THE following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Vaccines designed for virus variants show promise in mice
Moderna Inc vaccines designed to protect against the worrisome coronavirus variants identified in South Africa and Brazil have yielded promising results when tested in mice, according to new data. The company tested two new approaches against the variants - a single-dose "booster" for mice vaccinated months earlier with both doses of the original Moderna vaccine, and a separate new two-shot version combining the original vaccine with the booster in mice that had never been vaccinated. In both scenarios, according to a paper posted on Tuesday on bioRxiv ahead of peer review, the treated animals had "significant" levels of antibodies against the original strain of the virus and comparably high levels of antibodies capable of neutralizing both the B.1.351 South African variant and the P.1 Brazil variant. Tests of the two new vaccines in humans are already underway.
Hospital patients with UK variant do not face higher risks
A highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain, known as B.1.1.7, does not cause more severe disease in hospitalized patients, according to a study published on Monday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. B.1.1.7 is now the most common variant of the coronavirus in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and accounts for the vast majority of new cases in the UK. The new study compared 198 patients with B.1.1.7 infections and 143 with COVID-19 caused by other variants, all of whom were admitted to British hospitals in November and December. Patients infected with the UK variant had higher viral loads, which aligns with previous findings that B.1.1.7 is more transmissible. But the researchers saw no difference in the risks of critical illness, death, or other clinical outcomes in patients with B.1.1.7 and other variants. "Our data ... provide initial reassurance that severity in hospitalized patients with B.1.1.7 is not markedly different from severity in those without," the researchers said.
Empty middle airplane seats would cut coronavirus exposure
Keeping middle airplane seats vacant could cut the risk of exposure to the coronavirus by 23% to 57% compared with a full flight, according to a simulation study on physical distancing onboard released on Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The researchers based their findings on laboratory modeling of exposure to the coronavirus on single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft. "It is important to recognize that the current study addresses only exposure," not actual transmission resulting in infections, and it did not consider the impact of masking, the researchers said. U.S. airlines blocked middle seats early in the pandemic but have gradually opened them up, citing studies showing low transmission risk if everyone onboard wears a mask. The authors of the new study, however, say earlier research found "masking seems to not eliminate all airborne exposures to infectious droplets and aerosols and support the importance of multicomponent prevention strategies." Combining the effects of masking and distancing by means of empty middle seats would be more protective than either by itself, the researchers said.
Reuters
Thu Apr 15 2021
Moderna Inc vaccines designed to protect against the worrisome coronavirus variants identified in South Africa and Brazil have yielded promising results when tested in mice. REUTERSpic
Pentagon, Jabatan Negara AS beri amaran jenayah perang Israel
Pegawai-pegawai tersebut telah memberi amaran peningkatan jumlah kematian di Gaza mungkin melanggar undang-undang antarabangsa.
200,000 pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula pada 23 Sept.
Belanjawan 2025: Kesalinghubungan internet di sekolah, kampus jadi keutamaan - Fahmi
Kementerian Komunikasi akan memberikan keutamaan dengan meneruskan usaha untuk meningkatkan dan memantapkan lagi prasarana kesalinghubungan melibatkan isu Internet, dalam Belanjawan 2025 yang akan dibentangkan pada 18 Okt ini.
Setahun solidariti, sokongan global untuk Palestin di tengah-tengah genosid berterusan Israel
Ribuan manusia di seluruh dunia turun ke jalanan untuk menyuarakan sokongan kepada Palestin dan menuntut keadilan.
Indonesia kecewakan China, raih kejuaraan badminton berpasukan campuran remaja dunia
Indonesia menewaskan China untuk muncul Juara Badminton Berpasukan Campuran Remaja Dunia dengan kemenangan 110-103 (mata terkumpul).
Bomba selamatkan tiga subkontrakor terkandas di kren pengangkat
Ketiga-tiga mangsa lelaki itu masing-masing berusia 24, 26 dan 32 tahun terkandas dengan anggaran ketinggian dua tingkat.
Hulu Perak daerah terbaharu dilanda banjir kilat
Banjir kilat berlaku disebabkan hujan lebat berterusan selama dua jam di sekitar Gerik.
Kejayaan pembangunan Sabah jadi kayu ukur pada PRN, PRU16 - Rafizi
Rafizi berkata kerjasama antara parti adalah perkara yang terus dibincangkan dalam kerangka semangat Kerajaan Perpaduan.
88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara dapat pengiktirafan JAKIM
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) telah memberikan pengiktirafan kepada 88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara setakat Mei tahun ini.
eWarga Emas bentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan berkesan, bersepadu - Noraini
Portal sistem warga emas (eWarga Emas) dibangunkan bagi membentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan warga emas yang berkesan dan bersepadu.
Belgium akan musnahkan hampir 6 juta vaksin COVID-19 yang luput
Belgium tidak boleh menggunakan lagi lebihan vaksin asli dan 2.6 juta dos Moderna dan 3.3 juta dos Pfizer akan dimusnahkan secepat mungkin.
Vaksin COVID-19: AS setuju cadangan dos penggalak kepada 12 tahun ke atas
CDC dijangka menerima pakai cadangan itu, sebagai langkah sebelum suntikan boleh dimulakan.
Moderna saman Pfizer, BioNTech kerana tiru paten
Moderna mendakwa, kedua-dua syarikat itu meniru teknologi yang dihasilkannya sejak sekian lama sebelum pandemik bermula.
Britain negara pertama lulus vaksin sasar dua varian COVID-19
Agensi Kawal Selia Kesihatan dan Perubatan UK memaklumkan ia memberi lampu hijau untuk vaksin berkenaan yang akan digunakan sebagai dos penggalak dewasa.
COVID-19: Vaksin Pfizer, Moderna lulus untuk kanak-kanak 6 bulan ke 5 tahun
Dengan kelulusan ini, sekitar 18 juta kanak-kanak dalam kumpulan umur berkenaan layak untuk menerima vaksin.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Jumaat, 29 April 2022.
Moderna minta FDA luluskan vaksin COVID-19 untuk kanak-kanak bawah 6 tahun
Vaksin dua dos itu dilaporkan 51 peratus berkesan terhadap jangkitan varian Omicron pada bayi berumur enam bulan hingga dua tahun.
COVID-19: Britain lulus vaksin Moderna untuk kanak-kanak 6-11 tahun
Kelulusan diberikan selepas vaksin dikenali sebagai Spikevax itu memenuhi piawaian keselamatan, kualiti dan keberkesanan yang diperlukan.
COVID-19: Moderna dakwa vaksin keluarannya berkesan terhadap bayi, kanak-kanak
Sekiranya pengawal selia Amerika Syarikat bersetuju, ia memberi peluang kepada pemberian vaksin kepada kanak-kanak menjelang musim panas.
Moderna rancang tubuh anak syarikat baharu di Malaysia
Syarikat bioteknologi yang merintis terapeutik dan vaksin messenger RNA (mRNA), Moderna, Inc. hari ini mengumumkan rancangan untuk menubuhkan anak syarikat baharu di Malaysia, disertai tiga anak syari