COVID-19 patients often lose their sense of smell and taste. This is rare for a viral infection. At-home smell tests could be used as a screening tool and help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The side effects of new SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are a result of immune system activation. While uncomfortable, they are both normal and expected. They are a sign that the vaccine is working.
In September, production of rapid tests really ramped up in the US. But due to low accuracy and massive numbers needed, these tests alone are unlikely to have much of an effect on the pandemic.
There is now a third vaccine that prevents COVID-19 infections. It isn’t quite as effective as the other two vaccines but it has advantages that may make it the frontrunner.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus at the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic is one ten-thousandth of a millimeter in diameter. How can such a microscopic organism have such an immense impact on global health?
Currently there is no specific antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 and no vaccine to prevent it. Most treatment strategies focus on symptomatic management and supportive therapy.
Being indoors with other people is a recipe for spreading the coronavirus. But removing airborne particles through proper ventilation and air filtration can reduce some of that risk.
Zoë McLaren, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing across the US. Testing has ramped up over the past few months, but increasing hospitalizations, deaths and test-positivity rates show that the virus is out of control.
There are two new COVID-19 vaccines that appear to be more than 90% effective. But what are these vaccines, and how are they different from those used previously?
As viruses are transmitted from person to person they are constantly mutating and replicating. Could the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolve to evade the new vaccines that have just been developed?
Distributing a vaccine is a bit like boarding a plane — we can’t all board at the same time. So who gets priority? There are a few reasons we should consider vaccinating older people first.
With COVID-19 cases soaring across the US and worldwide, the need for a vaccine could not be greater. Here’s where we stand on vaccine development, including positive results from Pfizer’s trial.
Some have suggested the US allow healthy people to return to normal life, catch the coronavirus and get the population to herd immunity. The science says this plan is doomed to fail from the start.
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