Coronavirus Impact III

[ahalpert]

More good news: covid immunity may last years or decades according to the latest estimates

How long might immunity to the coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study — the most hopeful answer yet to a question that has shadowed plans for widespread vaccination.

Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness, the new data show. A slow rate of decline in the short term suggests, happily, that these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come.

The research, published online, has not been peer-reviewed nor published in a scientific journal. But it is the most comprehensive and long-ranging study of immune memory to the coronavirus to date.

“That amount of memory would likely prevent the vast majority of people from getting hospitalized disease, severe disease, for many years,” said Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology who co-led the new study.

The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.

And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/h....co/ntTmKxKjbm

The study has now been peer-reviewed and published in Science

https://science.sciencemag.org/conte...cience.abf4063

[Batutta]

Let us hope! The news regarding the South African variant is concerning though, as scientists are worried its mutations will impair the vaccine's effectiveness, more so than the British variant.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid...iant-1.5860585

[ahalpert]

Pfizer is saying that their vaccine can handle the new variants

20210108_082658.jpg

[Batutta]

That study didn't test for one of the spike mutations in the South Africa variant. Looks promising for the UK variant which shares some of the same mutations as the SA strain, but the SA variant still hasn't been fully cleared. They said they are testing that specific mutation next.

[ahalpert]

Ah yes you are correct. Well, here's hoping

[ahalpert]

"mRNA Vaccines Could Vanquish Covid Today, Cancer Tomorrow"

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...w?srnd=premium

It turns out that the mRNA vaccine techniques used by Pfizer and Moderna were in development for cancer treatments before covid came around. And now, their research has been turbocharged by the fight against covid. Welcome to the future, guys.

"Today’s weapons against cancer will one day seem as primitive an idea as flint axes in a surgery room."

PS: Bloomberg is offering a 3-month subscription right now for $0.99/month, down from $34.99

[filmguy123]

This has been a rough year for all, and plenty of reasons to be cautious about such an aggressive testing schedule for a new vaccine. And yet, in the future, we may look back at this year and see it as the catalyst that made us much better prepared for future pandemics, and accelerated vaccine breakthroughs for other diseases potentially by many years.

[lambert]

Was able to get my mom her first shot today. Feel lucky they opened reservations up yesterday for her age group. In and out including 15 minute observation period in 30 minutes.

[ahalpert]

Was able to get my mom her first shot today. Feel lucky they opened reservations up yesterday for her age group. In and out including 15 minute observation period in 30 minutes.

20200702-164537-new_firework.tif.jpg

congrats!

[Batutta]

Gulp.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/statu...39932090376193