Reporter : Luke Andrews, Daily Mail
A new type of covi vaccine delivered through a skin patch is being developed by scientists in Oxford.
Manufacturers hope it will spark longer-lasting protection against the coronavirus, potentially ending the need for seasonal boosters.
Researchers are already working on creating covi vaccines that are administered by skin patches that primarily spark antibodies to fight off the disease.
But Oxfordshire-based company Emergex wants its vaccine to trigger a killer T-cell response, which could prevent the virus from even spreading.
It is now entering stage one clinical trials which will see it administered to 26 people in Lausanne, Switzerland.
If successful, the thumbnail-sized vaccine — made of tiny microneedles that pierce the skin — could be available by 2025.
Current vaccines, including ones made by AstraZeneca and Pfizer, aim to trigger an antibody immune response.
They work by exposing the body to covi spike proteins used by the virus to invade cells, in case it gets infected in future.
If the coronavirus (covi) is detected, the immune system is ready to create covi-specific antibodies that work to prevent an infection taking hold.
But the antibody response can wane over time.
T cells — which are also made by the current crop of vaccines but to a lesser extent — offer longer-lasting protection, top scientists say.
The Emergex vaccine aims to trigger killer T-cells, which destroy infected cells to stop viruses making millions of copies of themselves.
It contains an antigen only found on the surface of infected cells.
This then triggers the immune system to activate a specific T-cell that searches for cells with this protein on their surface.
When the T cells finds one, it hits the 'kill switch' and destroys it.
Emergex is aiming for its covi vaccine to be delivered through a skin patch.
Other companies are also developing covi vaccines that are given through skin patches.
In Australia, researchers are testing one that contains 5,000 microneedles.
It is pushed into the skin using a machine, and left in place for ten seconds to deliver the vaccine.
Researchers say the needles are too small to make it painful, and that it instead feels like a quick flick.
The chief executive officer of Emergex, Robin Cohen, said, "Our T Cell priming vaccines may offer significant benefits over current covi vaccines including longer lasting immunity and broader protection against new variants.
"We are proud to announce the initiation of this trial and look forward to gathering data to support the development of this important next generation vaccine."
Britain is already rolling out booster shots to over-50s and, from today, is now set to offer them to over-40s from six months after their second dose.
SAGE advisers have suggested that repeated covi vaccinations may be needed every year to shore up the wall of protection — as with flu.
But there have already been concerns over uptake during this second drive, as figures show just three quarters of over-75s have already got their doses.
Professor Michael Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M), said that repeat vaccinations could keep Covid at bay.
He told Sky News, "In the longer term, covid is likely to become endemic and we probably are going to have to manage it with repeated vaccination campaigns for years to come."
Asked whether he felt confident about a "normal Christmas", Professor Tildesley added, "I'm cautiously optimistic.
"If we look at (the trends) we can see that although there has been quite a lot of variation over the past few weeks, and we're still reporting very high numbers of cases, the total number of daily hospital admissions and the total number of deaths are quite a long way below where we were in November last year, which should give us some level of confidence."
He added, "The booster vaccination campaign is going far better than it was a few weeks ago, but there's still quite a lot of eligible people who have not yet had their booster jab.
"So it's really important if we do want to avoid restrictions ramping up that we get as many of those people out to get their booster jabs as possible over the next few weeks."
News (3)
The world's first inhaled vaccine, vaccination is as easy as drinking milk tea
Source : Singapore Eye / https://www.yan.sg/souchangyumiao/
On 12 November 2021, at the Fifth Hainan International Health Industry Expo, the world's first inhaled vaccine was born and attracted a lot of attention.
The method of vaccination is very simple. The vaccinators only need to take a deep breath under the guidance of the medical staff, and then slowly inhale the vaccine in the cup, and hold their breath for 5 seconds. Netizens have expressed that the vaccination posture is like drinking milk tea.
Image : Unsplash
It is understood that the formulations of inhaled vaccines and intramuscular vaccines are the same but the mode of administration has been changed.
Nebulized inhalation immunization uses a nebulizer to atomize the vaccine into tiny particles. The vaccinator will inhale it through the mouth, and these tiny particles will stimulate mucosal immunity after entering the respiratory tract and lungs. Only the inhaled vaccine can stimulate mucosal immunity, not the intramuscular injection.
This vaccine was developed by the team of Academician Chen Wei of the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Research in cooperation with CanSino Biologics, and was published in The Lancet in 2020. The vaccine has now entered the third phase of clinical trials.
Image : Hainan International Health Industry Expo
The research results of the first two phases of clinical trials show that the inhaled vaccine is safe and does not have the local side effects caused by the intramuscular vaccine.
Moreover, the inhaled vaccine only needs 1/5 of the dose used for intramuscular injection, and the cellular immune response can reach the same level as one dose of intramuscular vaccine.
Inhaled vaccines and intramuscular vaccines use the same formulation prescription, packaging format and production facilities. At the same time, nebulized inhalation can further strengthen the immune response of those who have been vaccinated. Chen Wei expressed the hope that this will resist the attack of mutant strains.
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