Just a friendly reminder. Despite what you might hear, there has yet to be a variant that isn’t susceptible to the vaccines.
Let’s stop the misinformation and look at the updated data, shall we? Yes, this includes BA.5. ⬇️🧵
Why are variants unlikely to FULLY evade vaccine-induced immunity?
•Vaccines are POLYCLONAL
•CD8+ T-cells covering 52 epitopes across the spike protein
•CD4+ T-cells covering 23 epitopes across the spike protein
•science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
I am seeing a ton of misinformation circulating so I thought it might be a good idea to make a thread on this. When you see “waning” or “evading vaccines” PLEASE KEEP IN MIND this is usually in regards to neutralizing antibodies ONLY. NOT PROTECTION AGAINST SEVERE DISEASE.
I say this is because it is important to know while updated vaccines are expected in autumn of this year (BA.4/BA.5 targeted), our current vaccines ARE indeed STILL VERY EFFECTIVE against severe disease. PEER-REVIEWED:
•nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
•thelancet.com/journals/lanre…
NEWEST PEER-REVIEWED study. Although Omicron sublineages can evade some nAb responses elicited by primary vaccine series, vaccine boosters provide SUFFICIENT protection against Omicron-induced SEVERE disease. The study evaluates MULTIPLE vaccine types.
•fcld.ly/a5ws8g1
Chise, what about the preprint out of Japan regarding BA.4/BA.5 severity? AGAIN, it turns out if you read the study and look at the antigenic data, they only show an antigenic difference when they used RODENT sera. When they tested human sera, there was NO DIFFERENCE in severity.
Those are HAMSTER MODELS. BA.2 was NOT more pathogenic in humans than other VOCs, and neither are BA.4/BA.5. These preprints aren’t a great fit for social media. Hamsters aren’t necessarily valid for modeling human disease severity, which- at this point in
the pandemic mainly will be dictated by preexisting immunity, which involves MORE THAN nAbs. Look at REAL-WORLD data out of South Africa who have found NO DIFFERENCE in risk of hospitalization or severe disease for BA.4/BA.5.
•businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle…
•nature.com/articles/s4159…
Another note on vaccines. Recent data out of UKHSA VE Report hospitalization data and community study data shows that vaccine efficacy is NO DIFFERENT for BA.2 than BA.4/BA.5 suggesting vaccines still work quite well.
•bit.ly/3AxusKM
Adding this to data from South Africa suggesting prior infection plus three doses of a vaccine series also offer significant protection against BA.4/BA.5.
•medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
you want other real-world data, look no further than New York’s current BA.5 wave. Notice something important? Not only are both rates remaining overwhelmingly low from the BA.2 wave in January, notice the red line? Yeah, that’s VACCINATED individuals. coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-break…
When you see tweets that may have absolutely NO sources or scientific data claiming BA.5 is a “beast.” PLEASE look at the real-world data. Look at the studies. I’ll be providing links but I implore you to first please read this thread.
So, yes, while sublineages like these should be monitored by those WHOSE JOB IT IS TO DO SO, the general population shouldn’t panic, make sure you are boosted, and should for all intended purposes realize THESE ARE INDEED STILL OMICRON.
TLDR. Stay calm. Stay vigilant. Know your facts. YES, take the same precautions you have been. Make sure you are protected. COVID-19 vaccination remains THE key intervention against severe disease, hospitalization, Long COVID, AND death from ALL known SARS-COV-2 variants.
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HOW COOL IS THIS? A virus (yes, you read that correctly) could help save BILLIONS of gallons of wastewater produced by fracking. Researchers at UTEP have identified a novel means of treating resilient bacteria found in produced water: Bacteriophages!
Let’s talk about that! 🧵⬇️
You can find the study here:
•
An estimated 168 billion gallons of wastewater -or produced water- is generated annually by the Permian Basin fracking industry, according to a 2022 report by the Texas Produced Water Consortium.dx.doi.org/10.3390/w16060…
The major waste stream has proved both difficult and costly to treat because of the chemical complexity of the water.
According to this study just published in Water, numerous methods have been deployed to clean up the harmful bacteria in industrial wastewater.
HOW COOL IS THIS? For the FIRST time in ONE BILLION years, two lifeforms have truly merged into one organism. In a new study, researchers report that a nitrogen-fixing organelle has been identified in a marine alga. Meet the Nitroplast! Let’s talk about that! 🧵⬇️
This discovery sheds light on the evolutionary transition from endosymbiont to organelle. A team of scientists have detected a sign of a major life event that has likely not occurred for at least one billion years. They’ve observed primary endosymbiosis–two lifeforms merging into
ONE organism. This incredibly rare event occurred between a type of abundant marine algae and a bacterium.
So, what makes this so fascinating? Technically, it is now time to welcome a new type of cell to the club of living things that can harvest nitrogen from the atmosphere!
This is HUGE news! MV140, a sublingual vaccine developed to prevent UTIs, showed REMARKABLE success and prevented recurring UTIs for nearly a DECADE. The vaccine not only reduced risk but also enabled a significant number of participants to be completely UTI-free!🧵⬇️
MV140 (Uromune®, Inmunotek S.L., Spain) is a polyvalent bacterial whole-cell-based sublingual vaccine that has been developed for the prevention of UTIs and is currently in Phase 3 development “pre-licensing” trials in 26 countries worldwide, including the UK, New Zealand,
Germany, Spain, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey.
Guys. Heads up. Let’s talk about H5N1. There have been SEVERAL bad takes and BLATANT misinformation circulating regarding this strain of bird flu so I figured it was a good idea to make a thread about it. Stay calm. Stay vigilant. Know your facts. Here’s ALL you need to know.🧵⬇️
First things first. Let’s address the elephant in the room. It is IMPORTANT to stress the risk to the public still remains LOW. So far, the virus does not appear to have mutated in a way that would make it significantly more dangerous. While concerning, the one human case,
IS CONSISTENT with how people usually catch these viruses-through DIRECT exposure to a sick animal.
How Vaccines Work 🧬🧫🦠🔬💉🥽
(Everyone Should Watch This)
Animation Credit: 幾加乘 @bilibili_en
Recently, I have been getting a fair amount of questions regarding updated vaccines, timing, and currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains so I figured a short FAQ thread would be helpful! 🧪🧵⬇️
This is HUGE news! An investigational vaccine, ELI-002, appears to be effective in delaying relapse of KRAS-mutated pancreatic AND colorectal cancer, according to Phase I study results. FURTHERMORE, T-cell response correlated with an 86% REDUCTION in risk of relapse or death.🧵⬇️
This research has been published in Nature. You can find it here:
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ELI-002, an investigational therapeutic vaccine, put to the test by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, appeared to be effective in delaying relapse of KRAS-mutated pancreatic and colorectal cancer (CRC), according to results from a Phase I