The SMC’s mission is to improve the public understanding of science by ensuring that the news media has easy access to the very best experts and evidence when science hits the headlines.
Adults who have received a double vaccination are 49 per cent less likely to have Long COVID should they contract a COVID-19 infection, a new study finds. Researchers at King's College London analysed data from participants logging their symptoms, tests and vaccines on the UK ZOE COVID Symptom Study app between 8th December 2020 and 4 July 2021, including 1,240,009 (first dose) and 971,504 (second dose) vaccinated UK adults. The research team assessed a range of factors, including age, frailty and areas of deprivation and compared that with post-vaccination infection.
The Uk's JCVI has advised that a third primary dose be offered to individuals aged 12 years and over with severe immunosuppression in proximity of their first or second COVID-19 vaccine doses in the primary schedule.
A large study of children and young people who caught SARS-CoV-2 has found that as many as one in seven (14 per cent) may still have symptoms 15 weeks later.
New data has been released on the ability of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to generate neutralising antibodies against variants of concern. The paper, published in Science found that most people vaccinated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine maintained both binding and functional antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants for six months after the second dose.
The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said the margin of benefit of vaccination is considered too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12 to 15 year olds at this time. They say the health benefits from vaccination are marginally greater than the potential known harms in this age group.
There has been a lot of discussion and some concern around the ability of the COVID-19 vaccines to protect against the delta variant. Research conducted jointly by the University of Oxford, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has looked at the COVID-19 vaccines and how well they protect against infection from the delta variant, whether the timing of the dose interval plays a role, the impact of prior infection, the viral load in those who do catch the virus after being vaccinated, and how that compares with the alpha variant.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) looks at the clinical features of Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (VITT).
A study published in Science Translational Medicine looks at antibody response to variants following two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in individuals with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
A study published in JAMA Cardiology looks at the association of myocarditis with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a case series of children in the US.
A modelling study published in Scientific Reports looks at how rates of SARS‑CoV‑2 transmission and vaccination might impact the fate of vaccine‑resistant strains.
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at thromboembolic events and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia after COVID-19 infection and after vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Catalonia, Spain.
A research letter published in The Lancet looks at spike-antibody waning after the second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed paper from the PITCH study, looks at sustained T cell immunity, protection and boosting using extended dosing intervals of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The UK Science Media Centre has its roots in the influential House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee third report on Science and Society, which sought to renew public trust in science after media frenzies on GM Crops and MMR. Established in 2002, it is an independent press office with a database of 3000 top quality scientists prepared to engage with journalists.
The Centre proactively makes the best scientists available to:
-Answer journalists questions on topical controversies
-Comment on breaking news and challenge misleading claims
- Assess new scientific findings, highlighting caveats and limitations
-Publicise new science in a measured and accurate way
The SMC’s philosophy is:
“The media will DO science better when scientists DO the media better.”
The UK Science Media Centre has its roots in the influential House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee third report on Science and Society, which sought to renew public trust in science after media frenzies on GM Crops and MMR. Established in 2002, it is an independent press office with a database of 3000 top quality scientists prepared to engage with journalists.
The Centre proactively makes the best scientists available to:
-Answer journalists questions on topical controversies
-Comment on breaking news and challenge misleading claims
- Assess new scientific findings, highlighting caveats and limitations
-Publicise new science in a measured and accurate way
The SMC’s philosophy is:
“The media will DO science better when scientists DO the media better.”
