Half a Million Sharks Could Die to Produce Squalene Adjuvants for COVID-19 Vaccines
Story Highlights A shark conservation group is calling for alternatives to using squalene harvested from the liver of sharks as an adjuvant in COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Shark conservation advocates estimate that an additional 500,000 sharks will be killed every year should squalene adjuvanted coronavirus vaccines become licensed for global general use. The group is asking […]
DES Tragedy Offers Cautionary Tale for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
The synthetic estrogen Diesthylstilbestrol (DES) was prescribed to pregnant women in the U.S. from 1938 to 1971 for the prevention of miscarriages and premature births. In 1953, published research showed that DES did not in fact prevent miscarriages or premature births. However, physicians continued to prescribe it until 1971, when the FDA warned that the […]
Intranasal COVID-19 Vaccine May Be More Effective Than Injected Vaccines
There are more than 150 experimental COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world, all of which are being designed for intramuscular injection.1 Some researchers are investigating whether the conventional intramuscular injection route is less effective when using vaccines to prevent microbial infections that invade the respiratory airway like SARS-CoV-2.2 Avery August, PhD, an immunologist at […]
Genetically Engineered Cow Plasma Therapy for COVID-19 Will Be Tested on Humans
Story Highlights Human trials for a new COVID-19 immunotherapy candidate (SAB-185) that is derived from genetically engineered cow plasma will begin in July 2020. The cows have been genetically engineered to produce human antibodies to fight off COVID-19. Plasma from the cows is expected to assist COVID-19 patients overcome the infection. SAb Biotherapeutics (SAB), a […]
Blood Type May Affect Vulnerability to COVID-19
Story Highlights An international group of geneticists has compared DNA of patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 infection with that of healthy volunteers and found six gene clusters that may provide insight into the wide range of responses to the virus. Results showed that patients with Type A blood appeared to have a greater susceptibility for […]
Virginia Legislature Gives CDC, Board of Health Power to Mandate Vaccines for School Children
In the 2020 Legislative session, the Virginia Legislature passed H.B.1090, a bill that amended a law requiring children attending public and private schools in the state to receive vaccines (§ 32.1-46. Immunization of patients against certain diseases).1 Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) was the lead sponsor of H.B. 1090 introduced on Jan. 8, 2020, which […]
