12 November 2020

• Brazilian regulators allow the Sinovac experimental coronavirus vaccine trial to re-open after halting it to investigate a study participant’s death (by suicide). Source
• Medicago launches l phase II/III trial of its experimental; plant-based coronavirus vaccine, which is combined with adjuvants that boost the immune response to viral proteins. Source
Science reports that D614G, a globally dominant mutation in the spike protein of SARS-CoV2, increases upper respiratory tract viral load and makes the virus more transmissible, but is unlikely to lessen vaccine efficacy. Source
• Ukraine’s President Zelensky is hospitalized with COVID-19. Source
• Lithuania enters full lockdown. Source
JAMA publishes results from a small trial of fluvoxamine (an anti-depressant commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder) in 152 non-hospitalized people with confirmed COVID-19). When compared with placebo, people treated with fluvoxamine were significantly less likely to experience or be hospitalized for shortness of breath or pneumonia, oxygen saturation less than 92 percent on room air or need for supplemental oxygen. The authors suggest that these results merit additional, larger randomized controlled trials. Source
Nature Medicine publishes research on pre-existing and induced functional SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells, indicating potentially important immune protection among people with mild COVID-19. Source

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