immune

The Debilitating Puzzle Box of Long COVID

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:36:09 +0000

Imagine sitting in front of 40,000 tiny pieces that you have to assemble into a jigsaw puzzle. Except that some of these pieces may belong to a different puzzle. There is no box to tell you what the final image looks like. And in front of you is a massive hourglass, its sand slowly and inevitably flowing down, and as time goes by, more and more people suffer. You must solve the puzzle while minimizing suffering.

Wider eligibility for COVID booster shots makes sense

Christopher Labos MD, MSc — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 21:54:16 +0000

This article was originally published in the Montreal Gazette

Recently, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization lowered the recommended age for a COVID-19 booster shot from 70 and up to 50 and up, with the same proviso that it be at least six months after the second dose. It said those ages 18 to 49 could be offered a booster based on their individual risk and the degree of COVID-19 spread in their area.

The Internet is full of claims that vaccines do not protect us from COVID-19. What recent evidence is there that they do?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:37:50 +0000

It is true that the original protection rate of over 90% in the trials has not been matched by real-life experience, but that was to be expected. However, the protection is still significant. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that among frontline workers vaccines are 66% effective even when most infections are due to the delta variant.

What Does It Mean When a Vaccine Contains an Inactivated Virus?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 16:15:54 +0000

A vaccine contains an attenuated or inactivated microorganism (or part of one) so that your immune system can prepare itself for an eventual infection. The content of the vaccine must be immunogenic, meaning that it will be recognized by your immune system, without being infectious, so that you don’t get the disease the vaccine is trying to protect you from. We often hear the phrase “inactivated vaccine”, but how exactly do scientists inactivate a virus or bacterium?