Vaccines

We are currently still not able to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, due to limited vaccination and the emergence of new variants of the virus. These variants show in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, as is the case with numerous viruses. One of these variants, the UK variant, was discovered in September 2020 in the United Kingdom. […]

SARS-CoV-2 has infected 106 million people and killed 2.3 million. Several candidate vaccines have been developed by different companies (Novavax, Janssen, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca), based on various technologies (RNA, adenovirus vectors…). All these vaccines have been developed using sequences of the surface spike (S) viral protein from the strain in Wuhan that was at the […]

The main aim of vaccines currently being used is to produce neutralizing antibodies in individuals which will block the entry of the virus into the host cell. It appears that these vaccines will still be effective against the UK variant. Several neutralizing antibodies are currently undergoing clinical testing with the aim of preventing or treating […]

Several effective and safe vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are now on the market. They were developed in record time, and are based specifically on inhibiting the virus’ spike (S) surface protein. The S protein, and more particularly the RBD region, binds to the ACE2 region to enable entry of the viral particle into the cell. This […]

The development of vaccines that effectively block infection by and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has become a major priority. They must incite the production of neutralizing antibodies, since several recent studies have shown that levels of these antibodies in the blood are linked to protection against reinfection. These antibodies target the spike viral protein and block […]

SARS-CoV-2 has brought about an unprecedented worldwide crisis, affecting health and economies across nations.  By January 2021, more than 85 million people had been infected and the illness had caused more than 1.8 million deaths. There is currently a demand for vaccines that goes far beyond production capacities. This situation has obliged governments to put […]

SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak, is a virus belonging to the coronavirus family. This family includes 4 species of virus causing benign endemics in humans (HCoVs). It also includes 2 other species (MERS-CoV and Sars-CoV-1) that have recently emerged and which can cause serious illness. The SARS-CoV-2 proteins are relatively different from the proteins […]

The COVID-19 epidemic – caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus – began in China but spread rapidly. On the 20 January 2021, there were more than 96 million infected people worldwide, with more than 2 million deaths. The successful development of vaccines has been extremely quick. The first documented case of COVID-19 dates from the 1st […]

Several vaccines have been developed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Amongst them are 2 vaccines, those of  Moderna  and of Pfizer BioNTech, that are based on mRNA technology. These vaccines are effective, safe and now in widespread use to prevent symptoms of the illness. To test them, American researchers recently analysed the antibodies […]

The ability of viruses to mutate and evade the immune system’s attentions is a major obstacle to the development of universal vaccines, as well as to certain therapies. The mutations enabling evasion can change the “appearance” of viral surface proteins without altering their structure and functions, and so mask the virus to the eyes of […]