Experts are tracking the ways in which the novel coronavirus is evolving over time. They are also keeping tabs on immunity as well. Check out the latest reports about how experts are trying to keep up with the virus.
The Atlantic notes that the hunt for the next big, bad coronavirus variant is on.
The same online publication notes the fact that scientists around the world are sampling wastewater and amassing nose swabs from the sick; they’re scouring the microbe’s genetic code for alarming aberrations.
The world of outbreak surveillance “is all virus,” says Danny Douek, an immunologist at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“We’re laser-focused on getting eyes on a variant that would be well-equipped to wallop us, then alerting the globe. But that, Douek said, is just one half of the infectious playing field where offense and defense meet.”
The same online publication notes that monitoring the status of anti-disease protection would amount to a kind of immune surveillance that could reveal “when immunity wanes, and when it needs to be augmented.”
These are the words of John Wherry, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mass antibody testing
The article that we already cited above also notes that there is one obvious spot to start “with mass antibody testing, or serology, to figure out how drastically and quickly antibody levels are changing over time, and in whom.”
It’s been also revealed that we could get a rough sense of which members of the population might be most susceptible in the event of another surge. These members will then be able to get prioritized for boosters, tests, treatments, and more.
We suggest that you check out the complete article in order to learn more details about keeping up with the novel coronavirus. Stay tuned for more news and also make sure to stay safe because the danger is still here.
