Initial evidences suggest that the 44% of people with mild or asymptomatic infection have very low antibody levels with little neutralizing capacity | According to these results, a positive antibody test may not guarantee protection against SARS-CoV-2. Click here for reference

SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged coronavirus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in more than 3.7 million infections and 260,000 deaths as of 6 May 20201,2. Vaccine and therapeutic discovery efforts are paramount to curb the pandemic spread of this zoonotic virus. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein promotes entry into host cells and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Here we describe multiple monoclonal antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 S identified f...

For diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a SARS-CoV-2 virus-specific reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) test is routinely used. However, this test can take up to 2 d to complete, serial testing may be required to rule out the possibility of false negative results and there is currently a shortage of RT–PCR test kits, underscoring the urgent need for alternative methods for rapid and accurate diagnosis of patients with COVID-19. Chest computed tomography ...

For diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a SARS-CoV-2 virus-specific reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) test is routinely used. However, this test can take up to 2 d to complete, serial testing may be required to rule out the possibility of false negative results and there is currently a shortage of RT–PCR test kits, underscoring the urgent need for alternative methods for rapid and accurate diagnosis of patients with COVID-19. Chest computed tomography ...

As coronavirus vaccines hurtle through development, scientists are getting their first look at data that hint at how well different vaccines are likely to work. The picture, so far, is murky.



On 18 May, US biotech firm Moderna revealed the first data from a human trial: its COVID-19 vaccine triggered an immune response in people, and protected mice from lung infections with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The results — which the company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, annou...

The care for all patients with cancer requires multidisciplinary review and decision-making, and entails the consideration of many factors in order to develop a sound plan of treatment. This requires a detailed assessment of patient, disease, surgical team, and hospital resources. These principles remain critical and in fact, arguably more important now as we combat the COVID-19 pandemic than ever before. Thus a
“one size fits all” recommendation would be unwise due to sig...

Member states have backed a resolution strongly supportive of the World Health Organization, after Donald Trump issued a fresh broadside against the UN body, giving it 30 days to make unspecified reforms or lose out on US funding. None of the WHO's 194 members states raised objections to the resolution brought by the EU on behalf of more than 100 countries. The resolution backs the WHO’s leadership and said there needed to be an investigation into the global response to the coronavirus pa...

Strategies to split ventilators to support multiple patients requiring ventilatory support have been proposed and used in emergency cases in which shortages of ventilators cannot otherwise be remedied by production or procurement strategies. However, the current approaches to ventilator sharing lack the ability to individualize ventilation to each patient, measure pulmonary mechanics, and accommodate rebalancing of the airflow when one patient improves or deteriorates, posing safety conce...

Computational models, cell studies and animal experiments are being used to pinpoint the viral host that kicked off the pandemic.
As a growing number of countries push for an independent investigation into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, many scientists around the world are already trying to uncover when, where and how the new coronavirus got into people.

Finding the source is important for preventing further reinfection, but scientists’ investigations — which include modelling...

Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 has enormous potential to contribute to COVID-19 pandemic response efforts. However, the required performance characteristics of antibody tests will critically depend on the use case (individual-level vs. population-level).


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Given the threat of coronavirus disease 2019, or Covid-19, it is important to emphasize the use of proper precautions for infection control in health care settings. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, is the virus that causes Covid-19.1 The routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission include direct contact — that is, contact with the respiratory droplets and aerosols from an affected person — and indirect contact, such as contact with contaminated surfaces or...

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