By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a brief summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
First tests of COVID-19 vaccines show promising results
Results of trials of two potential COVID-19 vaccines showed initial signs of efficacy without serious adverse side effects, according to the first data released Monday. One was a UK study of the candidate developed by Oxford University and British pharmacist AstraZeneca. The other was a Chinese study of a CanSino Biologics vaccine. Both vaccines use a modified harmless common cold virus known as adenovirus to deliver genetic instructions to cells to induce an immune response against the new coronavirus. The genetic components include a copy of a “spike” protein that is found on the surface of the new coronavirus so that the immune system recognizes and attacks the actual virus. In both trials, according to reports in The Lancet, “showing” only the coronavirus peak protein to the body was enough to activate the immune system to produce antibodies and germ-fighting T cells to fight the coronavirus. The trials used healthy volunteers who were not directly exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. The studies only assessed immune responses to vaccines, along with safety. Much larger trials will be needed to demonstrate that these vaccines are safe and effective in preventing virus infection. (https://reut.rs/2CPhjRu; https://reut.rs/39cA8dm; https://bit.ly/30y4nrz; https://bit.ly/3fMY5KK; https://bit.ly/2Cy7JCP )
Inhaled Interferon May Help Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19
Treatment with an inhaled form of interferon significantly reduced the risk of worsening disease in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and improved their chances of recovery, according to preliminary data from an intermediate-stage trial published by Synairgen Plc on Monday. In the trial not yet available for peer review, 101 patients received the experimental treatment, called SG001, or a placebo. Patients who received SNG001 had a 79% lower risk of developing severe disease requiring ventilation or death. They were also more than twice as likely to have recovered within 28 days of starting treatment. Respiratory distress was also markedly reduced in patients who received SNG001, the company said. Interferon is a natural protein that regulates the body’s antiviral responses. “There are reasons to believe that it could be an effective treatment, but these results, while encouraging, should not be considered to mean that the treatment is so dramatic that everyone should receive it,” said Stephen Evans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who did not participate in the study. (https://reut.rs/2WHrjDA)
BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine shows promise in small trial
German biotechnology BioNTech and US pharmacist Pfizer Inc released data Monday from an early-stage trial of their experimental coronavirus vaccine that showed it elicited an immune response and was well tolerated, similar to results seen in earlier early tests. In the study in Germany with 60 healthy volunteers, the vaccine induced virus neutralizing antibodies in those who received two doses, in line with the previous results of an early-stage trial in the United States. The vaccine also generated a high level of T-cell responses against the coronavirus. T cells are a key component of the immune system’s attack against foreign invaders, such as viruses, which are believed to be important in generating a longer-term immune response. The vaccine candidate uses messenger RNA to instruct cells to build a spike-like protein on the surface of the coronavirus. Once the cells build the beak, the immune system learns to recognize it and is ready to attack the virus. (https://reut.rs/32BZ64B; https://bit.ly/3jnLhgo)
Spectator CPR can be done safely during a pandemic
Doctors say that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with just the hands carries a low risk of transmitting the coronavirus, and viewers who witness cardiac arrest during the pandemic should not be afraid to do so. People are wary of close contact with others, making the pandemic a real threat to transitional CPR, Dr. Sarah Perman of the University of Colorado at Aurora School of Medicine told Reuters. Writing in Circulation magazine, she notes that the American Heart Association recommends hands-free CPR and precautions such as covering faces to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets that can carry the coronavirus. Spectators living with the victim of cardiac arrest have probably already been exposed in their home. “Many more lives would be saved than those damaged by continuing to perform spectator CPR, especially if basic safety measures are taken,” Dr. Torben Becker, an emergency medicine physician at the University of Florida, told Reuters. Rescuers must wear a mask and cover the victim’s mouth and nose with a cloth such as a shirt, he added. (https://bit.ly/39d21SI; https://bit.ly/30yJNXO)
Open https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/yxmvjqywprz/index.html in an external browser to get a Reuters chart of vaccines and treatments under development.
(Report by Nancy Lapid and Carolyn Christ; Edited by Bill Berkrot)
