“What is the treatment for monkeypox? How does it work?”
Here I give a short overview of how the drug Tecovirimat (TPOXX) works for the treatment of smallpox / monkeypox / or other vaccinia virus type infections. TPOXX can be administered by IV injection or as an oral pill.
In the US, TPOXX is FDA approved for the treatment of smallpox disease for adults and children and is currently in the Strategic National Stockpile. Its use for other orthopox virus infections, including monkeypox, is under an Expanded Access Investigational New Drug protocol.
This allows for the use of tecovirimat (#TPOXX) for primary or early empiric treatment of non-smallpox infections (such as monkeypox) in adults and children of all ages [in the US].
In the EU, tecovirimat is approved for the treatment of various orthopox virus diseases. In Canada, oral tecovirimat is approved for the treatment of smallpox.
video also available on YouTube for easier sharing & captions!
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Here I give a brief overview of how the vaccine against #Monkeypox works.
This vaccine is under various brand names including JYNNEOS (US), IMVANEX (EU), and IMVAMUNE (Canada) which is made by the company Bavarian Nordic.
More info in 🧵
This is a live, non-replicating vaccine which is derived from the Vaccinia virus, part of the Orthopox virus family. This family includes both smallpox and monkeypox, so pan immunity is achieved.
This falls under the more ‘traditional’ types of vaccines. It is not mRNA tech.
Remember that this is a two dose series, 4 weeks apart. Maximum immunity is achieved 2 weeks after your second dose.
The vaccine has been approved for those pregnant or breast-feeding, 18 years or older.
Here I breakdown the mutations within the #DeltaVariant of SARS-CoV-2 and how these amino acid changes are important to be aware of related to the virus’s ability to infect & be detected by antibodies.
Refresher on how to read the mutations can be found here:
SARS-CoV-2 does not mutate while floating in the air or being found on a surface. It mutates while it replicates, and replication occurs during transmission. Less transmission = less mutations.
Here I give a quick overview of the various vaccines for Covid-19 that have been approved or are close to finishing their clinical trials. Vaccine appointments are not easy to obtain, so stay up to date when you’re eligible and know that all the vaccines are safe & effective.
It’s important to take whichever vaccine is available to you, if you decide to, as they all have shown 100% effectiveness at preventing Covid-19 related deaths & hospitalizations.
Also, it’s key to recognize that the clinical trials for these vaccines ran at different times. As this pandemic has progressed more variants/mutations began circulating. This can tie into the efficacy %, but the above info about 100% prevention of serious Covid-19 stands true.
Here I describe the reasoning why the #COVID vaccine is recommended even if you have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Building immunity to this virus in enough people is critical to ensure its eradication and to end this pandemic.
Antibodies are produced by B cells, which can differentiate into memory B cells, and T cells can also differentiate into memory T cells. These memory clones are what hold information about specific pathogens that our bodies have been exposed to.
During the eradication of smallpox, individuals beginning to show symptoms were given the smallpox vaccine, which significantly reduced their symptoms to the disease. This is currently being studied with Covid-19.
Here I provide information on what we currently know about the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (see mRNA vaccine video) & its relation to pregnancy. This is NOT my area of expertise; I relied heavily on previous research & what current metrics show about vulnerable groups to Covid19.
I also received a ton of assistance from an awesome friend @ananyanmngndla who helped to really define terms, complete the BLAST analysis, and aid me in better understanding structural comparisons! 👏ANANYA👏
Some clarifications: sequence is very important for homology but the sequence of Syncytin-1 has such low overlap with the SARS-CoV-2 protein I did not mention. The amazing chemist Ananya made this to protein graphic.
Here I breakdown the general components found within vaccines, with an extra focus on the mRNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. This is part two collaborating with @SoloukiSabrina , and if you missed her video on what an allergic response is check it out in the thread below.
While preservatives and adjuvants are safe and common vaccine components, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are preservative and adjuvant free.
Both vaccines require cold temps for storage purposes to ensure the mRNA within the vaccine stays intact. While cold temp is necessary for storing the vaccine, this does not mean that vaccines kept outside the temperature range are unsafe - such vaccines simply lose efficacy.