TWiV Episode 631 is one of their more important episodes.
Brianne Barker (immunology), Rich Condit and Vincent Raccaniello discuss papers which actually, this week, are very relevant to what our thinking and behavior should be, at least this week.
As always, they could use an editor, but if you have time walking the dog or on the bicycle, it's rewarding.
Key points:
1/ There is a saliva test from Rutgers available at some CVS's for the virus PCR, i.e. you can tell if you are shedding virus particles, which would suggest you are actively infected. On previous episodes they cautioned that the PCR picks up only parts of the virus, and some people shed long after they are clearly recovered, as if what they have in their saliva and throats are just wreckage, debris of the virus.
2/ An Italian study of 20,000 people suggest that in people below 30 years old as many as 70% infected with SARS CoV-2 (Covid19) are asymptomatic, i.e., could be silent spreaders--although previous episodes note more than 80% of infections were spread by 10% of infected people, "super spreaders."
3/ Some people who were infected no longer have the antibodies to the virus, made by B cells, but may retain immunity through their T cells.
Tests for T cell immunity are not clinically available.
Trying to figure out if a vaccine will effectively protect against the disease COVID19 may not be a simple matter of testing post vaccine antibodies, since even in their absence, T cells may have been programmed to protect.
4/ Vaccines now being rushed to production overwhelmingly are designed to attack the protein spike of the virus. But other components may be more important. In fact, in order to be well protected vaccines might have to use more parts of the virus to achieve really adequate protection against the virus.
This is really worth listening to.
https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-631/
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