New COVID-19 vaccine may provide protection against existing, future strains, scientists say


Team Udayavani, Apr 21, 2021, 1:05 PM IST

Credit: iStock Photo

New Delhi: A new experimental COVID-19 vaccine has shown promising results in early animal testing, according to researchers who say the preventive may provide protection against existing and future strains of the novel coronavirus, and cost about USD 1 per dose.

The vaccine developed by researchers, including those from the University of Virginia (UVA) in the US, prevented pigs from being becoming ill with a pig model coronavirus, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV).

PEDV infects pigs, causing diarrhea, vomiting, and high fever, and has been a large burden on pig farmers around the world.

The new vaccine approach might one day open the door to a universal vaccine for coronaviruses, including coronaviruses that previously threatened pandemics or perhaps even coronaviruses that cause some cases of the common cold, the researchers said.

According to the researchers, the vaccine offers several advantages that could overcome major obstacles to global vaccination efforts.

It would be easy to store and transport, even in remote areas of the world, and could be produced in mass quantities using existing vaccine-manufacturing factories, they said.

“Our new platform offers a new route to rapidly-produce vaccines at very low cost that can be manufactured in existing facilities around the world, which should be particularly helpful for pandemic response,” said Steven L. Zeichner from UVA.

Described in the journal PNAS, the vaccine-production platform involves synthesising DNA that directs the production of a piece of the virus which can instruct the immune system to mount a protective immune response against the virus.

“Killed whole-cell vaccines are currently in widespread use to protect against deadly diseases like cholera and pertussis. Factories in many low-to-middle-income countries around the world are making hundreds of millions of doses of those vaccines per year now, for a USD 1 per dose or less,” Zeichner said.

“It may be possible to adapt those factories to make this new vaccine. Since the technology is very similar, the cost should be similar too,” he added.

The vaccine takes an unusual approach in that it targets a part of the spike protein of the virus, the “viral fusion peptide,” that is essentially universal among coronaviruses.

The spike protein helps the virus to enter the human cells.

The fusion peptide has not been observed to differ at all in the many genetic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 that have been obtained from thousands of patients around the world during the pandemic.

The resaerchers made two vaccines, one designed to protect against COVID-19, and another designed to protect against PEDV.

PEDV and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both coronaviruses, but they are distant relatives.

PEDV and SARS-CoV-2, like all coronaviruses, share several of the amino acids that constitute the fusion peptide.

The researchers observed that both the vaccine against PEDV and the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 protected the pigs against illness caused by PEDV.

The vaccines did not prevent infection, but they protected the pigs from developing severe symptoms, much like the observations made when primates were tested with candidate COVID-19 vaccines.

The vaccines also primed the immune system of the pigs to mount a much more vigorous immune response to the infection, the researchers said.

If both the PEDV and the COVID-19 vaccines protected the pigs against disease caused by PEDV and primed the immune system to fight the disease, it is reasonable to think that the COVID-19 vaccine would also protect people against severe COVID-19 disease, they said.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Youth attempts suicide after being humiliated in public for wearing ripped jeans in Belthangady

India crawl to 51 for 4 after losing top-order

Nursing student suicide: Three students arrested in Kerala

Nadda’s letter to Kharge full of falsehoods: Cong

10 month baby gets new heart, new life

Actress Kasthuri released from jail, says ‘I thank those who made me raging storm’

Kidnapped for ransom in 1998, 26/11 survivor Gautam Adani faces biggest trial

Related Articles More

BTS2024: If India can make rocket sensors, it can also make car sensors, says ISRO chief Somanath

World COPD Day: Know your lung function

SpaceX successfully launches ISRO’s 4,700 kg communication satellite from US

As AI and megaplatforms take over, the hyperlinks that built the web may face extinction

Plastic waste could double by 2050, researchers find, suggest policies to address issue

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

US charges against Adani, 7 others could lead to arrest warrants, extradition bid: attorney

Youth attempts suicide after being humiliated in public for wearing ripped jeans in Belthangady

Baku climate talks: The ‘X’ factor that could determine future of Global South

Kerala HC denies bail to police officer accused of ‘raping’ minor Dalit girl

Global Bhagavad Gita Quiz Announced: Registration now open

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.