A 3D print of the spike protein (foreground) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, enables it to enter and infect human cells. The proteins are shown as red protrusions on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 model in the background. (NIH)
First US vaccine clinical trial begins
- The first phase I clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine has begun in Seattle, Washington. Over the next 6 weeks, 45 participants will receive varying first doses of the vaccine, followed by a second dose 28 days later. They will then be assessed over a 14-month period. The experimental vaccine relies on messenger RNA, which directs the body to make a protein found on the new coronavirus's outer shell — hopefully eliciting an immune response that protects against infection. (Nature | Continuously updated) Read more: Safety must come first in the rush to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus, argues virologist Shibo Jian. (Nature | 5 min read)
- The decision to close schools to slow the spread of COVID-19 weighs heavily on the shoulders of governments who must consider the risk to teaching staff, the impact on students and how childcare needs might hinder essential workers or expose older family members to infection. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that evidence from other countries shows that places where schools were closed, such as Hong Kong, “have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not”, such as Singapore. (The Washington Post | 8 min read)
- The COVID-19 virus isn’t ‘airborne’ in the sense that it lingers infectiously in the air for some time, like measles. But the extent to which the coronavirus can be spread through the air, in the form of droplets from a sneeze or cough, is not yet known — and there is some disagreement among scientists about the very definition of airborne. (Wired | 10 min read)
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