Introduction and guidance

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why some people are very badly affected by a particular viral infection, while others are asymptomatic? Differences in the effectiveness of their immune systems play a part, but so do the type of virus, genetic variability in the human population, and whether a person has any immunity from previous infections or vaccination.

This free badged course, COVID-19: Immunology, vaccines and epidemiology, will take you through some of the key science that underpinned the global efforts to control COVID-19. You will learn about virology, immunology and vaccinology. You will carry out practical online laboratory activities, in which you will learn how to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV2 using a standard antibody-detection technique called ELISA, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. You will see how the detection of antibodies helped epidemiologists to track the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. You will also see how quantitation of antibodies against the spike protein was a critical measure, determining which vaccines would be most likely to protect against the disease.

The course lasts 24 hours and is comprised of eight ‘weeks’. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with pushing on to complete a further study week.

There will be weekly interactive quizzes, of which Weeks 4 and 8 will provide you with an opportunity to earn a badge to demonstrate your new skills. You can read more on how to study the course and about badges in the next sections.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• understand how the immune system protects against viral infection
• detect antibodies against COVID-19, using the ELISA technique
• distinguish individuals who have had a COVID-19 infection, from those who have had a COVID-19 vaccination
• understand how the detection of antibodies (serology) can be used to track an epidemic
• understand the different strategies developed for producing vaccines against COVID-19.

Before you begin, you should have a basic knowledge of cell biology, and an understanding of how DNA and RNA hold genetic information. If you are unfamiliar with these areas, then you may find the following OpenLearn materials on molecular and cellular biology to be a good starting point:

• DNA, RNA and protein formation [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
• A tour of the cell.