COVID-19 clinical trial and vaccine promise

T cell attack. Photo credit: Shutterstock

The genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 virus was deposited with the National Institutes of Health server in early January 2020. Within a few days, scientists around the world started using this sequence to create vaccines.

Over 135 vaccines are in the early stages of development. Currently, the use of three vaccines is limited. Eight vaccines are in large Phase 3 clinical trials. 13 is in Phase 2 safety testing. Twenty-one employees are proceeding with Phase 1 safety testing. These numbers are maintained by the New York Times and the World Health Organization and are updated frequently. Search NYT Coronavirus Vaccine Tracking. The Times hasn’t failed and will keep you up to date on this and other aspects of the pandemic.

How vaccine works

All vaccines are designed to present the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the human immune system and induce the production of circulating antibodies and T cells that kill lungs and other virus-infected cells. After vaccination or illness, the immune response subsides, but many antibody-producing B cells and cell-killing T cells accumulate. When an infection occurs, thousands or millions of lymphocytes jump, blocking or minimizing the infection. Fortune favors the prepared immune system.

For some vaccines, the banked cells are long lasting. Just a few months with others. The spike protein is a string of about 400 amino acids, but for each position in the string, there are 20 possible amino acid choices. During its synthesis, the protein folds into a spike and is incorporated into the SARS-CoV-2 viral particle. During infection, the tip of the spike protein grabs a protruding protein on the surface of human cells and the attached virus is drawn inside and spreads there, initiating the production of more virus.

The vaccine in the Phase 3 test used a virus or bacterium that was attenuated and did not cause disease, but unlike the little-known Salk, Sabin, Jenner or Pasteur vaccines, it was all genetic. Product of operation. The new molecular technology is more accurate and offers vaccine manufacturers the advantage of speed.

In one approach, scientists insert genes that carry the information to make viral proteins into another virus that causes mild disease and is further weakened. The collaboration between Oxford’s Jenner Institute and AstraZeneca, a leading UK and Swedish pharmaceutical company, is both a great organization and beneficial. Universities and research institutes are good at basic research and the creation of the first recombinant virus, but they do not have much experience in large-scale production like AstraZeneca.

In this collaboration, we used a chimpanzee adenovirus, which is usually weakened and weakened, and inserted the spike protein gene of the COVID-19 virus. We are currently participating in a Phase 3 trial with 30,000 volunteers. The vaccine is called AZD1223 and its assigned number is Clinicaltrials.gov This is NCT04316746. Enter that number and AZD1223 into Google to find out how to participate and how to participate. Provisional results are expected in December 2020.

The vaccine method of interest to me is purely chemical. Recipients can rest assured to some, as they do not receive live or dead viruses. The new method makes mRNA an intermediate that directs the synthesis of spike proteins, but all in vitro. Scientists wrap the coding mRNA in lipids and inject it into monkeys or humans. There, it enters the cell and uses its protein-synthesizing capacity to make spike proteins.

In monkeys, the mRNA-1273 vaccine has been successful in protecting the host from coronavirus. The new vaccine is a product of Tony Forch’s National Institute of Arthritis and Infectious Diseases and a company called Moderna that specializes in RNA-based protection against infectious diseases. The vaccine is also in Phase 3 trials in 30,000 people. To find a list of all clinical trials, visit www.ClinicalTrials.gov.. (As of September 1, there were 1,397 clinical trials for COVID-19). You can also find the medical center involved in the study at that website (enter code ID NCT04470427). People conducting clinical trials want to know if antibodies and new T cells are produced in response to vaccination, and for how long the response lasts, that is, sometimes blood tests are performed, so participants To be requires commitment. They want to know about side effects. They must have participants of all ages and ethnicities.

New technologies for vaccine production are effective and fast, but we need to know about dangerous viruses before they can invade humans. If we ignore pandemic readiness plans, abolish virus surveillance programs, leave the World Health Organization, ignore CDC’s advice, and insult scientists and doctors who are trying to keep us alive, new technologies are less useful not.

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Dr. Richard Kessin is an emeritus professor of pathology and cell biology at the Irving Medical Center at Columbia University. He can be reached at [email protected]..