By Reuters Staff
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday launched a trial to
assess the immune responses generated if doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from
Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are combined in a two-shot schedule.
The British researchers behind the
trial said data on vaccinating people with the two different types of
coronavirus vaccines could help understanding of whether shots can be rolled
out with greater flexibility around the world. Initial data on immune responses
is expected to be generated around June.
The trial will examine the immune
responses of an initial dose of Pfizer vaccine followed by a booster of
AstraZeneca’s, as well as vice versa, with intervals of 4 and 12 weeks.
Both the mRNA shot developed by
Pfizer and Biontech and the adenovirus viral vector vaccine developed by Oxford
University and AstraZeneca are currently being rolled out in Britain, with a
12-week gap between two doses of the same vaccine.
It is expected more vaccines will be
added to the trial when they are approved and rolled out.
Recruitment for the study starts on
Thursday, with over 800 participants expected to take part, the researchers
said. That makes it much smaller than the clinical trials that have been used
to determine efficacy of the vaccines individually.
More
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-vaccine-mi/britain-trial-to-test-combining-pfizer-and-astrazeneca-vaccines-in-two-shot-regimen-idUSKBN2A400P
Scientists uncover potential
antiviral treatment for COVID-19 News Release 2-Feb-2021 University of Nottingham
Researchers from the University of
Nottingham have discovered a novel antiviral property of a drug that could have
major implications in how future epidemics / pandemics - including Covid-19 -
are managed.
The study, published in Viruses *,
shows that thapsigargin is a promising broad spectrum antiviral, highly
effective against Covid-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2), a common cold coronavirus,
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the influenza A virus.
Given that acute respiratory virus
infections caused by different viruses are clinically indistinguishable on
presentation, an effective broad-spectrum that can target different virus types
at the same time could significantly improve clinical management. An antiviral
of this type could potentially be made available for community use to control
active infection and its spread.
The study is a collaborative project
led by Professor Kin-Chow Chang and experts at the University of Nottingham
(Schools of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, Biosciences, Pharmacy, Medicine,
and Chemistry), and colleagues at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA),
China Agricultural University and the Pirbright Institute.
In this ground-breaking study, the
team of experts found that the plant-derived antiviral, at small doses,
triggers a highly effective broad-spectrum host-centred antiviral innate immune
response against three major types of human respiratory viruses - including Covid-19.
The key features based on cell and
animal studies, which make thapsigargin a promising antiviral are that it is:
effective against viral infection when used
before or during active infection able to prevent a virus from making new copies of
itself in cells for at least 48 hours after a single 30-minute exposure. stable in acidic pH, as found in the stomach, and
therefore can be taken orally, so could be administered without the need
for injections or hospital admission. not sensitive to virus resistance. at least several hundred-fold more effective than
current antiviral options. just as effective in blocking combined infection
with coronavirus and influenza A virus as in single-virus infection. safe as an antiviral (a derivative of
thapsigargin has been tested in prostate cancer). Professor Chang said: "Whilst
we are still at the early stages of research into this antiviral and its impact
on how viruses such as Covid-19 can be treated, these findings are hugely
significant.
More
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uon-sup020121.php
Covid in UK mutating to mimic
South African variant Mutation of spike protein in original and newer Kent
variant of virus is likely to render current vaccines less effective
By Henry
Bodkin, Health and Science
Correspondent 3 February 2021 •
12:09am
Covid in the UK is mutating to mimic the
South African variant , officials have discovered, with dozens of cases
found across the country.
Genomic sequencing has identified a mutation of the spike
protein, both in the original strain and the newer Kent
variant of the virus , which is likely to render current vaccines less
effective. The E484K mutation resembles that seen in the
South African and Brizilian variants .
The discovery emerged the day after ministers ordered door-to-door
testing in eight postcodes across England after cases of the South African
type were discovered with no obvious link to recent travel.
Further "surge testing" was
ordered on Tuesday for neighbourhoods of Bristol – where the E484K mutation
was discovered in 11 cases of the Kent variant – and in Liverpool, where it was
discovered in 32 cases of the original variant.
Despite the recent focus of officials having been on
securing borders, experts warned on Tuesday night it was "inevitable"
that the strains already in the UK would mutate as a result of natural
selection. However, they said it was too early to determine whether the
mutation would become dominant over other forms of Covid.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said :
"In all these areas it is imperative that people must stay at home and
only leave home where it is absolutely essential."
Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, went further,
suggesting those living in areas where the South African variant is present
should exercise inside and consider eating what they can find in their house
rather than shopping for fresh supplies.
She told the BBC: "The time is now for them to have
extra conversations with their employers, for them to consider do they really
need to go to the shops or could they have what they have got in their house?
Do they need to go outside to exercise, could they do that indoors – because we
all have to be vigilant."
Dr Julian Tang, honorary associate professor at the
University of Leicester, said the UK was now at risk of becoming "a
melting pot" for emerging
variants of Covid .
"Closing borders/restricting travel may help a little
with this, but there is now probably already a sufficient critical mass of
virus-infected people within the endemic UK population to allow this natural
selection/evolution to proceed," he said.
So far, laboratory studies have
indicated that the UK variant is similarly reactive to the current crop of
vaccines as the original strain. However, if it increasingly displays the E484K
mutation – in common with the South African variant – it is likely to be more
resistant, rendering vaccines only 60 per cent effective.
It came as a study by Cambridge
University suggested that the Pfizer vaccine works less well against cases
involving E484k, requing 10 times the amount of antibodies to neutralise the
virus. The findings also indicated that one dose of Pfizer jab was not enough
to protect those aged 80 and over, and suggesting partial dosing might be
fuelling mutations.
More
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/02/kent-variant-mutating-mimic-south-african-strain-scientists/?WT.mc_id=e_DM1332182&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FPM_New_ES&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_FPM_New_ES20210202&utm_campaign=DM1332182
GSK, CureVac partnership eyes
COVID-19 vaccine against multiple variants February 3, 2021 7:34 AM
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Britain’s
GlaxoSmithKline and German biotech firm CureVac struck a 150 million euro ($180
million) deal to develop next-generation vaccines against COVID-19 that target
several variants in one product.
In a joint statement on Wednesday,
the partners said they were targeting a possible launch in 2022.
GSK, which holds a stake in CureVac,
will also support the production of up to 100 million doses of CureVac’s first
generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate in 2021, they said.
For GSK, the world’s largest vaccine
maker by sales, it marks a fresh attempt to play a relevant role in fighting
the pandemic after a COVID-19 alliance with Sanofi was hobbled by development
delays and after a similar collaboration with China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals
was ended.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-gsk/gsk-curevac-partnership-eyes-covid-19-vaccine-against-multiple-variants-idUSKBN2A30VT?feedType=mktg&feedName=&WT.mc_id=Newsletter-UK&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workday%20Q1%202021%202018%20Template:%20UK%20MORNING%20DIGEST%20-%202/3&utm_term=NEW:%20UK%20Morning%20Digest
Vaccines may protect against
severe disease even as variants evolve, Oxford's Pollard says February 3, 2021 7:49 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - COVID-19 vaccines
might offer protection against severe disease even as coronavirus variants
evolve to better allow continued transmission between people, the head of the
Oxford Vaccine Group Andrew Pollard said on Wednesday.
Asked how effective the
Oxford/AstraZeneca will be against new variants, he said “they are making
changes that allow them to avoid human immune responses, so that they can still
transmit.”
“So, that does mean that it’s likely
over time that the virus will find ways of adapting so that can continue to
pass between people,” he told BBC TV.
“But that doesn’t mean that we won’t
still have protection against severe disease... The virus is much more about
the virus being able to continue to survive, rather than trying to cause harm
to us.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca-pollar/vaccines-may-protect-against-severe-disease-even-as-variants-evolve-oxfords-pollard-says-idUSKBN2A30WO?feedType=mktg&feedName=&WT.mc_id=Newsletter-UK&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workday%20Q1%202021%202018%20Template:%20UK%20MORNING%20DIGEST%20-%202/3&utm_term=NEW:%20UK%20Morning%20Digest
Recovered COVID patients likely
protected for at least six months, study finds February 3, 2021 12:04 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - Almost all people
previously infected with COVID-19 have high levels of antibodies for at least
six months that are likely to protect them from reinfection with the disease,
results of a major UK study showed on Wednesday.
Scientists said the study, which
measured levels of previous COVID-19 infection in populations across Britain,
as well as how long antibodies persisted in those infected, should provide some
reassurance that swift cases of reinfection will be rare.
“The vast majority of people retain
detectable antibodies for at least six months after infection with the
coronavirus,” said Naomi Allen, a professor and chief scientist at the UK
Biobank, where the study was carried out.
Among participants who had tested
positive for previous COVID-19 infection, 99% retained antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
for three months, the results showed. After the full six months of follow-up in
the study, 88% still had them.
“Although we cannot be certain how
this relates to immunity, the results suggest that people may be protected
against subsequent infection for at least six months following natural
infection,” Allen said.
She said the findings were also
consistent with results of other studies in the United Kingdom and Iceland which
found that antibodies to the coronavirus tended to persist for several months
in those who have had the disease and recovered.
More
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-antibodies/recovered-covid-patients-likely-protected-for-at-least-six-months-study-finds-idUSKBN2A3002
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on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk Next, some vaccine links
kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most
informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.
World
Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines . https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
NY
Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker . https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Stanford
Website . https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132
Regulatory
Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker . https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
resource centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
https://rt.live/
Covid19info.live
https://wuflu.live/
Centers for Disease Control
Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator
https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Updates as they get reported.
More follow up to
peppering up Perovskite solar cells. Something we’ve covered before.
Chili Pepper Compound Increases
Solar Cell Efficiency Adding
capsaicin, the chemical responsible for making chili peppers spicy, improved
the efficiency of solar cells in experiments smithsonianmag.com February 2,
2021 8:45AM
New research suggests spicy solar
cells might work more efficiently. That’s right, scientists treated solar cells
with capsaicin, the compound responsible for the mouth-burning heat of chili
peppers, and found those cells became more efficient at turning solar energy
into electricity, reports Karina Shah for New
Scientist .
The findings, published last month
in the journal Joule , apply to an up-and-coming type of
solar cell utilizing materials called perovskites that often contain lead-based
materials. Silicon has dominated solar panel construction for decades now, but
perovskite solar cells have shown promise working in tandem with silicon solar
cells to harvest even more energy, as well as on their own where they can be
made thin and flexible, reported Andy Extance for Nature in 2019.
However, while perovskite solar cells beat silicon’s
efficiency at absorbing sunlight, the technology has had issues turning that
sunlight into electricity—instead losing it as heat, per New Scientist .
Qinye Bao, the study’s senior author and an electrical
engineer at East China Normal University, were looking for some cheap,
easy-to-find additive that could help alleviate this issue with perovskite
solar cells. "Considering the electric, chemical, optical, and stable
properties of capsaicin, we preliminarily found that it would be a promising
candidate," says Bao in a statement .
When the researchers behind the new study added capsaicin
to thin perovskite solar cells in the lab, the spicy chemical compound
increased the solar cells’ efficiency. The untreated cells’ power conversion
was 19.1 percent, but the capsaicin-treated cells converted 21.88 percent of the
available solar energy, according to the study. Per the statement, the treated
solar cells were also more stable, retaining more than 90 percent of their
efficiency after 800 hours.
As Jon Major, a renewables researcher at the University of
Liverpool, writes in the Conversation
“Adding capsaicin expands the grains which make up the
active material of the solar cell, allowing it to more effectively transport
electricity. More importantly, the material goes from having a deficit of
electrons to having an excess, changing how the cell operates and allowing more
sunlight to be converted to electricity.”
Subsequent analysis using
spectroscopy confirmed that the capsaicin somehow led to an increased number of
free electrons on the solar cells’ surface and reduced heat loss, according to New
Scientist . However, the researchers aren’t exactly sure how capsaicin did
all that. Bao tells New Scientist that his team thinks the capsaicin
molecules may react with lead ions inside the perovskite solar cells, freeing
up electrons which are then available to carry a charge.
Perovskite cells can be cheaper and
easier to make than silicon solar cells, according to Nature , and tricks
like adding a bit of spice could make them into an even more promising part of
a future that is less reliant on planet-warming fossil fuels.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chili-pepper-compound-increases-solar-cell-efficiency-180976893/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210202-daily-responsive&spMailingID=44375570&spUserID=NjUwNDIzNTUzNDE0S0&spJobID=1940179039&spReportId=MTk0MDE3OTAzOQS2
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