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A Good News Story re future Vaccination development

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 2:58pm
3 replies606 views4 members subscribed
TheRower

TheRower

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Admittedly likely to be some time off, but at least there is hope for a potential avoidance of regular Covid vaccinations.

https://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/32640/spanish-researcher-develops-potentially-lifelong-covid-vaccine-that-also-protects-against-yellow-fever?utm_campaign=newsletter_20210117&utm_content=news_24065&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sub_newsletter

A SPANISH scientist is working on a Covid-19 vaccine that could offer immunity for many years or even for life, in the same way as the Yellow Fever, Hepatitis and tetanus jabs do.

In fact, Lorena Sánchez Felipe's research is based upon the Yellow Fever vaccine, which only has to be given once in a lifetime.

She and her team at Lovaina University's Rega Institute in Belgium are also working on more and more effective treatments for those who catch the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and other, similar strains. 

The state-of-the-art laboratory where Dr Sánchez Felipe and Institute boss Johan Neyts have been 'searching for a needle in a haystack', as they both describe it, has been practically their main home for months as they painstakingly analysed 1.7 million substances to work out which ones could help reduce the proliferation of the deadly strain of the Coronavirus that has almost shut the world down over the past year.

“Even greater motivation”

“I've been working here for four years, in the vaccines group – my main rôle is designing, and discovering new vaccines. I deal with the whole molecular biology part linked to them,” says Lorena, a graduate in biology and biochemistry from Salamanca University who obtained her PhD from New York's Albany Medical Center, researching the Hepatitis C virus over three-and-a-half years.

“From the moment we started working on a Coronavirus inoculation, I quickly made the designs based upon our existing knowledge of other vaccines, in particular, the one for Yellow Fever. We've made an incredible effort. We've brought together several teams working on the different parts that were needed to create the vaccine in as fast a time a possible. We've all been working practically day and night, Monday to Sunday, since we started,” Dr Sánchez Felipe reveals.

“Even though you're always motivated in a normal situation, with the devastating effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that motivation is even greater when you realise you may be able to produce something that could stop all this.”

“Fast-acting single dose with double protection”

The Rega Institute is confident its long-term, or even lifelong, vaccine will be authorised for use in the year 2022 – so far, they have tested it on hamsters and obtained very pleasing results; the next stage is clinical trials, where it will be tested on humans.

It uses the genetic code of the virus present in the Yellow Fever vaccine as a 'vector', or carrier, of the protein in the 'spine' of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so that the immune system responds in a similar way, offering 'efficient protection' against both conditions at the same time – this will mean, effectively, that anyone who has the Rega Institute jab will have been inoculated against the deadly tropical disease and will be able to travel to countries where it is present; also, it could be given out to third-world communities in these countries, with the double benefit.

The Yellow Fever jab is now 82 years old and has been used by 800 million people – those living in areas where it is prevalent, in the tropics, and holidaymakers or aid workers travelling to those areas; indeed, some of the nations in question require sight of a vaccine card proving a person has been immunised against Yellow Fever before they will allow them into the country.

“This vaccine is a fast-acting, single dose which offers long-term protection,” Dr Sánchez Felipe says.

For most people who are not regularly exposed to the risk of contracting Yellow Fever, a single jab is given and will provide immunity for life.

The Rega Institute began developing the inoculation at the beginning of 2020, when the new Coronavirus strain first hit the headlines after an outbreak in Wuhan, China, that forced the city into full lockdown.

At the time, scientists in China, and soon after, in Australia, published the genetic code of the new virus on the internet, making it available for researchers to work with.

“Two weeks later, we started designing the vaccine already,” says Johan Neyts.

“We've seen how, in hamsters, a single dose gives them complete protection from SARS-CoV-2 within just 10 days.

“Its advantage over the ones already authorised in the EU – the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna – is that it will also be beneficial in parts of the world where Yellow Fever is endemic, such as Africa and Latin America.

“Ours can be stored at a temperature of 5ºC [a little higher than that of the average household fridge].”

Small team, big achievement

Clinical trials are not likely to happen before autumn 2021, which Dr Neyts admits 'might sound a bit late in the day' compared with the Pfizer and Moderna jabs.

“But we're a much smaller team with a much smaller budget,” he argues.

The laboratory is now working with the Dutch company Batavia Biosciences, to allow the vaccine to be mass-produced and for trials on volunteers to take place.

“We're just a small, largely academic, laboratory; we cannot produce a vaccine in the quantities needed to carry out clinical trials, by ourselves. For that reason, we're working with the Dutch firm, which is producing doses for those trials,” Lorena explains.

As well as Africa and Latin America, the Rega Institute immunisation is also expected to be distributed in Europe, the USA, and Asia where the mosquitoes which transmit Yellow Fever are also found, in lower numbers but enough that they could produce an epidemic.

Recipients will probably be those who have had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and are now ready for an annual or bi-annual booster. 

Battling Covid-19 is a matter of having two main weapons to hand, say Lorena and Johan: A vaccine, and anti-viral medication.

“It's crucial to have some type of medication to use on people who catch it, because vaccines take time to roll out. Here at the Rega, we're covering both aspects,” Lorena says.

“Also, we need to keep on working on it so we're prepared for hypothetical emergencies caused by news strains of the virus, or new virii, in the future."

Lessons should be learnt

“Imagine that in the first few weeks of the Coronavirus in China, we'd had the right medication available – we could have treated all healthcare workers, families, and contacts, and possibly, could have helped control the outbreak and given ourselves time to prevent it spreading round the world," Dr Sánchez Felipe says.

“All that has happened with the pandemic should serve as a lesson for the future – medications and vaccines need to be constantly developed and invested in to keep up with viral strains to come.

“Covid-19 will probably never be eradicated, but we might be able to mitigate it, and it may end up being a type of 'winter virus' like the 'flu,” she says.

“Governments spend billions of dollars and euros on defence, and yet we're not protected against viral infections; this protection costs virtually nothing in comparison with those billions. That's the lesson the world needs to learn: We need to be prepared for the unexpected, because developing medication and immunisation takes years,” concludes Lorena.  


Sheila64

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:24pm

Sheila64

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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:24pm

A very interesting article. Thank you for sharing it. I was surprised that the current vaccinations will need annual booster jabs. There will be some extremely rich pharmaceutical companies with such a high demand. 🤔

sheilaheggarty

Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:38am

sheilaheggarty

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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:38am

A wonderful post. So glad to hear such heartening and encouraging news . It is such a significant breakthrough to have , hopefully, life long immunity .  It’s sad , however, to hear this research and the human trialing of this new vaccine is is being hindered by lack of funding. Thank you for posting it Sheila. 

Sheila64

Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:47am

Sheila64

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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:47am

sheilaheggarty wrote on Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:38am:

A wonderful post. So glad to hear such heartening and encouraging news . It is such a significant breakthrough to have , hopefully, life long immunity .  It’s sad , however, to hear this research and the human trialing of this new vaccine is is being hindered by lack of funding. Thank you ...

...for posting it Sheila. 

It was The Rower who shared this, so thanks go to him 😂 Perhaps more funding will become available soon, we live in hope. There are some very clever people out there, thank God.

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