Publications by authors named "Ernest T Aguinam"

Introduction: One of the unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic was the relatively low levels of morbidity and mortality in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, accounted for less than 0.01% of the global COVID-19 fatalities.

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Background: Immunodeficient patients (IDPs) are at higher risk of contracting severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Targeted vaccination strategies have been implemented to enhance vaccine-induced protection. In this population, however, clinical effectiveness is variable and the duration of protection unknown.

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The accelerated development of the first generation COVID-19 vaccines has saved millions of lives, and potentially more from the long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The most successful vaccine candidates have used the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as an immunogen. As expected of RNA viruses, new variants have evolved and quickly replaced the original wild-type SARS-CoV-2, leading to escape from natural infection or vaccine induced immunity provided by the original SARS-CoV-2 spike sequence.

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Article Synopsis
  • Most SARS-CoV-2 vaccines target the spike protein, which exists in open and closed forms, affecting how antibodies respond to it.
  • Research using a mouse model showed that using a stabilized closed spike protein resulted in T cell activation and strong antibody responses against various SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  • The closed spike protein may elicit different and more effective immune responses than the standard open spike proteins, making it a promising candidate for next-generation vaccines due to its stability and storage advantages.
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