was because she was volunteering as a police chaplain and was therefore considered an essential worker. Her results came back negative, and she was relieved. But then, she says, “I just got sicker and sicker.”
After being turned away from overcrowded ERs twice, Brown was eventually admitted on her third try. She finally tested positive, and by that point, she was severely ill. She was put on a ventilator and spent the next 31 days in a medically induced coma.
COVID vaccines focus on the spike protein - but here s another target
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COVID-19 vaccines focus on the spike protein – but here s another target
medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The latest results from the phase 3 COVID-19 vaccines trials have been very positive. These have shown that vaccinating people with the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce excellent protective immunity.
The spike protein is the focus of most COVID-19 vaccines as it is the part of the virus that enables it to enter our cells. Virus replication only happens inside cells, so blocking entry prevents more virus being made. If a person has antibodies that can recognise the spike protein, this should stop the virus in its tracks.
The three most advanced vaccines (from Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) all work by getting our own cells to make copies of the virus spike protein. The Oxford vaccine achieves this by introducing the spike protein gene via a harmless adenovirus vector. The other two vaccines deliver the spike protein gene directly as mRNA wrapped in a nanoparticle. When our own cells make the spike protein, our immune response will recognise it as forei