Global Justice campaigners in London stand by fake coffins to highlight global COVID-19 deaths. If pharma companies waived intellectual property rights, it would be easier for low- and middle-income countries to access COVID-19 vaccines.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Ronald Labonte, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Waiving patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines and drugs is still crucial to ensure access globally, but the waiver on the table at the June World Trade Organization meeting doesn’t do the job.
Researchers can test blood samples taken for other reasons to see if patients have previously had COVID-19.
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Your blood can hold a record of past illnesses. That information can reveal how many people have had a certain infection – like 58% of Americans having had COVID-19 by the end of February 2022.
Dozens of coronavirus vaccines are in clinical trials in the U.S.
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Vaibhav Upadhyay, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Krishna Mallela, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Existing coronavirus vaccines are not as effective against newer variants of the virus. Two vaccine experts explain how new vaccines currently in development will likely offer better protection.
It feels like everyone around you has or is recovering from COVID. Maybe you’re fatigued and wondering if it’s an after-effect? Antibody tests could confirm it one way or another.
Without genome sequencing, we would be blind to new variants of COVID-19. As Omicron surges in New Zealand, the sequencing focus is shifting to learning about what causes severe or long-term disease.
The Omicron variant has been confirmed in all continents except Antarctica.
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One of the ways the Omicron variant is different from other variants is the sheer number of mutations in the spike protein. Does this make it a super-variant?
Some vaccines use mRNA to make copies of the triangular red spike proteins to induce immunity.
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The new omicron variant of coronavirus has a number of mutations that may require manufacturers to update vaccines. The unique attributes of mRNA vaccines make updating them fast and easy.
We shouldn’t be too worried about Mu. It’s reassuring that despite being around since January, it doesn’t seem to be outcompeting Delta.
People getting vaccinated may still have questions about COVID-19 vaccines, like why it takes two doses — and then two weeks — to take full effect.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
A medical student answers questions he gets asked at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic: Efficacy versus real-world effectiveness, immune response and how the mRNA vaccines compare to vaccines already in wide use.
Despite rampant misinformation, studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe for both the mom and baby.
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The Delta variant: What it is, where it came from, why it’s different and whether COVID-19 vaccines can prevent it.
A COVID-19 patient in an ICU unit in a hospital in Capetown, South Africa, in December 2020. A variant emerged in South Africa that has since spread to other parts of the world. Other new variants could emerge elsewhere.
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As the US vaccinates millions more people each day, the novel coronavirus works to survive. It does this by mutating. So far, several variants are worrisome. A virologist explains what they are.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose.
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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is different from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in a few important ways that could make it a huge help to global vaccination efforts.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is mutating.
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The virus is evolving and new strains are more transmissible. Will the vaccines work against these new variants? How can researchers stay ahead of the virus’s evolution?
Neutralizing antibodies attach to the tips of the spike proteins of the SARS CoV-2 virus.
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A biologist explains what proteins do in viruses, how they interact with human cells, how the vaccine delivers mRNA into the cell and how antibodies protect us.
A coronavirus patient arrives at the Royal London Hospital in early January.
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With vaccines forthcoming for most Americans, many groups, including expectant mothers, are wondering if the vaccine is safe for them and their babies. A physician-scientist explains.