COVID-19

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has demonstrated a stubborn ability to resist most nucleoside antiviral treatments, but a new study led by an Iowa State University scientist could help to overcome the virus’s defenses.

A national research study has just launched to investigate the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in transplant recipients. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), is investing over $2.84 million in this research study, based at University Health Network and called PREVenT COVID, short for Prospective Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccine in Transplant Recipients : A National Strategy.

Roche announced that Japans Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has approved Ronapreve  casirivimab and imdevimab, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 via intravenous infusion. The antibody combination was granted a Special Approval Pathway under article 14-3 of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act.

Adenovirus vaccine vectors, such as the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 construct which has risen to prominence as a major vaccine for COVID-19, may generate robust long-term immune system responses, according to scientists from the Universities of Oxford and the Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen, Switzerland.

Writing in the journal Nature Immunology, they detail an investigation into one of the key features of adenovirus vaccines – their ability to generate strong and sustained populations of the ‘killer’ T-cell element of the immune system.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its patient care guidelines to include interleukin-6 receptor blockers, a class of medicines that are lifesaving in patients who are severely or critically ill with COVID-19, especially when administered alongside corticosteroids.

These were the findings from a prospective and a living network meta-analysis initiated by WHO, the largest such analysis on the drugs to date. Data from over 10 000 patients enrolled in 27 clinical trials were considered.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and considering the enhanced production of COVID Vaccines, the Government proactively took the decision of setting up additional laboratories,to facilitate expedited testing / pre-release certification of the  vaccines.

The COVID-19 catastrophe in India has resulted in more than 30 million people infected with the virus and nearly 400,000 deaths, though experts are concerned that the figures most likely are much higher. Meanwhile, another public health crisis has emerged along with COVID-19: the widespread misuse of antibiotics.