Prama Ghosh, Amity University Kolkata
Based on the vaccine against yellow fever, a team of researchers led by Professor Johan Neyts and Kai Dallmeier at Rega Institute at KU Leuven, Belgium, have developed a vaccine candidate against Covid-19 which also works against yellow fever. Results indicate that the vaccine is effective in hamsters and monkeys against infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus after a single dose.
The vaccine named RegaVax is engineered by inserting the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 spikes into the genetic code of the yellow fever vaccine, thus making it a vector vaccine. After treating the coronavirus-affected hamsters with a single vaccine dose, the hamsters were found healthy after three weeks. Lung infections did not develop and the virus was completely or nearly completely gone from their throats.
RegaVax works after one dose while most of the vaccine candidates require repeat vaccination after one month, thus being an ideal candidate for repeat vaccinations when immunity decreases in people who have received one of the first-generation vaccines. The vaccine is expected to provide long-lasting immunity to Covid-19 and can be stored and transported at 2-8 °C.
Currently the vaccine is being explored for its effect in infected hamsters and the team is preparing for clinical trials next year.
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Reference: “A single-dose live-attenuated YF17D-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate” DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-3035-9
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