Results from a brand-new study were published in Microbiology Spectrum by the Oak Crest Institute of Science (DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04469-22). The only participants who contract SARS-CoV-2 during this time were two immunised male and female volunteers who each developed COVID-19 separately between December 27, 2021, and January 3, 2022. Researchers wanted to determine if complete immunisation altered early COVID-19 replication rates and/or viral loads across the different stages of infection by analysing nasal swab samples taken at high frequency longitudinally using cutting-edge molecular techniques.
“Our ultimate conclusion in this study centers on three important points,” said researcher, Manjula Gunawardana, M.P.H.
- Infected people with an earlier SARS-CoV-2 strain who were immunised and those who were not were infected at roughly the same rates of viral doubling time.
- According to a previous study, those who have received vaccinations experience a shorter clearance phase than those who have not.
- During the time that a participant tested positive, the continuous sampling protocols identified a virus mutation in that individual.
“Oak Crest already has a distinguished history of research on viruses”, “We work on devices for sustained delivery of anti-HIV drugs, and the formulation of new drug candidates for the delivery, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. Our team has successfully transferred biomedical research from the bench to early-stage clinical trials, often first-in-human – which is a significant accomplishment for a small academic team. Our HIV clinical trials involve antiviral intravaginal rings and a subdermal implant, currently being evaluated in South Africa in a first-ever human Phase I/II clinical trial.”
Paul Webster, Ph.D., and Senior Faculty at Oak Crest
