How is it that COVID-19 "booster" vaccines help Delta more, if it's a matter of the spike proteins 'looking' different than the previous variants that the vaccine was initially designed for? | AskScience Blog

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Monday, August 23, 2021

How is it that COVID-19 "booster" vaccines help Delta more, if it's a matter of the spike proteins 'looking' different than the previous variants that the vaccine was initially designed for?

How is it that COVID-19 "booster" vaccines help Delta more, if it's a matter of the spike proteins 'looking' different than the previous variants that the vaccine was initially designed for?


How is it that COVID-19 "booster" vaccines help Delta more, if it's a matter of the spike proteins 'looking' different than the previous variants that the vaccine was initially designed for?

Posted: 23 Aug 2021 01:37 AM PDT

I'm a little confused.

My understanding of the variants, is that they 'look' different to the antibodies that are produced from the vaccines, so consequently the vaccines aren't as effective.

So this makes me wonder why does giving a third shot of the vaccine help variants, like Delta, when the vaccines were intended for previous variants, not "different looking" variants like Delta. Wouldn't a different vaccine need to be developed for "different looking" variants? How does just injecting another of the same exact vaccine help variants that have different spike proteins etc.?

submitted by /u/mt_winston
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Why is there such a wide variance in Delta COVID-19 severity?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 06:46 PM PDT

I'm seeing a lot of recent stories of delta killing vaccinated people, younger people with no underlying conditions etc... Obviously many more people are completely asymptomatic. Can anyone explain why it appears there is such a wide range of severity of symptoms? As a layperson it appears like there is no rhyme or reason as to why vaccinated or otherwise healthy individuals are now dying from the delta variant while many others are still basically asymptomatic. The only google results I've found refer to the alpha variant and are from 2020.

submitted by /u/AStrangerWCandy
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Why doesn’t our moon rotate, and what would happen if it started rotating suddenly?

Posted: 23 Aug 2021 07:29 AM PDT

Do we have a “strong” ear?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:12 PM PDT

Like how if you close you eyes one at a time while looking at a specific object you can see which one is dominant

submitted by /u/joealessi
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Are all ants in a colony genetically same?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 05:09 PM PDT

Since all the ants in a colony come from eggs laid by the queen ant, are all of the ants genetically similar? Also who fertilises the queen ant?

submitted by /u/AdPuzzleheaded8726
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What is the safety/efficacy criteria that got the Pfizer vaccine full FDA approval? Why did it take until now to do this?

Posted: 23 Aug 2021 08:04 AM PDT

My understanding is that new drugs had to undergo, and complete, phase 1-3 trials before the data can be reviewed and full approval gained. However, if I check this vaccine tracker there are still phase 3 trials being performed for Pfizer's vaccine.

What what was the FDA using to make its decision for full approval for this vaccine?

submitted by /u/TheDayManAhAhAh
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What’s the availability of vaccines in the US?

Posted: 23 Aug 2021 08:00 AM PDT

I couldn't find any data on the rate of vaccines effectively administered over the available in the US. In my country (Italy) there's this data (the percentage indicates said rate).

I was wondering about this since I believe it's a good indicator of how many anti-vaxxers are actually there, despite the sentiment that it's an overwhelming amount which is what one would deduce from media.

I may be wrong any of the above, so please correct me where I'm wrong.

Cheers!

submitted by /u/MastroRace
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Why do we need small wavelength to look at small particles?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 11:18 PM PDT

At one point in the Hawking's book, the author says that we need smaller wavelengths to look at parts of atom.

For what I know , we see objects when light is reflected off them. No matter how small the particle is , a photon might collide with it and reflect it. What am I missing?

submitted by /u/CerebrumAbuser
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Can the salt/brine from Desalination facilities be used for energy in some way? Can salt be used to create energy? Why isn't it done, if so?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 03:45 PM PDT

Can a binary planetary system have rings?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 06:23 PM PDT

Can two planets with roughly equal masses, that orbit each other, have a ring system revolving around the barycenter of the two planets?

submitted by /u/skan76
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Why are the North American great lakes freshwater and other smaller bodies of water, like the Aral sea, salty?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 06:55 PM PDT

In other words, what makes a body of water that isn't an ocean have a high or low salinity?

submitted by /u/the_stealth_boy
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When you light a shot of alcohol on fire, does the percentage of alcohol in the remaining drink increase, decrease, or stay the same?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:32 AM PDT

My guess is the percentage decreases because it's the alcohol that's burning. On the other hand some of the contained water might evaporate because of the heat, so the percentage might stay the same or even increase. Anyways maybe somebody could give a more precise answer because I couldn't find an explanation via google.

submitted by /u/Konseq
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How dense were insect populations 50,000, 10,000 and 2000 years ago?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 07:32 AM PDT

Just wondering how fly covered things were and how irritated/bitten humans were back then. Is there evidence of coping strategies/insecticides etc?

submitted by /u/July111969
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How do islands get internet and telephone connections?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 01:04 PM PDT

For example, this finnish island. And others like it. Large enough for a family or two but too small for anything more than that. How would someone go about getting phone connections or internet on such an island? Do they even have those connections?

submitted by /u/Pengdacorn
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Are all soaps (salt of fatty acid) capable of disrupting the lipid bilayer? If yes, then are soaps considered disinfectants? (Not asking about anti-bacterial soaps.)

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 07:12 AM PDT

I know that soaps can simply wash away bacteria and viruses. But I have also heard that soaps can disrupt the lipid bilayer of bacteria and viruses that have them, effectively killing the them.

I was curious if all soaps (by their chemistry definition) have this ability because of a chemical interaction between the soap and lipid bilayer. If yes, how likely is soap to disrupt lipid bilayers? Does it depend on other conditions?

Thanks in advance.

submitted by /u/DoomGoober
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Does an unvaccinated asymptomatic COVID-19 positive person have a higher viral load than a vaccinated person who has asymptomatic COVID-19?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:41 AM PDT

Is there any significant difference in the bioavailability curves of gelcap vs tablet of Acetaminophen/Ibprofin?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:41 AM PDT

Just curious if there is any reason to spend more on gelcap vs normal tablets. From a non-medical scientist I would assume thst the gelcap would be absorbed faster leading towards a shift towards more of a right skewed availability but I really have no idea. Is there any real difference?

submitted by /u/Mercarcher
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What happens to desert sand?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 10:58 AM PDT

So as far as I understood sand is ground down stuff and especially desert sand is very small and round. So if things like stones get broken down further and further until they're sandy what comes next? Does the sand become stone or something at some point again or is more and more matter of the world gonna end up as sand and stay like that?

submitted by /u/Awfully_Wee_Billy_B
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What exactly is the Ramanujan Summation?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 09:18 AM PDT

It says that the sum of all counting numbers like 1+2+3+4+5+6...=-1/12 I have watched a lot of videos but I just don't get it.

submitted by /u/MeIsYguy
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Do older people generate the same level of anti body response to vaccines as younger people?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 09:16 AM PDT

Very anecdotal, but the serious break through cases I've heard of (clearly not good evidence) were among the elderly. At the same time, higher vaccination rates among the elderly are decreasing their levels of infection, but it got me thinking. Are break through cases evenly spread throughout the population? Or are older people, who have a reduced immune response, suffering disproportionally?

submitted by /u/graydonatvail
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How do wavelengths of light 'add' as we percieve them?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 07:27 AM PDT

I understand that multiple wavelengths of light don't necessarily combine to make a new wavelength. However, as our eyes in combination with our brain processes light, it appears as if it does.

So my main question is if there are any functions that I could input two or more wavelengths of light and it will spit out a 'percieved wavelength?'

I am aware of the colour matching functions which would be useful. However they strictly deal with the standard Red, Green and Blue wavelengths. What if I wish to mix two monochromatic sources that arent of these standard wavelengths.

As a final bit of clarity here is an example of what I wish to do. Perhaps I wish to combine two monochromatic sources of 546nm and 670nm. What wavelength would I percieve that combination to be? How will I do this for other combinations?

Any answers are appreciated :)

submitted by /u/Easy-Preference7232
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