The metaphor of a collective “carpet of immunity” invites us to imagine immunity as a collaborative project, spreading out to protect those for whom the end of mandates means increased vulnerability.
DNA and mRNA vaccines produce a different kind of immune response than traditional vaccines, allowing researchers to tackle some previously unsolvable problems in medicine.
First CDC signed off on a COVID-19 vaccine for adults, then teens. Now US children ages 5 to 11 are officially eligible for shots. Here’s the science on why each group needs to be considered separately.
People with HIV need to take daily medication to keep the virus at bay. A study has found that a new treatment combination could boost immunity and control virus levels even after stopping medication.
A growing body of research shows that nutrition, sleep, exercise and a host of other lifestyle choices can help optimize the immune system. But they are no substitute for life-saving vaccines.
It’s unclear whether the patients were already predisposed to these diseases, or the infection unmasked a process that had already begun. Or perhaps the infection triggered a completely new illness.
Medications to treat COVID-19 are in no way a substitute for the vaccine. But under the right circumstances, some show great promise for helping patients.
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.
Eva Gillis-Buck, University of California, San Francisco; James Gardner, University of California, San Francisco, and Tippi MacKenzie, University of California, San Francisco
How the immune system learns not to attack a developing fetus and placenta is important to understanding pregnancy and its common complications, like miscarriage.
Director, Children’s Health and Environment Program and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Children’s Health and Environment, The University of Queensland