A new review from the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit (AGTRU) at the University of the Witwatersrand highlights how viral mimic systems and related technologies could accelerate the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies, particularly in low-resource settings. Published in the journal Infection, the review describes safe, virus-like platforms that replicate key features of dangerous pathogens without the ability to cause disease.

Conventional antiviral research often requires biosafety level-3 laboratories, which are expensive, tightly regulated, and scarce. Viral mimic systems overcome this bottleneck by enabling scientists to study infection, screen drug candidates, and compare immune responses in standard biosafety level-2 facilities. This allows promising therapies to move more quickly from laboratory testing to clinical development.

The review focuses on technologies such as pseudo-typed viruses and virus-like particles that reproduce the early stages of infection. More advanced models incorporate all four structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, offering a more realistic picture of viral behaviour and helping researchers design broader, more durable vaccines that remain effective against emerging variants.

A new multinational study from the INTERCOVID Consortium, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, has found that COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, particularly when combined with a booster dose, significantly reduces the risk of preeclampsia, a serious and potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. The findings offer unprecedented insight into preeclampsia prevention, independent of the direct effects of COVID-19 infection.

Booster vaccines reduced the risk of COVID‑19–related hospitalisation and death, according to a new study of over 3 million adults who had the autumn 2022 vaccine in England.  The research led by the universities of Bristol and Oxford, provides further evidence of the effectiveness of booster vaccination against COVID-19.

A five-year study has revealed that children with sleep apnea are twice as likely to contract the flu or COVID-19, regardless of their age or weight. Even after undergoing surgery to remove tonsils or adenoids, this increased vulnerability persists due to long-term changes in the immune system. These findings suggest that a sleep apnea diagnosis should serve as a critical "risk marker," signaling the urgent need for consistent seasonal vaccinations to prevent severe respiratory complications.

Subsidies enacted a year into the COVID-19 pandemic to expand eligibility and offset premium costs of insurance purchased on Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces led to significant enrollment gains among eligible children ages 18 and under, Black and Hispanic individuals, and residents of rural areas, according to a new study by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.