What will the next-generation COVID vaccine look like? | Health

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to be a global threat. Millions of lives have been lost to the disease, and many have been symptomatic even after the initial infection was removed. We have advanced our knowledge of the virus and now we have medicines that have proven to be effective in treating the virus, but we will continue to use the vaccines currently in use to help prevent serious illnesses caused by the virus. There are still ways to guarantee.

Vaccine development has been extremely difficult, and the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine has been an unprecedented achievement. However, while current vaccine distribution must continue worldwide, we must also look forward to next-generation vaccines that provide a broader and stronger immune response.

The second generation COVID-19 vaccine should be built on the success of current vaccines. Widely used mRNA vaccines stimulate an immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 peplomer, but recently mutations and new variants can alter the structure of this part of the virus, reducing its effectiveness. I found out that there is sex. Next-generation vaccines should be created to protect us from current and future variants, no matter how infectious or virulent they are.

In addition, future vaccines should be able to reduce the risk of viral transmission from vaccinated people. This usually means that the viral load should be able to be reduced by initiating high levels of neutralizing antibodies that can target the virus before it can propagate and spread in the host. Means. You also need to sustain the immune response as long as possible. This means you can release the booster as needed.

Importantly, if you want to tackle this pandemic globally, vaccines need to be cheap and universally available.

One of the vaccines under development that may help solve some of these problems is the self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) COVID-19 vaccine from biotechnology company Gritstone. GRT-R910..Self-amplified mRNA has shown enhanced antigen expression and antibody production at lower doses compared to conventional mRNA, and this technique Improvement Immunity. In that case, lower doses and perhaps less frequent boosters are needed.

The GRT-R910 vaccine is in Phase 1 trials in the United Kingdom. It is expected not only to produce antibodies against peplomer proteins, but also to induce an immune response against other proteins of the virus. Gritstone said in a statement that GRT-R910 could elicit a strong, sustainable and broad immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

“Our SAMCOVID vaccine is designed to promote a strong CD8 + T cell response in addition to a strong neutralizing antibody response, ensuring longer-term immunity, especially in vulnerable populations.” Explains Andrew Allen, CEO of Gritstone. “Furthermore, viral surface proteins such as spike proteins are evolving and may partially circumvent vaccine-induced immunity, so by delivering highly conserved viral proteins as well, a variety of SARS-CoV- We designed GRT-R910 to have a wide range of therapeutic potential for 2 variants. There may be less tendency for antigenic drift. “

What this really means is a stronger, broader, longer lasting immune response. This means that future mutations will inevitably occur, resulting in less antigenic escape and less frequent booster shots.

Many low- and middle-income countries could not afford the number of COVID-19 vaccines needed to inoculate the entire population. They need to rely on programs such as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX scheme to promote vaccine equity around the world. One company with a particular focus on obtaining COVID-19 vaccines in low-income countries is Swedish biotechnology. Ziccum.. We have developed a technology to air-dry existing vaccines and convert them into powders that do not require storage or transportation at low temperatures. Ziccum has Alliance We worked with Janssen Pharmaceuticals to develop a dry powder version of the vaccine, including Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine.

However, their research is not limited to COVID-19. They are also working to transform manufacturing and access to Janssen’s Ebola and RSV vaccines. Ziccum argues that the technology can be used to air-dry vaccines to eliminate logistic problems associated with cold chain storage and deliver vaccines to more remote and inaccessible areas of the world. I am.

In June 2021, WHO launched the mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa. Many researchers say that because of the differences in access to vaccines between the richest and the poorest countries. fair Access was for the Global North and Global South to create its own.

WHO called on pharmaceutical companies and governments to share patented knowledge and technology about the COVID-19 vaccine to enable low- and middle-income countries to produce vaccines. There was little reaction from both companies, but South African biotechnology company Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines went ahead and produced their own version of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The company chosen by WHO chose Moderna as the vaccine to replicate because so much information about vaccine production was in the public domain.Moderna also promised not to force it Patent During a pandemic.

The new “Modernamimic” is expected to be ready for Phase 1 trials by the end of 2022. Work is also underway to manufacture the vaccine on a large scale and distribute it to those in need. WHO wants Afrigen to act as a hub and train other companies around the world to manufacture vaccines. The global production of this vaccine requires many more steps, including legal ones. But hopefully it will be one step closer to getting rid of the poor countries’ dependence on the richer countries for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Even if some of these new vaccines are not on the market for COVID-19, the knowledge, research and manufacturing processes gained through their development can bring significant benefits to other disease areas. Future pandemics are more likely to occur, and if we can prepare for them, we can save more lives.

Are there “new” HIV variants?

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the fastest mutating viruses ever studied. A team of scientists, now led by the University of Oxford, has identified a strain of HIV called the “VB” variant, with a significant contribution from the HIV Monitoring Foundation in the Netherlands. This has been found to be very high. toxicity..

Many papers report the VB variant as a “new” variant of HIV, but this is not true. Information about its pathogenicity may be new, but the variant itself is not. By analyzing patterns of genetic variation between samples, researchers estimate that VB variants first occurred in the Netherlands in the late 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, it spread more rapidly than other HIV mutants, but since around 2010 the spread has diminished.

Conspirators tried to disseminate false information online by linking this variant to the COVID-19 vaccine, but the variant has existed more than 20 years before COVID-19 as well as the vaccine. This is revealed because it is.

[Muaz Kory/Al Jazeera]

HIV is a virus that damages cells of the immune system and weakens its ability to fight daily infections and illnesses. Its main diffusion pathway is due to the mixing of body fluids such as blood and semen. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the name used to describe the number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that occur when the immune system is severely damaged by HIV. With the availability of early diagnosis and effective treatment, most people infected with HIV will not develop AIDS-related illnesses and will be able to lead a near-normal life.

One way to monitor the severity of HIV infection is to measure the type of white blood cells in an individual called CD4, a type of T cell. CD4 counts are used to check the health of the immune system of people infected with HIV. The virus attacks and destroys CD4 cells. Therefore, if the CD4 cell depletion is too low, the individual is at increased risk of infection. Another way for clinicians to measure the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment on people living with HIV is to measure their “viral load,” that is, the level of the virus in their blood. The lower the viral load, the more effective the treatment and the less likely the infected person will be infected with the virus.

Changes in viral load or CD4 count in a group of people being monitored can also provide an indicator of whether HIV has mutated or diverts.The author of the study monitored the blood of more than 100 people in a particular Netherlands Mutant Of the HIV subtype BHIV-1, now called “VB”. Next, we compared changes in blood with 6,604 people from other subtype B strains and found that:

1. Individuals with VB variants had 3.5-5.5 times higher viral load (viral levels in the blood)

2. The rate of CD4 cell depletion (a characteristic of immune system damage from HIV) occurred twice as fast in individuals with the VB mutation, and the risk of developing AIDS was much faster.

3. Individuals with VB variants have also shown an increased risk of transmitting the virus to others.

The encouraging news is that individuals with the VB mutation responded to HIV treatment in the same way as individuals with other mutations. However, these individuals were at risk of developing AIDS sooner, so this study helps to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and immediate treatment. The team of researchers did not analyze what makes the VB variant more toxic. And much more work is being done on it. However, it highlights the variability of HIV and the importance of monitoring known variants.

The authors of the study also state that the general public does not have to worry about these findings. Rather, they reemphasize the importance of regular testing, early diagnosis, and immediate HIV treatment.