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Interim analysis indicates that vaccine candidate Ad26.COV2.S is safe and immunogenic in both younger and older adults. This finding, in combination with the results in preclinical challenge studies, has supported our decision to proceed with phase 3 trials to evaluate the efficacy of a single or two-dose regimen of 5×10^10 viral particles of Ad26.COV2.S.

Studies by Hartley et al., & Dan et al., provide hope for long-lasting memory B cell immunity which persists despite a decline in circulating SARS-CoV-2-antibodies. Further, they highlight specific immune compartment that could be used as better markers of persisting immunity.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disease characterised by severe anaemia. The only functional cure for SCD is a bone marrow transplant which is very challenging to conduct. We summarise two studies that used gene editing approaches to treat SCD.

Greaney et al., demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 E484 mutation (present in 501.V2 variant), results in a 10-fold reduction in neutralisation capacity of convalescent sera from some patients but not others, while no negative antibody binding effect of the N501Y mutation (present in 501.V2 andB1.1.7 variants) was observed.

In a recent study Hermida et al. developed an in-house ELISA for detection of Johne’s disease, caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) which affects domestic and wild ruminants and is responsible for major economic losses in the agricultural sector.

The two doses of mRNA-1273 vaccine showed 94.1% efficacy at preventing COVID-19 illness including severe disease in persons 18 or older. Aside from transient local and systemic reactions, no safety concerns were identified. The authors stated that there are still questions...

Recently, disturbance in type I interferons (IFN-I) has shed some light on why certain individuals may be at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease. IFN-I describes a family of interferon cytokines that are important in the interference of viral spread and replication.

This article aims to provide a brief overview of the BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 COVID-19 vaccines efficacy results published in peer-reviewed journals. Both vaccines were tested in young and elderly, as well as individuals with comorbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

The hallmark of vitiligo immunopathology is the development of “white” patches of skin due to the destruction of melanocytes. Mukhataye et al., demonstrates that GD3-reactive CAR-Treg transfer to vitiligo-prone mice provided significant protection against depigmentation.

Few individuals naturally develop bnAbs, therefore developing a vaccine that can induce these Abs is one of the goals of HIV vaccinology. A recent study by Huang et al., utilised CRISPR-Cas9 technology and immunisation to induce HIV bnAbs in humanised mice. They isolated mature B cells from C57BL/6J ...