Category ISRC discussions

Since its inception, the ISRC group has been having intense discussions on many topics. We give pointers to a few of the external resources, links, analysis etc that have emerged from these discussions.

An Expert Explains: New insights on COVID-19, key learnings from managing it

As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its sixth month in India, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, tells The Indian Express about key learnings from managing it, and new aspects that have emerged. Edited excerpts:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/dr-randeep-gulleria-coronavirus-covid-19-india-cases-6502680/

As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its sixth month in India, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, tells The Indian Express about key learnings from managing it, and new aspects that have emerged. Edited excerpts: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/dr-randeep-gulleria-coronavirus-covid-19-india-cases-6502680/

DNA Inherited From Neanderthals May Increase Risk of COVID-19

A stretch of DNA linked to Covid-19 was passed down from Neanderthals 60,000 years ago, according to a new study.

Scientists don’t yet know why this particular segment increases the risk of severe illness from the coronavirus. But the new findings, which were posted online on Friday and have not yet been published in a scientific journal, show how some clues to modern health stem from ancient history.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/coronavirus-neanderthals.html

A stretch of DNA linked to Covid-19 was passed down from Neanderthals 60,000 years ago, according to a new study. Scientists don’t yet know why this particular segment increases the risk of severe illness from the coronavirus. But the new findings, which were posted online… Continue Reading →

Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases following COVID-19

Emerging reports show that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection precedes the appearance of various autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, including paediatric inflammatory multisystemic syndrome (PIMS) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), thus adding to the growing mystery… Continue Reading →

Opinion: Look to Cholera Vaccine Campaigns for COVID-19 Guidance

Accounting for a limited stockpile of cholera vaccine can provide insight into the most effective way to distribute future COVID-19 vaccines.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/opinion-look-to-cholera-vaccine-campaigns-for-covid-19-guidance-67632

Accounting for a limited stockpile of cholera vaccine can provide insight into the most effective way to distribute future COVID-19 vaccines. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/opinion-look-to-cholera-vaccine-campaigns-for-covid-19-guidance-67632

Can existing live vaccines prevent COVID-19?

Prophylactic vaccination is the most effective intervention to protect against infectious diseases. The commonly accepted paradigm is that immunization with both attenuated virus (live but with substantially reduced virulence) and inactivated (killed virus particles) vaccines induces adaptive and generally long-term and specific immunity in the form of neutralizing antibodies and/or activating pathogen-specific cellular immune responses. However, an increasing body of evidence suggests that live attenuated vaccines can also induce broader protection against unrelated pathogens likely by inducing interferon and other innate immunity mechanisms that are yet to be identified. The stimulation of innate immunity by live attenuated vaccines in general, and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in particular, could provide temporary protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6496/1187.full

Prophylactic vaccination is the most effective intervention to protect against infectious diseases. The commonly accepted paradigm is that immunization with both attenuated virus (live but with substantially reduced virulence) and inactivated (killed virus particles) vaccines induces adaptive and generally long-term… Continue Reading →

Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug

A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53061281

A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53061281

Bridging a false dichotomy in the COVID-19 response: a public health approach to the ‘lockdown’ debate

As the world grapples with the public health emergency brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, various control strategies have been attempted across the globe resulting in a growing body of evidence. Thus, we see a wide range of ‘lockdowns’, from the extremely tight Wuhan style, to the more measured Rwandan and more open Swedish model, and a range of testing protocols and quarantine durations.

https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/6/e002909.full

As the world grapples with the public health emergency brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, various control strategies have been attempted across the globe resulting in a growing body of evidence. Thus, we see a wide range of ‘lockdowns’, from… Continue Reading →

Why Does Science Come Last? – Perspectives on COVID-19

History shows us that there is no alternative to research in the battle against pandemics

https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-why-does-science-come-last/303337

History shows us that there is no alternative to research in the battle against pandemics https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-why-does-science-come-last/303337

Questions remain following first COVID-19 vaccine results

CanSino and Moderna are the first vaccine makers to report data on safety and neutralization, but the extent of protection these products afford remains unclear.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00015-x

CanSino and Moderna are the first vaccine makers to report data on safety and neutralization, but the extent of protection these products afford remains unclear. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00015-x

Pangolins are not the intermediate hosts for the novel coronavirus

The outbreak of a novel corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city of Wuhan, China has resulted in more than 1.7 million laboratory confirmed cases all over the world. Recent studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 was likely originated from bats, but its intermediate hosts are still largely unknown. In this study, we assembled the complete genome of a coronavirus identified in 3 sick Malayan pangolins. The molecular and phylogenetic analyses showed that this pangolin coronavirus (pangolin-CoV-2020) is genetically related to the SARS-CoV-2 as well as a group of bat coronaviruses but do not support the SARS-CoV-2 emerged directly from the pangolin-CoV-2020. Our study suggests that pangolins are natural hosts of Betacoronaviruses. Large surveillance of coronaviruses in pangolins could improve our understanding of the spectrum of coronaviruses in pangolins. In addition to conservation of wildlife, minimizing the exposures of humans to wildlife will be important to reduce the spillover risks of coronaviruses from wild animals to humans.

https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008421

The outbreak of a novel corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city of Wuhan, China has resulted in more than 1.7 million laboratory confirmed cases all over the world. Recent studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 was likely originated from bats,… Continue Reading →

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