Thread by @rkhamsi

THREAD --> In this time of #COVID19, I figured it might be handy to share some basics with other reporters who might be new to the health beat. What's an 'antibody'? What is 'viral load'? Here's a list of some things reporters might want to know. I'm adding to it slowly.

First off. A lot of the tests being discussed are looking for 'antibodies'. What the heck are those? In a nutshell, proteins made by certain immune cells that bind to particles in the body (usually foreign) that we call 'antigens'. Here's a 3:28min primer:

What's that? You're a reporter too busy to watch a 3:28min video? I understand. Here's a picture capturing pretty much the same thing 3/n (source: slideplayer.com/slide/9390892/)

So, about that whole thing regarding whether viruses can 'live' on surfaces? Turns out that viruses aren't really 'alive' unless they can access cells to replicate. They're just a string of RNA or DNA letters. They need a cell's machinery to replicate. 4/n scientificamerican.com/article/are-vi…

Long story short: viruses need to get into cells, and hijack the protein-making factories inside cells. When scientists detect traces of viral DNA or RNA on surfaces, they have to grow it inside cells to see if it's still really infectious. 5/n

Next: 'viral load'. I suspect we'll be hearing about this more. I'll go with Google's definition of this one: Viral load is "a measurement of the amount of a virus in an organism, typically in the bloodstream, usually stated in virus particles per milliliter." 6/n

Here's a good little video on how vaccines work. It's basic *and it does not cover all vaccine platforms*, but it's a good starting point. 2:27min, but skip to 1:45min if you are on deadline:

Also, not all vaccines work the same way! There are different 'platforms' of vaccines (Live-attenuated, inactivated, subunit, etc). Thankfully, the U.S. government has this handy FAQ sheet on different vaccine technologies. 8/n vaccines.gov/basics/types

I LOVE pictures! I don't think reporters look at images of viruses enough. Here's a handy one of #SARSCoV2 from @TheEconomist. 9/n economist.com/briefing/2020/…

While we're talking about words and what they mean. Here is an explainer I did on what the word "airborne" means. TL;DR, it's complicated. 10/n wired.com/story/they-say…

Now for... clinical trials!! If you are wondering what a 'phase 1' trial is vs a 'phase 3' trial, here's a handy guide from the American Cancer Society. It's for cancer trials, not for infectious diseases, but you can get the idea. 11/n cancer.org/treatment/trea…

If you are too on deadline to read that last link, here's a quick-and-dirty distillation:
1. phase 1 = few people, assessing *safety*
2. phase 2 = more people, glimpse at response + side effects
3. phase 3 = often multiple trial sites, large scale, looking for efficacy, too
12/n

Drug approval! It's not as simple as some --errrr politicians -- make it seem. Here's a neat little chart your tax dollars paid for. Enjoy it! It's useful! 13/n fda.gov/drugs/drug-inf…

Here's a cheat sheet on key drug approval terms:
Preclinical: tests in cells, animals
IND: investigational new drug (application) = what drugmakers submit when they want to start a clinical trial
NDA: new drug application = what they submit to get approval to market a drug

14/n

I'll go to bed soon, but if you are a reporter new to the health beat and would like a term/concept explained, leave a note here and I'll try to add to this thread. 14/n

Here's a cool illustration from industry, h/t @VijaySciWri - but take with a giant grain of salt. It's not a sure bet by any means that vaccines will be on this timeline. 15/n

Another neat picture to add to this thread! Via @Laurie_Garrett. It shows how 805 #SARCoV2 #coronaviruses sequences relate to each other. (Note that "clades" of viruses descend from common ancestors). 16/n