Who Should Get a Covid-19 Vaccine First?

In the United States, the standard approach to distributing a routine vaccine is based on the assumption that there will be plenty of doses available. Ideally, everyone will then follow their doctors’ recommendations when it comes to being immunized against the germ in question. As a practical matter, though, rarely are both of those conditions…

Stable protein decoy neutralized SARS-CoV-2 in cells and protected hamsters from viral challenge

Researchers have designed a protein “decoy” that mimics the interface where the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds a human cell, one version of which could neutralize virus infection in cells and protect hamsters from viral challenge. The SARS-CoV-2 virus enters human cells when the spike protein binds to the human ACE2 receptor. While neutralizing antibodies to…

Nanobodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Two separate studies have identified nanobodies – which could be produced less expensively than monoclonal antibodies – that bind tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and efficiently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in cells. “The combined stability, potency, and diverse epitope engagement of our … nanobodies … provide a unique potential prophylactic and therapeutic strategy to limit the…