Traditional vaccines are as easy, cheap and effective as mRNA vaccines: US scientists

Vaccines made by traditional methods, such as Biological-E’s Corbevax and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, are “as effective” as modern mRNA technology-based vaccines, says US scientist and vaccine developer Dr. Peter Hotez. Says. He announced last week that his research team would transfer production technology to companies in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Botswana without patents.

According to Dr. Hotez, director of the Tropical Medicine Department at Baylor College of Medicine based in Houston and chairman of the Texas Children’s Hospital, traditional methods of “protein subunit vaccines” and “live inactivated vaccines” are low. The scale required for middle-income countries.

“We didn’t really see the benefits of mRNA, at least for global health vaccines. It’s a whole new technology and how to scale up to make 9 billion doses in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin. It takes years to figure out what to do, America, “Dr. Hotez said. Hindu In an interview, he called the new vaccine a “shiny new toy.”

In particular, US science policy makers “over-focused” on speed and innovation, rather than ensuring universal vaccination, he said. In particular, the method developed by him and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi through the same “yeast fermentation expression technique” that he used to make the first approved recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in the 1980s, Hesitated vaccines among parents because it has been used for decades, said it is safe for children and unlikely to cause.

“Balance the portfolio”

Given that the mRNA vaccine was ineffective in blocking COVID-19 mutants such as Omicron after 3-4 doses, by focusing on the amount of vaccine rather than the latest technology, the “portfolio” It was necessary to “balance”, Dr. Hotez observed.

Traditional vaccines, such as virions (whole virus particles) and subunit vaccines (pathogen fragments), contain inactivated parts of the virus that enter the body as antigens and provoke an immune response. New technologies such as mRNA and DNA vaccines include modified genes that use the cells of the body to make immunostimulatory antigens. The latter approach is also believed to be faster and more customizable for future vaccines against several pathogens. However, none of the commercially available COVID-19 vaccines have been customized for the Delta or Omicron variants.

“Delta emerged from the unvaccinated population of India in 2021. Later, Omicron emerged from the unvaccinated population of southern Africa later this year. Refusing to vaccinate low- and middle-income countries around the world. As long as Mother Nature offers terrifying new concerns, “Dr. Hotez said. Currently, the world “just needs a vaccine that works.”

Last month, the Indian Drug Controller General (DCGI) cleared Covovax for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) created by Corbevax and the Indian Serum Institute and approved Covaxin for children aged 12-18 years. Authorities have cleared eight EUA vaccines so far, but due to legal issues regarding liability as US companies Pfizer, Modana, Johnson, and Johnson want to be exempt from government sovereign compensation, Covaxin and Covaxin. , Sputnik is only available. Refused to give.

Legal issues

When asked, Dr. Hotez still approves a joint proposal by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization to waive all patents on COVID, a multinational pharmaceutical company that is delaying supply due to legal issues. It was critical of countries that did not-19 vaccines and pharmaceutical technologies in the years leading up to the pandemic subside.

“The idea that millions of people around the world are dying from COVID-19 while we are messing up the exemption and legality of compensation is unacceptable. Your home is on fire. When you don’t start seeing what insurance does and who is covered-the house is on fire so we have to save lives, “he points out, BCM-TCH. To transfer protein cell banks and coding technology to developing countries without patents. However, he warned that simply lifting the patent could not solve the capacity problem, especially on the African Continent, and more vaccine manufacturers were needed.

Dr. Hotez lifted the export ban and other He praised the Government of India for resuming vaccine supply to the country.