Global Health

The Latest: Germany reaches more than 1 million vaccinations BERLIN -- Germany has carried out more than a million vaccinations as new infections and deaths remain high and officials mull whether to increase lockdown measures. Figures released by the... AP NEWS

LOS ANGELES — California officials are touting a new mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium while acknowledging it’s unclear how much more supply is coming from the federal government.

Norway adjusts advice after vaccine deaths but isn't alarmed COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian officials have adjusted their advice on who gets the COVID-19 vaccine in light of a small number of deaths in older people, leaving it up to each doctor to... AP NEWS

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian officials have adjusted their advice on who gets the COVID-19 vaccine in light of a small number of deaths in older people, leaving it up to each doctor to consider who should be vaccinated.

NATURE

A mutation undercuts the immune response to the COVID virus 

A handful of mutations to SARS-CoV-2 can help it to escape the immune response mounted by a subset of infected people.

Researchers have identified thousands of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 samples, but the vast majority are unlikely to have much effect on the virus’s biology. To identify potentially important mutations, Jesse Bloom at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and his colleagues studied antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 isolated from the blood serum of people who had recovered from COVID-19 (A. J. Greaney et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/ghr85d; 2021).

The team tested the antibodies’ response to samples of the virus’s spike protein. Each sample protein carried different versions of a region called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which recognizes host cells and is a major target for antibodies.