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.
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.
Cancer and organ transplant patients, people with untreated HIV and people with other immunodeficiencies are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection.
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If you’ve already had the coronavirus and recovered, you might be tempted to give the vaccine a pass. A scientist explains why the shot offers the best protection against future infection.
Patients had fewer lymphocytes in their blood.
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Vaccines work by teaching your immune system about new viruses. Your immune cells are very clever – they will remember what they learnt, and protect you if you encounter that virus in the future.
Masking up is one way to cut down on risk of COVID-19 infection.
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Just focusing on spike proteins might not offer the complete immunity.
It’s not yet clear whether antibodies in the blood of patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 indicate immunity. Above: blood specimens for COVID-19 antibody tests.
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Immunity to COVID-19 may be complicated. Here are the promises and pitfalls of antibody tests.
Cheryl Praeger was awarded the 2019 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science. She has spent more than four decades inspiring a love for maths in others, and has created a vast body of academic work in the process.
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Joanna Groom, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
The cornerstone of our adaptive immune system is the ability to remember the various infections we have encountered. Quite literally, if it doesn’t kill you, it makes your immune system stronger.
A flu patient at ProMedica Toledo Hospital in Toledo, Ohio on Jan. 8, 2018.
AP Photo/Tony Dejak
Anyone who’s had the flu can attest that it makes them feel horrible. But why? What is going on inside the body that brings such pain and malaise? An immunologist explains.