New SARS-CoV-2 variants are expected since the virus is continually evolving. The Alpha variant first appeared in early 2021, and the Delta variant emerged later that summer. The Omicron variant, which spread quickly throughout the nation in late 2021 and early 2022, is now the most common variation circulating in the US today.
New research shows that people with weakened immune systems are more likely to get chronic infections and produce virus variants that bear multiple antibody-resistant mutations. However, there is good news. While many distinct variations develop in immunocompromised individuals, their likelihood of spreading is small.
Co-author Adi Stern, a professor at Tel Aviv University. Credit: Tel Aviv University
According to recent research from Tel Aviv University, immunosuppressed chronic COVID-19 patients are thought to be the source of several SARS-CoV-2 variants. The researchers hypothesize that a compromised immune reaction, particularly in the lower airways of these chronic patients, may delay complete recovery from the virus and cause the virus to evolve often during the course of prolonged infection. In other words, the researchers explain that the viruss unrestricted survival and reproduction in the body of the immunosuppressed patient result in the emergence of numerous variants.
Furthermore, the variations reported in chronically sick COVID-19 patients had many of the same mutations in their development as those found in variants of concern for severe illness, notably those linked with evading disease-killing antibodies. The new findings show that, although rapidly-spreading variations are rare among the numerous strains harbored by immunocompromised people, the likelihood increases and they do arise when global infection rates boom.
The study was led by Prof. Adi Stern and Ph.D. student Sheri Harari of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Dr. Yael Paran and Dr. Suzy Meijer of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). It was published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine on June 20th, 2022.
Prof. Stern explains that since the outbreak of COVID-19, the rate at which the virus evolves has been somewhat puzzling. During the first year of the pandemic, a relatively slow but constant rate of mutations was observed. However, since the end of 2020, the world has witnessed the emergence of variants that are characterized by a large number of mutations, far exceeding the rate observed during the first year.
Various scientific hypotheses about the link between chronic COVID-19 patients and the rate of the accumulation of mutations have surfaced, but nothing definitive has been proven yet. In this new study, Prof. Stern and the team shed light on some pieces of this complex puzzle and try to answer the question of how variants are formed.
Prof. Stern explains: The coronavirus is characterized by the fact that in every population, there are people who become chronically infected. In the case of these patients, the virus remains in their body for a lengthy period of time, and they are at high risk for recurrent infection. In all of the cases observed so far, these were immunocompromised patients part of their immune system is damaged and unable to function. In biological evolutionary terms, these patients constitute an incubator for viruses and mutations the virus persists in their body for a long time and succeeds in adapting to the immune system, by accumulating various mutations.
The study involved an examination of chronic COVID-19 patients at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital). According to Prof. Stern, the results reveal a complex picture; on the one hand, no direct connection was found between anti-COVID-19 drug treatment and the development of variants. On the other hand, the researchers discovered that it is likely the weakened immune system of immunocompromised patients that creates pressure for the virus to mutate.
In fact, the researchers found that there were chronic patients who showed a pattern of apparent recovery, followed by recurring viral infection. In all of these patients, a mutated form of the virus emerged, suggesting that recovery had not been achieved; this is partially reminiscent of the modus operandi of HIV following inadequate drug treatment.
Upon closer examination of some patients, the researchers found that when such a pattern of apparent recovery is observed (based on negative nasopharyngeal swabs), the virus continues to thrive in the lungs of the patients. The researchers, therefore, suggest that the virus accumulates mutations in the lungs, and then traverses back to the upper respiratory tract.
Prof. Stern concludes: The complexity of coronavirus evolution is still being revealed, and this poses many challenges to the scientific community. I believe that our research has succeeded in peeling back a missing layer of the big picture, and has opened the door for further research efforts to discover the origins of the various variants. This study highlights the importance of protecting immunocompromised individuals, who are at high risk for the virus, yet may also be an incubator for the formation of the next variant, posing a risk to all of us.
Reference: Drivers of adaptive evolution during chronic SARS-CoV-2 infections by Sheri Harari, Maayan Tahor, Natalie Rutsinsky, Suzy Meijer, Danielle Miller, Oryan Henig, Ora Halutz, Katia Levytskyi, Ronen Ben-Ami, Amos Adler, Yael Paran, and Adi Stern, 20 June 2022, Nature Medicine.DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01882-4
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic famously decided not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 which prevented him from playing at the Australian Open in January following a legal saga that ended with his deportation from that country, and, as things currently stand, will prevent him from entering the United States to compete at the U.S. Open in August.
More than two years after the pandemic began, coronavirus cases are on the rise around the world lately, due mostly to certain variants, and the health and vaccination status of individual athletes is once again a key issue. At Wimbledon, where the All England Club is following British government guidance that requires neither shots nor testing, three of the top 20 seeded men have withdrawn over the first four days of action because they got COVID-19, with No. 17 Roberto Bautista Agut pulling out Thursday.
Thats raised the specter of an outbreak among players at the Grand Slam tournament, where there essentially is an honor system: If you dont feel well, youre encouraged to get a test on your own; if you test positive, youre encouraged to reveal that and take yourself out of the bracket.
I wont lie: When I have a cough or something, I get paranoid. Its what we kind of have to learn to live with. I feel bad for people who test positive. A place like Wimbledon is definitely not where you want to have it, said Ajla Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old from Australia who is ranked 44th and won Thursday to set up a third-round match against 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
If you have symptoms or youre feeling under the weather, its your responsibility. I think we all travel with home kits; at least I do. And then once youve tested positive, thats where it comes in that you just say you have it, Tomljanovic said. Because you could have lower symptoms and try to play, but that wouldnt be the right thing to do.
At Roland Garros last month, Krejcikova lost her opening match in singles, then withdrew before trying to defend her doubles championship after saying she tested positive for COVID-19.
Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said after his second-round victory Thursday that he is not doing much other than coming to the tournament site and staying at the house he is renting in the area, not going out at all anymore.
This is not just a tennis issue, of course. Its something people are grappling with in all lines of work: how worried to be, when to test, whom to tell.
In sports, its arisen in Major League Baseball, where some players have been unable to travel for games at the Toronto Blue Jays because of Canadas rule against allowing entry to unvaccinated foreigners the same sort of restriction that kept Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia with 20 Grand Slam titles, from participating in tournaments in California and Florida earlier this season and would stop him from going to the U.S. Open, because he says he will not get a shot against COVID-19. In the NBA, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving appeared in only 29 of 82 regular-season games this past season, largely because of his decision not to get vaccinated.
Nearly all women and men in the top 100 of the WTA or ATP tour rankings did get vaccinated. For some, it was all about wanting to avoid getting sick.
Pretty easy: Vaccines work. Everyone has a right to choose, but more or less, the reason we dont die from diseases from 50 years ago is because we got vaccines, said eighth-seeded Jessica Pegula, who is from Buffalo and won Thursday to reach Wimbledons third round for the first time. Of course, it came out really fast, so, sure, theres always that thought: I hope nothing happens. Some people had bad experiences. But for me, I thought it was worth the risk.
For others tennis players, it was more about ensuring they could continue to make a living.
The ATP, similar to the NFL, the NBA, MLB, theyre kind of making you get it, in a way. Theyre saying: If you dont get it, you might not be able to play certain tournaments or in these games, and were going to kind of make things so miserable that youre going to have to get it, said Sam Querrey, an American who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017. So for me, it was a combination that I think it was good to get it, and it makes your life a lot easier from a professional standpoint.
Some players say they respect the choice by Djokovic, who has said he got COVID-19 twice, to stick to his no-vax stance even if it hurts his ability to keep pace with Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, in the major trophy count.
The sport needs him needs him in the sport and at big events, said Denis Shapovalov, a 23-year-old Canadian seeded 13th at Wimbledon who said he did not have an easy time deciding whether to get the shots himself but in the end, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
All has been back to pre-pandemic normal at Wimbledon this year after 2020, when the tournament was canceled altogether, and 2021, when players were in a bubble-type environment and needed to take COVID-19 tests, and stadium capacity was kept low in Week 1 and spectators were required to wear masks.
An All England Club spokesperson said COVID-19 policies are under constant review and pointed to updates made this week, such as increased cleaning, enhanced ventilation, making masks available to players and recommending that masks be worn on official tournament transportation.
I didnt even know that people were testing positive, said Coco Gauff, the 18-year-old American who was the runner-up at Roland Garros this year, until I saw another player wearing a mask.
Bautista Agut wrote on Twitter on Thursday that his symptoms werent very bad but that withdrawing was the best decision.
One of his coaches, Toms Carbonell, said in his own social media post in Spanish: Roberto could have tried to play the match because his symptoms arent bad. Out of respect to his colleagues and to the tournament, we decided not to go on court, even if the rules would have allowed it.
Bautista Aguts COVID-19 departure followed those of No. 8 Matteo Berrettini, the runner-up to Djokovic a year ago, on Tuesday, and of No. 14 Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up, on Monday.
Asked after her victory Thursday what her level of concern is after the recent run of positive tests, No. 4 seed Paula Badosa replied quickly: Zero.
That, the 24-year-old who represents Spain explained, is both because she is vaccinated and already came down with, as she put it with a laugh, every type of COVID possible.
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More AP Wimbledon coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/wimbledon and https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Three quarters of adults now have a bank or mobile money account; gender gap in account ownership narrows
WASHINGTON, June 29, 2022The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred financial inclusion driving a large increase in digital payments amid the global expansion of formal financial services. This expansion created new economic opportunities, narrowing the gender gap in account ownership, and building resilience at the household level to better manage financial shocks, according to theGlobal Findex 2021 database.
As of 2021, 76% of adults globally now have an account at a bank, other financial institution, or with a mobile money provider, up from 68% in 2017 and 51% in 2011. Importantly, growth in account ownership was evenly distributed across many more countries. While in previous Findex surveys over the last decade much of the growth was concentrated in India and China, this years survey found that the percentage of account ownership increased by double digits in 34 countries since 2017.
The pandemic has also led to an increased use of digital payments. In low and middle-income economies (excluding China), over 40% of adults who made merchant in-store or online payments using a card, phone, or the internet did so for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The same was true for more than a third of adults in all low- and middle-income economies who paid a utility bill directly from a formal account. In India, more than 80 million adults made their first digital merchant payment after the start of the pandemic, while in China over 100 million adults did.
Two-thirds of adults worldwide now make or receive a digital payment, with the share in developing economies grew from 35% in 2014 to 57% in 2021. In developing economies, 71% have an account at a bank, other financial institution, or with a mobile money provider, up from 63% in 2017 and 42% in 2011. Mobile money accounts drove a huge increase in financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The digital revolution has catalyzed increases in the access and use of financial services across the world, transforming ways in which people make and receive payments, borrow, and save,saidWorld Bank Group President David Malpass.Creating an enabling policy environment, promoting the digitalization of payments, and further broadening access to formal accounts and financial services among women and the poor are some of the policy priorities to mitigate the reversals in development from the ongoing overlapping crises.
For the first time since the Global Findex database was started in 2011, the survey found that the gender gap in account ownership has narrowed, helping women have more privacy, security, and control over their money. The gap narrowed from 7 to 4 percentage points globally and from 9 to 6 percentage points in low- and middle-income countries, since the last survey round in 2017.
About 36% of adults in developing economies now receive a wage or government payment, a payment for the sale of agricultural products, or a domestic remittance payment into an account. The data suggests that receiving a payment into an account instead of cash can kickstart peoples use of the formal financial system when people receive digital payments, 83% used their accounts to also make digital payments. Almost two-thirds used their account for cash management, while about 40% used it to save further growing the financial ecosystem.
Despite the advances, many adults around the world still lack a reliable source of emergency money. Only about half of adults in low- and middle-income economies said they could access extra money during an emergency with little or no difficulty, and they commonly turn to unreliable sources of finance, including family and friends.
The world has a crucial opportunity to build a more inclusive and resilient economy and provide a gateway to prosperity for billions of people,saidBill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the supporters of the Global Findex database.By investing in digital public infrastructure and technologies for payment and ID systems and updating regulations to foster innovation and protect consumers, governments can build on the progress reported in the Findex and expand access to financial services for all who need them.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the lack of an identity document remains an important barrier holding back mobile money account ownership for 30% of adults with no account suggesting an opportunity for investing in accessible and trusted identification systems. Over 80 million adults with no account still receive government payments in cash digitalizing some of these payments could be cheaper and reduce corruption. Increasing account ownership and usage will require trust in financial service providers, confidence to use financial products, tailored product design, and a strong and enforced consumer protection framework.
The Global Findex database, which surveyed how people in 123 economies use financial services throughout 2021, is produced by the World Bank every three years in collaboration with Gallup, Inc.
Regional Overviews:
EAP
InEast Asia and the Pacific, financial inclusion is a two-part story of what is happening in China versus the other economies of the region. In China, 89% of adults have an account, and 82% of adults used it to make digital merchant payments. In the rest of the region, 59% of adults have an account and 23% of adults made digital merchant payments54% of which did so for the first time after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Double-digit increases in account ownership were achieved in Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand, while the gender gap across the region remains low, at 3 percentage points, but the gap between poor and rich adults is 10 percentage points.
ECA
InEurope and Central Asia, account ownership increased by 13 percentage points since 2017 to reach 78% of adults. Digital payments usage is robust, as about three-quarters of adults used an account to make or receive a digital payment. COVID-19 drove further usage for the 10% of adults who made a digital merchant payment for the first time during the pandemic. Digital technology could further increase account use for the 80 million banked adults that continued to make merchant payments only in cash, including 20 million banked adults in Russia and 19 million banked adults in Trkiye, the regions two largest economies.
LAC
Latin America and the Caribbeansaw an 18 percentage -point increase in account ownership since 2017, the largest of any developing world region, resulting in 73% of adults having an account. Digital payments play a key role, as 40% of adults paid a merchant digitally, including 14% of adults who did so for the first time during the pandemic. COVID-19 furthermore drove digital adoption for the 15% of adults who made their first utility bill payment directly from their account for the first time during the pandemicmore than twice the developing country average. Opportunities for even greater use of digital payments remain given that 150 million banked adults made merchant payments only in cash, including more than 50 million banked adults in Brazil and 16 million banked adults in Colombia.
MENA
TheMiddle East and North Africaregion has made progress reducing the gender gap in account ownership from 17 percentage points in 2017 to 13 percentage points42% of women now have an account compared to 54% of men. Opportunities abound to increase account ownership broadly by digitalizing payments currently made in cash, including payments for agricultural products and private sector wages (about 20 million adults with no account in the region received private sector wages in cash, including 10 million in the Arab Republic of Egypt). Shifting people to formal modes of savings is another opportunity given that about 14 million adults with no account in regionincluding 7 million womensaved using semiformal methods.
SA
InSouth Asia, 68% of adults have an account, a share that has not changed since 2017, though there is wide variation across the region. In India and Sri Lanka, for example, 78% and 89% of adults, respectively, have an account. Account usage has grown, however, driven by digital payments, as 34% of adults used their account to make or receive a payment, up from 28% in 2017. Digital payments present an opportunity to increase both account ownership and usage, given the continued dominance of casheven among account ownersto make merchant payments.
SSA
InSub-Saharan Africa, mobile money adoption continued to rise, such that 33% of adults now have a mobile money accounta share three times larger than the 10% global average. Although mobile money services were originally designed to allow people to send remittances to friends and family living elsewhere within the country, adoption and usage have spread beyond those origins, such that 3-out-of-4 mobile account owners in 2021 made or received at least one payment that was not person-to-person and 15% of adults used their mobile money account to save. Opportunities to increase account ownership in the region include digitalizing cash payments for the 65 million adults with no account receiving payments for agricultural products, and expanding mobile phone ownership, as lack of a phone is cited as a barrier to mobile money account adoption. Adults in the region worry more about paying school fees than adults in other regions, suggesting opportunities for policy or products to enable education-oriented savings.
(Precision Vaccinations)
When the U.S. FDAs vaccine committee endorsed the Maryland-produced protein-based COVID-19 vaccine on June 7, 2022, many people expected authorization would immediately follow.
However, according to Novavax Inc.s statement issued on July 1, 2022, this World Health Organization Listed vaccine remains under FDA review.
Novavax stated it is awaiting U.S. emergency use authorization (EUA) for our prototype COVID-19 vaccine, and we are committed to bringing it to market.
Clinical data generated to date demonstrate that this prototype vaccine offers broad immune responses including against circulating variants, such as the Omicron BA.4/5.
Novavax is already well underway in our variant program and will accelerate our focus on Omicron BA.4/5, as recommended by FDA in their guidance on June 30, 2022.
We expect to have additional preclinical data on Omicron BA.4/5 in the late summer or fall, and expect to be in a position to provide an Omicron-containing vaccine in Q4 of 2022.
During the late June FDA meeting, Novavaxs team highlighted data showing the structural features of Novavax's protein-based COVID-19 vaccine displayed epitopes across both the original strain and emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus variants, contributing to the generation of broadly cross-reacting antibodies.
Additional data from Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials and in vitro data on neutralizing antibodies and receptor inhibition from trial participants show cross-reactivity with all virus variants tested, particularly following booster doses.
Novavax continues to believe in the importance of vaccines that offer broad immune responses against a variety of variants, given the fact that COVID-19 will continue to evolve, said the Company.
Novavax originally submitted a request to the FDA for EUA in January 2022.
Another company hoping to bring this non-mRNA vaccine to the USA is the Serum Institute in India (SSI). On June 30, 2022, local media reported SSI is seeking approval to export millions of its version of the Novavax vaccine, Covovax, under the brand name Nuvaxovid, to the USA in July 2022.
As of July 2, 2022, Nuvaxovid has received authorization for use in adults from more than forty countries. Recently, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration granted EUA for Nuvaxovid.
Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) is a protein-based vaccine engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of the SARS-CoV-2 beta coronavirus.
This Novavax vaccine integrates the patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant, which has demonstrated a potent and well-tolerated effect by stimulating the entry of antigen-presenting cells into the injection site and enhancing antigen presentation in local lymph nodes, boosting immune response and helping an immunized person make antibodies against the virus.
In July 2020, Novavax was awarded $1.6 billion by the U.S. federal government to complete late-stage clinical development and deliver 100 million doses of the NVXCoV2373 vaccine.
Note: This vaccine news article is not sponsored content.
PrecisionVaccinations publishes fact-checked, research-based vaccine news curated for mobile readership.
Toronto will be shortening hours at the city-run immunization clinics during the summer.
According to Toronto Public Health, the new hours of operation will begin on Monday and will impact all of the six active clinics offering the COVID-19 vaccine. In a notification posted to social media, officials said the changes will meet the needs of Toronto residents throughout the summer.
These are the new hours:
At Metro Hall and Crossroads Plaza the clinics will be open between noon to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
At Cloverdale Mall, Mitchell Field Community Centre and 1940 Eglinton Avenue, the clinics will be open noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
At Thorncliffe Park Community Hub, the clinic will be open between noon to 6 p.m., as well as between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
All clinics are offering first, second and third doses, as well as fourth doses for select eligible groups.
Residents can book an appointment using the provincial booking portal or call centre.
Students in Grades 7 to 12 can also book appointments at these clinics for school-based vaccinations such as those for Hepatitis B, HPV and Meningococcal diseases.
About 51.7 per cent of all eligible Toronto residents have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Foreign travellers arriving in Australia will no longer need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from Wednesday morning.
It marks the end of significant COVID-based restrictions on travel into Australia, more than two years after the pandemic began.
Currently, anyone arriving in Australia needs to declare their vaccination status before arriving.
While Australian citizens can arrive unvaccinated, most foreign travellers need to seek an exemption on limited grounds.
From 12:01am on Wednesday morning, those requirements will be scrapped altogether opening the international border in full to unvaccinated travellers.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the decision was being made now on medical advice.
"The Chief Medical Officer has advised it is no longer necessary for travellers to declare their vaccine status as part of our management of COVID," he said.
"Unvaccinated Australians, as well as certain groups of visa holders, have been able to travel to Australia for some time.
"We will continue to act on the medical advice as needed."
Relatively few requests were being made from unvaccinated travellers looking to enter Australia.
In May, just over 1,000 applications were receivedand only 158 were approved largely on compassionate grounds.
Incoming arrivals still need to comply with other COVID-19 restrictions, like wearing masks on flights bound for Australia.
All international arrivals into Australia have been required to fill out a Digital Passenger Declaration, which records their vaccination status.
The DPDs were rolled out earlier this year, but with this decision, they will no longer be used.
It is expected the DPD system will eventually take the place of the paper international arrival cards, currently filled out by anyone landing in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neill said this decision wouldallow the technology to be worked on before that change was made.
"I know anyone who has travelled internationally since the borders have opened will find this as one less thing to worry about especially as more Australians get back to travelling overseas," she said.
"We've also listened to feedback about the DPD.
"While in time it will replace the paper-based incoming passenger card, it needs a lot more work to make it user friendly"
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The vaccine deployment in December 2020 signaled a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of May 2021, 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated. But as vaccination rates lagged over the summer, new surges of COVID-19 came, including Delta in the summer of 2021, and now the Omicron variant, which comprises the majority of cases in the U.S.
The United States as of Apr. 15 reached 988,342 COVID-19-related deaths and nearly 80.5 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 65.9% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 45.3% of vaccinated people have received booster doses.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties with highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Utah using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Covid Act Now. Counties are ranked by the highest vaccination rate as of Apr. 14, 2022. Due to inconsistencies in reporting, some counties do not have vaccination data available. Keep reading to see whether your county ranks among the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in your state.
Corona Virus
The novel corona virus is a virus which gave birth to a deadly disease named COVID-19, which emerged in Chinas Wuhan city in December 2019. This virus became breaking news all over the world due to its unprecedented speed of transmission. This virus has spread to 187 countries across the globe including USA, UK, France, Spain, Italy, India and so on. Corona virus is a virus which infects respiratory system and it causes infection in nose, throat and lungs. The symptoms of corona virus are fever, sore throat, shortness of breath etc. Symptoms of this virus can show up in as few as 2 days or as many as 14 days.
Corona virus spreads when one come into contact with COVID-19 infected person because it transmits through droplets produced while coughing or sneezing by infected person. For prevention and protection from this virus one must practice following measures: Social Distancing-Maintain safe distance from a person who having symptoms like coughing and sneezing, Stay Home- Avoid going outside until its very urgent, Wear Mask- Cover your mouth and Nose, Hand Wash- Clean your hands often, Health Checkup- if you have corona virus symptoms then go for a medical checkup. To enforce social distancing amongst the societies and to avoid further spread of COVID-19 the governments of many countries across the world took decision of lockdown. In addition to lockdown some countries such as India impose curfew for total movement control. Lockdown somewhat proved to be useful to curve the graph of COVID-19.
On the other hand scientists and medical experts are still engaged in search of vaccine for Corona virus but till date mankind is not blessed with the vaccine. In conclusion social distancing and practice of preventive measures are the keys to fight this deadly virus.
Cuban state media recently announced the debut of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine candidate developed jointly with Chinas government, the independent Cuban news site 14 y Medioreported over the weekend.
As a result of the collaboration in the biotechnological sector between China and Cuba, the first patent for the Pan-Corona vaccine was recently presented at the National Intellectual Property Office of China, Eduardo Martnez Daz, the president of the state-run BioCubaFarma Business Group, wrote in a Twitter statement June 1.
These joint investigations have the purpose of achieving effective vaccines against coronaviruses, and would not only have value in the current pandemic, but could also be effective against the appearance of new pathogens belonging to this family of viruses, he noted.
Granma, which is the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Partys Central Committee,reportedon the development of Pan-Corona on June 2.
The vaccine candidates research and development center is located in southern Chinas Yongzhou city. The headquarters has been jointly operated since 2019 by staff from two Cuban state-run health facilities: the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and BioCubaFarma.
Chinas government requested Cubas collaboration to develop Pan-Corona, CIGB Director Dr. Gerardo Guilln Nieto said in recent days. Although the vaccine candidate has yet to receive approval from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Cubas Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment has already approved Pan-Corona for domestic use, according to Nieto.
Pan-Corona is a recombinant-type antigen, which is the vaccine development platform in which the CIGB has the most experience, with successful antecedents such as that of hepatitis B, in addition to two of the Cuban vaccines [candidates] against covid-19 [Chinese coronavirus], according to Granma.
The initiative focuses on coronaviruses, not only due to the global crisis caused by SARS-COV-2, but also taking into account that this family of viruses is one of the most likely to jump from animals to humans (a phenomenon called zoonosis), with antecedents such as mers in the Middle East or SARS-COV-1 [sic], the state-run newspaper noted.
SARS-CoV-2 is the type of coronavirus that causes the disease known as COVID-19, alternatively known as the Chinese coronavirus.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) announced SARS-CoV-2, which stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, as the name of the virus on February 11, 2020.
This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003. While related, the two viruses are different, the W.H.O. notes on its website.
To schedule yourCOVID-19 vaccine appointment, please start by answering a few questions through the form below.
Please note: For infants and children through age 17 years, a parent or guardian must be present during the appointment or available by phone.
Online will be the fastest and most up-to-date way to schedule, but if you are having difficulties please call (608) 720-5055. We recommend accessing the online scheduling form from a computer instead of a mobile device in order to ensure the best usability experience.
