WHAT WILL THE UPCOMING COVID-19 VACCINE LOOK LIKE? IT SHOULD BE VERSATILE

 What Will The Upcoming Covid-19 Vaccine Look Like? It Should Be Versatile

 

Dr. Agarwal is the Dean of Biology and Health Research, Trivedi School of Biological Sciences, Ashoka University. A competent pulmonologist whose investigation centers around the science of respiratory sicknesses. At the time of the pandemic, he was the head of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology and a key scientist in the government's response to the pandemic. Since IGIB is one of the ten laboratories under the Indian Covid-19 Genome Sequencing Consortium, Dr. Agarwal guided the group until his retirement recent year. He is also the chairman and the only Indian member of the World Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group on the Evolution of the Sars-CoV-2 Virus.

The National Drug Regulator has sanctioned India's most memorable Covid-19 immunization that can be given as a nasal drop for crisis use in grown-ups. Although most adults who received the first and second doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 and others did not receive it, experts said it was an important advance in vaccine technology that could prevent the spread of the virus. from illness. Dr. Anurag Agarwal, Dean of Biology and Health Research at Ashoka University's Trivedi School of Biological Sciences, talks about what the next generation of vaccines might look like.

Because the rate of infection and hospitalization related to Covid19 is low, there is a reluctance to be vaccinated, especially among people on the third dose. Can nasal injections change this?

In terms of a successful infection (infection despite vaccination), they will continue unless there is a highly protective vaccine available from the available options. However, we do know that despite the availability of vaccines, the likelihood of serious illness and hospitalization is reduced. So, it is important to get the third injection in the elderly and people with co-morbidities who are at high risk of developing severe disease. Children who are infected before the infection should not need such. The injection is also the driver's focus.

As for which vaccine should be used as a booster dose, the protein-based one (BiologicalE's Corbevax is the vaccine approved by the government as a combination with a booster) is the best. Now we also have nasal sprays.

Do nasal sprays help prevent infections?

We do not have exact data. However, since the nasal vaccine gives you local immunity (where the virus first enters), we can say that it can be more effective at preventing infection than current-generation vaccines. But there is still room for improvement. This is a step toward the next generation of vaccines.

What to look for in the next-generation Covid-19 vaccine?

The next generation of vaccines must have three things. First, something like a nasal spray works. This is because local immunity provides the convenience of administration without the need for needles and trained personnel. Second, it should be practical and affordable. This not only reduces costs but also allows for easy distribution, no need for low-temperature cold chains, etc. Third, it should be versatile to cover the wider spectrum of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

What options should we consider when it comes to multivalent vaccines? How is this different from the pan-arbovirus vaccine being studied by some?

When it comes to multivalent vaccines, they will fight against several types of Sars-CoV-2, but we have to start with a comparable vaccine first. Since the ancestral form is already used in most of the Covid-19 vaccines, the company can keep it. Alternatively, one of Omicron types BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, or BA.5 can be used. The same vaccine will provide good protection against many options such as Delta. The combination of BA.1 (one of the variants that led to the increase in January) and the ancestor will provide the broadest protection, and the combination with BA.4 or BA.5 will provide good protection against the variant in circulation. Delta can also be included if we plan to add more than one option.

But why to stop there, one can imagine more for the next generation of vaccines. When it comes to Sars-CoV-2, saliva is not the only antigen (the immune-boosting part of the virus), but the virus can contain many antigens. Pan-arbovirus vaccines (vaccines that protect against Covid-19, and other viruses in the family that cause SARS) depend on this principle.

Studies show that all arboviruses have conserved antigens. People who survived SARS (which caused the virus in 2003) and received Pfizer's original variant vaccine were found to be able to fight not only Sars-CoV-2 but other arboviruses. Therefore, some combination of Sars-CoV-1 and Sars-CoV-2 can protect the whole family.

There are also some interesting papers coming out on vaccine technology. Discussion: self-assembly of protein nanoparticles. Therefore, there are certain molecules, such as ferritin protein (blood protein that stores iron), which consists of several parts that are assembled in a special pattern. Now, imagine that each of these parts is labeled with a different antigen, say a different variant of Sars-CoV-2, and throw them together. It will be made into nanoparticles with different antigens that can be delivered through the nose to protect against some variants.

Of course, this platform can be used not only for Sars-CoV-2 but also for many other infectious diseases.