Study warns of delayed flu outbreaks after pandemic ends

The positive steps we are taking to prevent disease might have a negative side effect.

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  • A new study out of Princeton suggests that measures to prevent COVID-19 are also preventing certain other diseases.
  • The nature of seasonal diseases means that people who avoid them this year may just be putting it off, leading to a large wave later.
  • These estimates don't mean we should be less preventive now, only that we must be sure to take care in the future.
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Plant-grown vaccines: the next step in medicine?

Medicago is growing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in a relative of the tobacco plant right now.

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  • Canadian biotech company Medicago is growing a vaccine candidate in Nicotiana benthamiana.
  • An Australian relative to tobacco, plant-based vaccines could be cheaper and more reliable than current methods.
  • Medicago just completed phase 3 clinical trials of an influenza vaccine, which could be a game-changer for vaccine production.
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Why do some people suffer worse from COVID-19? New studies identify a genetic mutation

94 percent of men in the study have this mutation, which explains why men are more likely to die.

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  • Since the pandemic began, we've wondered why some people suffer terribly while others show no symptoms.
  • A team at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute discovered a genetic mutation responsible for the production of "auto-antibodies."
  • These findings could change treatment protocols and vaccine development moving forward.
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How the media helped fuel the anti-vaxx movement

Andrew Wakefield turned away from science and to the tabloids to spread his fabricated data.

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  • Investigative journalist Brian Deer has published a new book on anti-vaxx ringleader, Andrew Wakefield.
  • Discredited in the science community, Wakefield turned to the media to share his anti-vaxx propaganda.
  • The disbarred doctor fabricated results and filed for his own vaccine patents, Deer reports.
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The surprising future of vaccine technology

We owe a lot to vaccines and the scientists that develop them. But we've only just touched the surface of what vaccines can do.

  • "Vaccines are the best thing science has ever given us," says Larry Brilliant, founding president and acting chairman of Skoll Global Threats. From smallpox, to Ebola, to polio, scientists have successful fought viruses and saved millions of lives. So what's next?
  • As Covaxx (formerly United Neuroscience) cofounder Lou Reese explains in this video, the issue with vaccines is that they don't work against "non-external threats." This is a problem, especially now when internal threats (things that cause cancers, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses) are killing people more than external threats like viruses.
  • The future of vaccine tech, which scientists are already working toward today, is developing safe vaccines to eradicate these destructive internal agents without harming our bodies in the process.


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