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South African scientists will study link between COVID variants and untreated HIV

South African scientists will study link between COVID variants and untreated HIV

JENNIFER RIGBY LEADING South African scientists are set to investigate COVID-19 and HIV in tandem, amid mounting evidence that the collision of the two pandemics could be generating new coronavirus variants. The team at the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA), which first alerted the world to the COVID variant Omicron, said it was time for a "systematic" investigation of what happens when patients with untreated HIV get COVID-19. A number of studies, including one published by the team last week, have found that people with weakened immune systems – such as patients with untreated HIV – can suffer…
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Is it all Greek to you? Variants get new names

Is it all Greek to you? Variants get new names

EMMA FARGE CORONAVIRUS variants with clunky, alphanumeric names have now been assigned the letters of the Greek Alphabet in a bid to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma. The World Health Organization revealed the new names on Monday amid criticism that those given by scientists such as the so-called South African variant which goes by multiple names including B.1.351, 501Y.V2 and 20H/501Y.V2 were too complicated. As such, the four coronavirus variants considered of concern by the U.N. agency and known generally by the public as the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India variants have now been given the letters…
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COVID-19 vaccine for life: Health or profit motive?

COVID-19 vaccine for life: Health or profit motive?

JULIE STEENHUYSEN and KATE KELLAND COVID-19 vaccine developers are making ever bolder assertions that the world will need yearly booster shots or new vaccines to tackle concerning coronavirus variants, but some scientists question when, or whether, such shots will be needed. In interviews with Reuters, more than a dozen influential infectious disease and vaccine development experts said there is growing evidence that a first round of global vaccinations may offer enduring protection against the coronavirus and its most worrisome variants discovered to date. Some of these scientists expressed concern that public expectations around COVID-19 boosters are being set by pharmaceutical…
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Coronavirus: a single ‘escape mutant’ shouldn’t render a vaccine useless

Coronavirus: a single ‘escape mutant’ shouldn’t render a vaccine useless

SEVERAL coronavirus variants have emerged in recent weeks that have got scientists worried. The variants, which were first identified in the UK (B117), South Africa (B1351) and Brazil (P1 and P2), have several mutations in the spike protein – the little projections on the surface of the virus that help it latch onto human cells. This protein is the target for all the COVID vaccines currently being rolled out. So will the vaccines protect us from these new variants? SARAH L CADDY, Clinical Research Fellow in Viral Immunology and Veterinary Surgeon, University of Cambridge Viruses are often not very good…
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