Category Covid-19

PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-30

The European Commission has identified the first five drug candidates as part of a new strategy to select the preferred treatments for COVID-19 in the EU.

Among the five therapeutic candidates identified are Eli Lilly’s repurposed arthritis medicine Olumiant (baricitinib) and investigational antibody drugs for early-stage COVID-19. This includes Lilly’s bamlanivimab and etesevimab combination, Roche and Regeneron’s REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab), Celltrion’s regdanivimab and GlaxoSmithKline/Vir Biotech’s sotrovimab. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently assessing an application for the extension of

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-25

Are COVID-19 vaccines effective against hospital admission with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant ?

Vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates against symptomatic disease with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant have been recently reported. After a full course, VE reached 88% with the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine and 67% with the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 AZD1222 vaccine. This provided important evidence that despite modest reductions in protection, vaccines remain effective against Delta. However, the very recent

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-05

Tokyo University of Science Scientists Find Drug Duo That May Cure COVID-19 Together

Preclinical experiments show that the drugs cepharanthine and nelfinavir may be effective treatments for COVID-19 While preventative care for COVID-19 has made much noise (with vaccines having rolled out in most countries), the soaring infection rates indicate the need for effective treatments. Using cultured cells to study SARS-CoV-2 infections, researchers at the Tokyo University of

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-05

A new report on Pediatrics details 7 cases of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination

A new report takes a close look at seven teen boys who developed myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, each of whom had similar symptoms, timing and outcomes. While health officials investigate whether vaccination caused this condition, Judith A. Guzman-Cottrill, D.O., a corresponding author of the report, said she hoped the report would raise clinicians’ awareness to suspect

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-04

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients have lower antibody levels targeting the Delta variant first discovered in India

Levels of antibodies in the blood of vaccinated people that are able to recognise and fight the new SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant first discovered in India (B.1.617.2) are on average lower than those against previously circulating variants in the UK, according to new laboratory data from the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-01

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants

All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, change over time. Most changes have little to no impact on the virus’ properties. However, some changes may affect the virus’s properties, such as how easily it spreads, the associated disease severity, or the performance of vaccines, therapeutic medicines, diagnostic tools, or other public health and social measures.  WHO, in collaboration with partners, expert networks, national authorities,

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-06-01

Scientific evidence that informed UK Government’s response to COVID-19 including first lockdown is published in Royal Society Special Theme issue

Scientific evidence that was used to inform the UK government’s key policies impacting millions of people during the first wave of COVID-19 including the rule of six and the first national stay-at-home order is published today [31 May] in the journal of the Royal Society. The Special Theme issue is compiled and guest edited by

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-05-29

German researchers say Vaccine induced Thrombosis is caused by adenovirus vector and can be fixed

AstraZeneca continues to discuss the cause of rare blood clots with regulators and scientists after German researchers said they discovered the link to its Covid-19 vaccines. The U.K. pharma company said the theory put forward by the Goethe University laboratory in Frankfurt on Wednesday is one of many that AstraZeneca scientists are investigating. “We are continuing to

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-05-21

Mask Use and Ventilation Improvements to Reduce COVID-19 Incidence in Elementary Schools

What is already known about this topic? Kindergarten through grade 5 schools educate and address the students’ physical, social, and emotional needs. Preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools is imperative for safe in-person learning. What is added by this report? COVID-19 incidence was 37% lower in schools that required teachers and staff members to use masks

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PIER MARIA FORNASARI
2021-05-21

A novel defense mechanism for SARS-CoV-2 discovered by researchers of Hokkaido University

Scientists from Hokkaido University have discovered a novel defensive response to SARS-CoV-2 that involves the viral pattern recognition receptor RIG-I. Upregulating expression of this protein could strengthen the immune response in COPD patients. In the 18 months since the first report of COVID-19 and the spread of the pandemic, there has been a large amount

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