COVID Transmissions for 10-27-2020
Good morning! It has been 345 days since the first documented human case of COVID-19. I suppose we are nearing the year mark, aren’t we?
Headlines today looking at duration of immune responses to COVID-19 and more.
As usual, bolded terms are linked to the running newsletter glossary.
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Now, let’s talk COVID.
Fading of antibody response
A recent study in Nature Microbiology looks at how antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 decay in recovering patients: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-00813-8
As in previous studies, they found that people with low antibody levels in response to infection had more transient antibody levels, falling below the limit of detection faster than people with higher levels during initial infection.
What’s interesting in this study is that those with high antibody levels were shown to maintain a meaningful level of antibodies for more than 60 days, and also that some with lower levels maintained their neutralizing capabilities for that long as well.
What’s particularly meaningful here is the suggestion that starting with a high antibody level leads to sustained antibody levels above the minimum for neutralization. That is not a big surprise, but it suggests that for vaccine design purposes, a two-dose schedule with a booster dose given may be helpful.
However, this study only went out to 94 days postinfection.
In another study, from Portugal, even more encouraging results were found on antibody level duration. Looking at 500 patients, they found at even as long as 7 months postinfection, antibodies remained at neutralizing levels in “a large proportion” of patients.
See that study here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/eji.202048970
Evolutionary analysis supports February start for NYC outbreak
A recent evolutionary genetic analysis has confirmed results seen in serological surveys: https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2020/10/21/gr.266676.120
By comparing the heredity of virus isolates from NYC during the large outbreak here with other isolates from around the globe, the authors were able to estimate the time that the virus came to New York. Their results indicate sometime towards the middle to end of February; this is at least approximately in line with results from serological surveys indicating introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City in early-to-mid-February.
What am I doing to cope with the pandemic? This:
Kombucha
I’ve always thought kombucha—a kind of fermented tea that is sort of sour—was a pretty strange thing. I’m not usually like that with food, and am open to a lot of new things, but kombucha always seemed like it wasn’t for me.
Until last night! Almost by accident, I tried out a “hard” kombucha, which was a lot like a fruity, sour beer. It was even hopped like a beer. It was very good. I think I might explore the kombucha space a little more.
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Thanks for reading, everyone!
See you all next time.
Always,
JS