Health workers have long called for better protections against COVID-19. Well fitting masks are now required when caring for COVID-19 patients. But the guidelines on ventilation miss the mark.
Allen Rodrigo, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
There are several earlier examples of people studying infectious pathogens being infected in the laboratory, even while working under strict biosafety conditions.
We recently heard reports of a new and dangerous ‘hybrid’ variant circulating in Vietnam. There is such as a thing as a hybrid viral variant — but this doesn’t appear to be it.
It is unlikely that we will reach full herd immunity for COVID-19. However, we are likely to reach a practical kind of herd immunity through vaccination.
Gain-of-function studies make a natural virus more dangerous or transmissible to humans. Could the Wuhan Institute of Virology be the source of SARS-CoV-2?
The lab accident theory of the origins of Covid-19 has gained traction in recent months. We need a proper investigation to find out what really happened.
A more coordinated effort by scientists, stakeholders and community members will be required to stop the next deadly virus that’s already circulating in our midst.
This treatment would work by targeting the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself and stopping it in its tracks. The evidence we have so far is promising, but it’s still very early days.
It’s an absolute priority we find and use ways to support kids to continue face-to-face learning in times of low community transmission, especially primary schools.
Deficient leptin levels caused by malnutrition might protect against severe COVID-19 and related death. This could be another reason for the lower than expected COVID-19 deaths in Africa.
You only have to prevent one case, which could have otherwise led to community spread and lockdown, for such a scheme to pay for itself many times over.
Jennifer Juno, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Adam Wheatley, The University of Melbourne
Vaccination is likely to substantially reduce virus transmission by reducing the pool of people who become infected, and reducing virus levels in people who do get infected.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand