Researchers from 68 sites across the country, led by David E. Leaf, MD, MMSc and Shruti Gupta, MD, MPH from the Division of Renal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, have investigated the effects of the anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab on critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Unlike steroids, which suppress the immune system more broadly, tocilizumab specifically inhibits the receptor for the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-6.

In a study published online in Science, an international team of almost 200 researchers from 14 leading institutions in six countries, including France with the Institut Pasteur and CNRS, studied the three lethal coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV in order to identify commonly hijacked cellular pathways and detect promising targets for broad coronavirus inhibition. In addition,

A new study of beliefs and attitudes toward COVID-19 in five different countries - UK, US, Ireland, Mexico and Spain - has identified how much traction some prominent conspiracy theories have within these populations.

The research reveals 'key predictors' for susceptibility to fake pandemic news, and finds that a small increase in the perceived reliability of conspiracies equates to a larger drop in the intention to get vaccinated.

In a new clinical trial, UC Davis Health will test the effectiveness and safety of REGN-COV2, the monoclonal antibody cocktail, in preventing COVID-19 in adults living with infected patients. The drug was recently administered to President Donald Trump as part of his treatment for SAR-CoV-2 infection. It is still in the clinical experimental stage as potential treatment and prevention for COVID-19.

For every two deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S., a third American dies as a result of the pandemic, according to new data publishing Oct. 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, shows that deaths between March 1 and Aug. 1 increased 20% compared to previous years - maybe not surprising in a pandemic. But deaths attributed to COVID-19 only accounted for 67% of those deaths.

Vaccines currently being developed for COVID-19 should not be affected by recent mutations in the virus, according to a new study involving a University of York virologist.

Most vaccines under development worldwide have been modelled on the original 'D-strain' of the virus, which were more common amongst sequences published early in the pandemic.

People who survive serious COVID-19 infections have long-lasting immune responses against the virus, according to a new study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The study, published in Science Immunology, offers hope that people infected with the virus will develop lasting protection against reinfection.