Monkeypox is an Orthopoxvirus like Small Pox or Vaccinia virus. They are brick shaped linear dsDNA viruses that replicate in cytoplasm. They bind to glycosaminoglycans to enter cells or are taken up by apoptotic mimicry #monkeypox#orthopoxvirus 1/n viralzone.expasy.org/149?outline=al…
Small Pox is the archetypal orthopoxvirus infection of humans which infected humans from prehistory until its eradication in the 20th century through Vaccination. First true success of Vaccines 2/n #Variola#SmallPox#orthopoxvirus thelancet.com/journals/lance…
History of Small Pox Vaccination is the history of Vaccination itself. Life long immunity produced against Small Pox, which could be mimicked by attenuated cowpox (Vaccinia) was the key to Small Pox eradication 3/n #Vaccinia#SmallPox#orthopoxvirus ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Location matters for Covid Vaccine.
Booster Vaccination on the same side as the original Prime shot produces better quality antibodies than on the opposite side even though antibody titres were similar #CovidVaccine@VirusesImmunity#Immunity 1/n science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
Booster Vaccination on the Ipsilateral (same) side produced higher avidity antibodies as opposed to booster on the contralateral (opposite side), #CovidVaccine 2/n science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
Affinity vs Avidity
Affinity is the strength of a single antibody binding its cognate epitope whereas avidity relates to the strength of polyclonal antibodies (like in real antibody responses) binding to antigens as different antibodies can bind to different epitopes 3/n
So what was wrong with previous attempts at Plasma therapy? 1) Reliable assays for Neutralising Antibodies werent widely available earlier 2) We did not know what titer was high enough 3) Most studies were done in serious ill hospitalised patients 2/n
Why do we need convalescent Plasma in the age of Monoclonal antibodies?
Most monoclonal antibodies are ineffective against Omicron and the ones that retain activity are limited in supply and hoarded by @JoeBiden
Other folks at high risk may need an alternative 3/n
If there is to be any movement on Starlink from Indian bureaucracy, @SpaceX has to take 5% stake in Mukesh Ambani or Adani companies in true Mark Zuckerberg style.
Starlink is a threat to Reliance investment in Telecom.
Recent exposure to hospitals were associated with increased risk of Covid19 in high risk individuals eligible for shielding in Scotland. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…
What has been the true extant of the COVID19 pandemic in United states after accounting for underdiagnosis and misreporting? The pandemic still has a long way to run its course. #COVID19 pnas.org/content/118/31…
Has United States reached sufficient levels of Immunity to prevent another wave. While 80% of the popultion may have some immunity, this is subject to R0
R0 started at 6, and the virus has become 2.5 times more infective. Probably higher levels needed. pnas.org/content/118/31…
Course of the epidmic in terms of Incidence, reproductive rate R(t) and cumulative cases in Ohio and Indiana
Natural infections have only reached 20-25% and the gap needs to be filled by vaccination.