The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised concerns about a possible risk of heart inflammation from Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, even as the company’s data showed it could reduce the chances of mild-to-severe disease. In Novavax’s nearly 30,000 patient trial, conducted between December 2020 and September 2021, there were four cases of a type […]
Chemical found in leafy greens shown to slow growth of COVID-19 and common cold viruses
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center report evidence from lab experiments that a chemical derived from a compound found abundantly in broccoli and other cruciferous plants may offer a potentially new and potent weapon against the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the common cold. COVID-19 has already killed more than 6 million people worldwide, and […]
World’s Largest Adverse Events Database Maintained By The WHO
VigiBase is the unique WHO global database of reported potential side effects of medicinal products. It is the largest database of its kind in the world, with over 30 million reports of suspected adverse effects of medicines, submitted, since 1968, by member countries of the WHO PIDM (Programme for International Drug Monitoring). It is continuously updated […]
Clinical trial indicates monoclonal antibody lowered hospitalizations and emergency visits
COVID-19 (coronavirus) patients who were administered a novel antibody had fewer symptoms and were less likely to require hospitalization or emergency medical care than those who did not receive the antibody, according to a new study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine. The multisite, Phase II clinical trial tested three different doses of […]
Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19?
The effects of vitamins C, D, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids on the immune system and the possible benefits to those suffering from COVID-19 are presented. These are particularly pertinent in the vulnerable elderly population, who represent a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality in these times. All of the nutrients mentioned have […]
First randomized trial of remdesivir suggests antiviral drug is not associated with significant clinical benefits, more research needed
Treatment with the antiviral drug remdesivir does not speed recovery from COVID-19 compared with placebo in hospitalised patients who are critically ill, according to the first randomised trial of its kind involving 237 adults (aged 18 and older) from ten hospitals in Wuhan, China, published in The Lancet. Although their study is the first randomised controlled […]
Ultrapotent antibody mix blocks COVID-19 virus attachment
A mix of ultrapotent antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients has been shown to recognize and lock down the infection machinery of the pandemic coronavirus and keep it from entering cells. Each of the antibody types performs these overlapping tasks slightly differently. Low doses of these antibodies, individually or as a cocktail, were also shown to […]
Lab experiments show anti-parasitic drug, Ivermectin, eliminates SARS-CoV-2 in cells in 48 hours
A collaborative study led by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours. The Monash Biomedicine Discovery […]
Mild COVID-19 induces lasting antibody protection, study finds
Months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19, people still have immune cells in their body pumping out antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Such cells could persist for a lifetime, churning out antibodies all the while. The findings, […]
Scientists uncover SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity in recovered COVID-19 and SARS patients
The study by scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School, in close collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) was published in Nature. The findings suggest infection and exposure to coronaviruses induces long-lasting memory T cells, which could help in […]