When planning began for the 2020 Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 had yet to emerge. Since then, the world has changed dramatically. There have been more than 1.8 million cases and more than 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the U.S. alone since December 2019, with nearly 1,000 new deaths reported each day. COVID-19 has devastated economies across the globe, and here in the U.S., more than 36 million individuals have lost their jobs. Lives have been disrupted, and cultures have had to adapt. Meetings, weddings, and graduation ceremonies are now held virtually...

Dear Research Advocate, Our nation is ailing; anxious and eager for healing and for solutions that can seem out of reach. Research!America often speaks about science as a way to ‘find the solutions to what ails us’ – given the opportunity, science has and will continue to deliver solutions. But it isn’t only science that we need right now, as gaping wounds of injustice against black Americans assail us. Advocacy and action are needed to assure a fair and just society. Alexis de Tocqueville, that enduringly wise observer of our nation, said: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Let’s all get to...

Dear Research Advocate, Researchers at Yale and George Mason University released a report this week reflecting Americans’ attitudes on climate change, including its impact on health. Queried in April, in the midst of the pandemic, respondents registered high levels of concern, surprising researchers who had anticipated the pandemic would have displaced climate as a top issue. That Americans link climate change and health correlates with our own survey data from earlier this year (pre-pandemic) in America Speaks! Poll Data Summary . Just released today, a new Pew Research Center report shows that a growing number of Americans, surveyed recently, say they have a “great deal of confidence in...

COVID-19 serology tests, also known as antibody tests, are currently receiving heightened attention and scrutiny. Why? Validated and correctly performed positive serology tests are a tool to confirm previous SARS-CoV2 (the virus causing COVID-19) infection and may indicate that a patient has built immunity to the virus. However, there are still questions we need to answer about the clinical effectiveness of serology testing to ensure that they yield accurate results. Additionally, scientists do not yet know for sure if a patient with a validated positive serology test is immune to reinfection by the virus. What Must Be Learned Before Serology Tests Can Be Used Effectively In the American...