Couverture de Dr Robert Hess - Ready for the battle?

Dr Robert Hess - Ready for the battle?

Dr Robert Hess - Ready for the battle?

De : Dr Robert Hess
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 Dr Robert Hess aims to maximize immunity levels in his clients for the event that they become infected with SARS-CoV-2. He also keeps his clientele informed about the latest developments in the pandemic and offers a personalized vaccination strategy on an ongoing basis.© All rights reserved Dr Robert Hess Hygiène et vie saine Maladie et pathologies physiques
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    • Could the Novavax vaccine candidate be a viable alternative for skeptics wary of mRNA technology?

      Could the Novavax vaccine candidate be a viable alternative for skeptics wary of mRNA technology?
      Oct 26 2021
      Dr Robert Hess takes a look at new data on the protein-based inactivated vaccine. Many people who are skeptical of mRNA technology have been waiting for a conventional vaccine against coronavirus to come along. “Classic” vaccines are traditionally based on proteins. However, the one formulated by Novavax has a major disadvantage, specifically its ability to provide long-term protection against virus variants. On 10th October, scientists presented the results of a Phase 3 trial involving almost 30,000 adults resident in the USA and Mexico. In the preprint, they report an efficacy of 90.4 percent against symptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2. In September, the New England Journal of Medicine published results from a trial involving 15,000 volunteers in the UK which came to the same conclusion. Both studies were conducted before the Delta variant became the dominant form of the virus. It was observed that the direct side-effects of vaccination in the Phase 3 study were less noticeable with the Novavax candidate than with the mRNA vaccines. Novavax is also injected in two doses. Among the manufacturers of protein-based vaccines, the US pharmaceuticals giant is the furthest along in the approval process; its application has been running in the EU rolling review process since February of this year. The EU Commission has secured 200 million doses in anticipation of approval. Novavax plans to submit an application for approval of its vaccine in the USA this year. This was the state of play as of 15th October 2021. On closer inspection, however, the Novavax vaccine is somewhat less than conventional. The company itself makes reference to “innovative proprietary recombinant nanoparticle technology.” Although NVX-CoV2373 is a “killed” (i.e. inactivated) vaccine and is thus consistent with an established vaccination principle, it has also been given a new type of adjuvant to boost its effectiveness. This is based on a saponin extract obtained from the soap bark tree native to Chile. It is significant that the COVID-19 vaccines approved so far do not contain an active adjuvant. The vaccine is produced in insect cell cultures, with up to 14 SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins being combined to form a nanoparticle which, for the immune system, resembles the virus itself. But the nanoparticle does not contain any genetic material – which is not only an advantage, but also a problem. This is because RNA or DNA content strengthens the immune response. This is part of the natural defense against infection, because regular pathogens also contain genetic material. The adjuvant of the protein-based Novavax vaccine is apparently very effective, as indicated by the high efficacy in the studies. However, it cannot solve one problem of protein vaccines: they neither penetrate body cells nor do the multiply there. This means that the stimulation of the second arm of our immune system – the cellular immune defense – does not take place. Vaccination can initiate a cellular immune defense response (T-killer cells, memory cells) as long as the vaccine enters body cells, something that Vector and mRNA vaccines are capable of. With protein-based vaccines, on the other hand, the cytotoxic T-cells are only marginally stimulated, with the main thrust coming in the form of antibody response. This makes it easier for the virus to become resistant to these vaccines because the immune response is not as broad. This may also explain the results of a phase 3 trial in South Africa, where the efficacy of the Novavax vaccine NVX-CoV2373 against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections was only around 50 per cent – possibly because of the local dominance of SARS-Cov-2 Beta which is the most efficient variant at evading neutralizing antibodies.
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      5 min
    • Dr Robert Hess uncovers the evidence that Delta does not make children more ill than other variants of the coronavirus

      Dr Robert Hess uncovers the evidence that Delta does not make children more ill than other variants of the coronavirus
      Oct 25 2021
      The Delta variant of coronavirus does not appear to lead to a more severe course of disease in children than earlier forms of the virus, such as the Alpha or Beta variants. This finding emerged from a prospective symptom study conducted in the UK, in which British school-aged children were compared for symptomatic COVID-19 courses over different time periods. Study results coming in earlier this year had already indicated that the Alpha variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not appear to make children more ill than the “wild” form of the virus which first appeared in China. The prospective COVID-19 symptom study, the results of which were published last week, compared two groups of school-aged children with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: 694 children infected with the Alpha variant between late December 2020 and early May 2021, and 706 children infected with the Delta variant between late May and early July. Disease profiles (prevalence of symptoms, duration and severity), hospitalization and presence of prolonged (≥ 28 days) illness were assessed. In both groups, half of the children were ill for no longer than five days. Although the Delta variant displayed slightly more symptoms than the Alpha, especially in older children, this was offset by a similar duration of symptoms, whether these were considered individually or for the illness as a whole. Furthermore, very few children in either group required hospitalization, and long periods of illness were rare. The study was, however, limited by the lack of information on differences between the groups that might have influenced the results, such as whether lockdowns were in force and the impact of different seasons on the course taken by the disease. However, the data suggests that the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in children are broadly comparable to those of the disease caused by other variants. This also appears to be consistent with data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is to say, although we are seeing more cases in children, the severity of the disease is not increasing. The reason why more children are contracting COVID-19 is mainly because there are more COVID-19 cases in the population as a whole. The study contributes quantitative information to the debate on whether there are significant clinical differences in COVID-19 due to the Alpha and Delta variants, and to the discussion on whether it is appropriate or necessary to vaccinate children (especially those in the younger age bracket) against SARS-CoV-2. We will continue to monitor developments here, especially with regard to new approvals for the vaccination of children.
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      3 min
    • Corona drug molnupiravir significantly reduces number of severe cases of disease and raises hopes, says manufacturer

      Corona drug molnupiravir significantly reduces number of severe cases of disease and raises hopes, says manufacturer
      Oct 14 2021
      Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), the US pharmaceutical giant based in Kenilworth, New York, last week reported positive results from a Phase III trial of its new corona drug, molnupiravir. The manufacturer claim that it alleviates the course of the COVID-19 disease and halves the risk of hospitalization or death from a coronavirus infection. The potentially groundbreaking results promise a new way of treating COVID-19 and herald the first of hopefully many more antiviral drugs. Until now, COVID-19 has been treated with steroids such as dexamethasone and intravenous antibodies (MAB). Both are administered to patients who are already extremely ill. This is not the case with molnupiravir: according to the manufacturer, the medication helps most when it is taken within five days of the onset of symptoms, i.e. in the early phase of the disease.
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      6 min
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