ABSTRACT
Passive immunisation using monoclonal antibodies will play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19. Until now, the majority of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody discovery efforts have relied on screening B cells of patients in the convalescent phase. Here, we describe deep-mining of the antibody repertoires of hospitalised COVID-19 patients using a combination of phage display technology and B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire sequencing to isolate neutralising antibodies and gain insights into the early antibody response. This comprehensive discovery approach has yielded potent neutralising antibodies with distinct mechanisms of action, including the identification of a novel non-ACE2 receptor blocking antibody that is not expected to be affected by any of the major viral variants reported. The study highlighted the presence of potent neutralising antibodies with near germline sequences within both the IgG and IgM pools at early stages of infection. Furthermore, we highlight a highly convergent antibody response with the same sequences occurring both within this study group and also within the responses described in previously published anti-SARS-CoV-2 studies.
ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) emergency medical team (EMT) mentorship and verificationprocess is an important mechanism for providing quality assurance for EMTs that are deployedinternationally during medical emergencies. To be recommended for classification, an organizationmust demonstrate compliance with guiding principles and core standards for international EMTs andall technical standards for their declared type, in accordance with a set of globally agreed minimumstandards. A rigorous peer review of a comprehensive documentary evidence package, combinedwith a 2-day verification site visit by WHO and independent experts, is conducted to assess an EMT’scapacity. Key requirements include having sufficient systems, equipment and procedures in placeto ensure an EMT can deploy rapidly, providing clinical care according to internationally acceptedstandards, being able to be fully self-sufficient for a period of 14 days and being able to fully integrateinto the emergency response coordination structure and the health system of the country affectedduring deployment. Through the WHO mentorship programme, each EMT is provided with a mentorteam, which guides and supports it during the preparatory process. The process typically takes around1 to 2 years to complete. The Thailand EMT is the first team from the WHO South-East Asia Region tosuccessfully complete the WHO mentorship and verification process. The experience of this processin Thailand can serve as an example for other countries in the South-East Asia Region and encouragethem to strengthen their emergency preparedness and operational readiness by getting their nationalEMTs verified.
