Three reasons to be optimistic about coronavirus vaccines

Opinion: Covid-19 causes great disruption worldwide, with at least 90 vaccines currently in development

Along Zania Stamataki, University of Birmingham

The first coronavirus known to infect humans Discovered over half a century ago – So why are there no vaccines for these viruses? Should we be optimistic that an effective vaccine will be developed now?

SARS-CoV-2, the recently discovered causative coronavirus COVID-19, Is sufficiently similar to other coronaviruses that scientists make predictions about how our immune system treats it. But its novelty guarantees its own careful study. It’s similar to SARS And MERS A new coronavirus emerges from animals that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, lung And occasionally Other organs..

Why are there no vaccines for other human coronaviruses? The advent of SARS and MERS were either relatively quickly counteracted or affected a small number of people in 2002 and 2012, respectively. Despite the interest of enthusiastic virologists, there was no economic incentive to develop vaccines against these diseases, since they were small threats at the time. Virologists who are interested in coronavirus have had a hard time securing funding for their research.

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In contrast, Covid-19 is causing a lot of confusion worldwide. as a result, At least 90 The vaccine is under development, Some are already in human trials..

How vaccine works

Vaccines give our bodies a harmless flavor of the virus, alerting them to cell-mediated immunity (T cells) ready to provoke an immune response and fight antibodies and / or infections. This allows you to deploy an off-the-shelf defense system the next time you encounter a virus and protect yourself from serious symptoms. Most people who recovered from Covid-19 Have a detectable antibody In their blood.

It is not known if these antibodies are completely protective, but vaccines can still elicit potent neutralizing antibodies, and scientists will evaluate these vaccinations. Researchers also look for strong T cell responses in the blood of vaccinated people. These measurements help scientists predict the efficacy of a vaccine and will be available before the vaccine is approved.

Of course, the best way to evaluate a vaccine is to determine how well it protects people from being infected. However, exposing vaccines to vulnerable groups is too risky, so most vaccines are tested in adolescents without potential health problems. There is Ethical considerations These should be considered carefully as they intentionally infect healthy people with potentially dangerous viruses for vaccine trials.

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During the pandemic, vaccinated volunteers can become infected with the novel coronavirus, especially if they are health care workers. Collecting post-infection protection data and comparing them to those who received the placebo vaccine can be time consuming.

Ideal vaccine

An ideal vaccine should protect everyone and give a single dose of lifelong protection. It is quick to manufacture, affordable, easy to administer (nasal or oral), and does not require refrigeration, allowing non-specialists to distribute it to hard-to-reach places around the world. In fact, we do not fully understand how to make vaccines that induce long-lived protective immunity against various viruses. Some infectious diseases require booster vaccination.

Aging is accompanied by a tired immune system that struggles to respond to vaccination. This also applies to people with weakened immune systems, making it difficult to protect the most vulnerable. Therefore, a vaccination program that protects more than 80% of the population can reduce the incidence of viral spread and protect vulnerabilities by agents through immunization of herds. Percentage of people who may have used Covid-19 in different parts of the world today IndefiniteHowever, due to the availability of the test, this is difficult to estimate.

Scientists test and confirm vaccine safety before approval. In some viral infections, Existing antibody from a previous infection with the same type of virus It can cause more serious illness. However, there is no strong evidence for the adverse effects of antibodies on SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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There are several reasons to be optimistic.

(1) This virus can be treated

Unlike some viruses that, like HIV, implant their own genome and make a fresh copy of themselves after immune depletion, SARS-CoV-2 Can’t last in this way.

(2) Most infected patients develop antibodies

Most infected patients Develop antibodies There is evidence specific to the virus T cell response.. Whether or not these reactions are protective is still unknown, but they are exactly the immunological memory, the key response to vaccination. Vaccine products are purified and concentrated to elicit a stronger immune response than natural infections.

(3) Slow mutation of virus

Coronavirus mutation more slowly Rather than viruses such as influenza, and we know that antibodies can come from SARS and MERS Stick to At least 1-2 years after recovery. This is good news for an effective vaccine that may not need to be updated for a while.

This virus can be eradicated from human populations, just as it was previously eradicated smallpox

There are other reasons for brightening. Scientist Testing some approaches Therefore, the chances of success have increased, and pharmaceutical companies have been involved in expanding production and exploring logistics for distribution, even before evidence of early involvement and vaccine functioning. This is worth the investment as resources can be diverted quickly for the most promising vaccines after the trial.

The coronavirus vaccine is within our reach, and it is our best hope to prevent infections, create a herd of immunity, and protect the most vulnerable people. We can eradicate the virus from a human population, robbing its host of replication and vaccination previously eradicated smallpox.

Zania Stamataki Is a senior lecturer in viral immunology. University of Birmingham

This article has been reissued from conversation Under Creative Commons license. Read Original work..

The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not of RTÉ.