The new strains of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have become a cause of concern when countries are rolling out large-scale vaccination programmes. The variants from Britain, Brazil, South Africa and the United States are reportedly partially resistant to the vaccines.
Recent reports of more infectious variants have had the alarm bells ringing. Among scientists, however, the new viral strains have spurred renewed interest in the responses from the “layers” of immunity, specifically by understanding the contributions of B cells and T cells to immunity. This has implications for treatments and vaccines.
What are antibodies? How do they boost immunity?
Antibodies (aka immunoglobulins) are the first line of defence. They are also known as “neutralising antibodies”, and are a key factor in the protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. These large, Y-shaped proteins are used by our immune system to identify and “neutralise” viruses. It’s important to remember that the antibodies
Dubai: There are some 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 circulating globally. Virologists studying these variants have an urgent mission: to learn as much as possible and as soon as possible about them in order to control their spread. Experts want to understand whether the variants:
Spread more easily from person-to-person
Cause milder or more severe disease in people
Are detected by currently available viral tests
Respond to medicines currently being used to treat people for COVID-19
Change the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines
In the next few days or weeks, the answers to these questions would give scientists the confidence to advice policy makers on the next logical steps to get a grip on the virus.
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Companies like Novartis, Gritstone Oncology and VBI Vaccines are developing pan-coronavirus drugs.
Coronaviruses cause everything from the common cold to COVID-19.
The effort could be critical, as experts estimate coronaviruses will affect our lives forever.
In February 2020, as the new coronavirus started to appear in the US, scientists began revisiting an idea that had been abandoned by many top drug companies years ago: creating a universal drug for coronaviruses.
These viruses, known for their spiky appearance, can cause COVID-19, SARS, and the common cold , among other illnesses. Work on vaccines or treatments for two previous coronavirus threats, the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2012 MERS outbreak, was largely shelved when those pathogens faded.