New inhaled vaccine Provides Broad Protection against Covid variants: Study
An inhaled form of Covid-19 vaccine developed by scientists at McMaster University in Canada can provide broad, long-lasting protection against the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, a preclinical study has found.
The research, published recently in the journal Cell, shows the immune mechanisms and significant benefits of vaccines being delivered directly into the respiratory tract, rather than by traditional injection.
Because inhaled vaccines target the lungs and upper airways where respiratory viruses first enter the body, they are far more effective at inducing a protective immune response, the researchers said.
The study, which was conducted on animal models, has provided the critical proof of concept to enable a Phase 1 clinical trial that is currently under way to evaluate inhaled aerosol vaccines in healthy adults who had already received two doses of a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine.
The strategy was built upon a robust tuberculosis vaccine research programme established by Zhou Xing, a co-lead author of the study.
"What we have discovered from many years' research is that the vaccine delivered into the lung induces all-around protective respiratory mucosal immunity, a property that the injected vaccine is lacking," said Xing, professor at McMaster University.
"We wanted, first and foremost, to design a vaccine that would work well against any variant," added the study's co-lead author Matthew Miller, an associate professor at McMaster.
Researchers compared two types of adenovirus platforms for the vaccine. The adenoviruses serve as vectors that can deliver vaccine directly to the lungs without causing illness themselves.
"We can remain ahead of the virus with our vaccine strategy. Current vaccines are limited because they will need to be updated and will always be chasing the virus," said Miller.
(Source : The Pioneer)
No comments:
Post a Comment