The virus had acquired an amazing ability to infect humans by jumping from one person’s nose to another. Cases have soared this winter, even among vaccinated individuals. This leads scientists to rethink their strategy on how best to fight future variants, aiming for a higher level of protection: eliminating infections altogether. If they succeed, the next vaccine could be a nasal spray. The initial coronavirus vaccines proved extremely versatile, protecting humans from the worst effects of Covid-19. But as experts discuss when, if and who should take extra boosts, a growing number of scientists are beginning to believe that extra shots could have marginal benefits for most healthy people. A change in the vaccine delivery route from a vaccine to a sniff could create an immune wall right where the viruses find the ground and prevent the virus from spreading, preventing even mild infections. Immunology is complex, but the idea is simple. A puff of droplets in the human nostrils could trigger “mucosal” immunity – an anti-viral force embedded in the tissue lining the airways. Local protection could stop the transmission and help stifle the next variant. The omicron variant caused a sudden, humble change of perspective on vaccines: The glass seemed at least half full for most of 2021 and then suddenly seemed half empty. For more than a year, genuine coronavirus vaccines kept people alive and out of the hospital and prevented most diseases, even in the midst of provocative variations. But the over-the-counter micron variant broke out even in countries with high vaccination rates – and turned scientific satisfaction into dissatisfaction. Omicron persisted despite vaccinations (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) “I do not think the research institute should do it [the idea] “We have solved it and we will give you boosters of the current vaccine,” said Larry Corey, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “They took us out of the desert, but that does not mean it has solved the problem. “It’s amazing what they’ve done – but there are some things that can be undone.” The change of strategy is still early in development – one should not expect a smell of vaccine this fall. Some scientists argue that the goal of blocking transmission and mild infections is too high, and even proponents acknowledge that the regulatory pathway can be complex. The primary goal of vaccination is to protect people from serious illness and not to prevent any mild outbreak. But the idea is gaining ground. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University School of Medicine, said that in early 2021, she considered her research into the nasal vaccine in preparation for the next pandemic. Then the micron variant changed the equation. “Having seen all these new variants that are much more contagious and make our vaccines useless to prevent infections – then we realized we might have a chance to contribute something during this pandemic,” Iwasaki said. President Biden’s National Preparedness Plan for Covid-19, unveiled in March, highlights the need to restart vaccines to match their variants within 100 days of their emergence and to develop a universal vaccine, one that protects against the Covid-19 and all its variants, too. as future emerging coronavirus threats “. President Biden’s National Preparedness Plan for Covid-19 Stresses the Need to Develop a Universal Vaccine (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) A growing number of scientists believe that a vaccine that stops the transmission could be just as urgent – and perhaps more so. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Research and Development Authority – known as BARDA – are considering a number of next-generation vaccine ideas, including those that activate mucosal immunity and could stop transmission. The process is similar to that used to prioritize billion-dollar investment candidates through the original Operation Warp Speed program. But there is a catch. “We could have Operation Warp Speed for next-generation mucosal vaccines, but we do not have the funding to do so,” said Karin Bok, director of Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Management at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “We do what we can to prepare; just to prepare in case we have available resources.” For more than a year, scientists have been playing catch-up, struggling to try current and revised vaccines against a growing Greek alphabet of new variants. The game plan, inspired by the annual fight against the flu, is to update the vaccines as the virus evolves. Robert Seder, head of the cell immunology department at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, is one of the front-line experts in this fight. He and his colleagues tested vaccines against animal variants and compared vaccines for specific variants with the original Moderna vaccine. Experiments, which can move quickly compared to human trials, give early indications of when it may be time to switch to a vaccine adapted to a variant. But Seder has begun to question whether an up-to-date vaccine is the best weapon against future recurrences of the coronavirus. In February, his team found that a regular Moderna amplifier offered similarly strong protection against the micron variant in monkeys as a micron-specific shot. Around the same time, Israeli researchers reported that while a fourth dose increased antibodies that block the virus, it did not rule out infections. Vaccinated people who became ill also had a lot of virus in their noses, undermining hopes that they would be less likely to infect others. Another study found that a fourth intake did help prevent infections, but the effect was short-lived. Researchers in New York developed an intranasal vaccine using the coronavirus protein (Getty Images) The findings call into question the fact that simply giving more shots would be the best solution for the future. The original vaccines kept people out of the hospital and also prevented moderate infections and reduced the spread of previous versions of the virus. Then the virus changed. If the additional downloads or new releases matching the dominant strain do not restore this protection to the original level, it may not be the best way to spread the virus, which has been shown to be capable of becoming one of the fastest-growing pathogens. in the world. “If we want to change the target positions, so to speak, and really get to reduce infection and prevent infection, the last point is that we need to change the route of vaccination,” Sender said. Suppose, he said, a variant appeared that spread as fast as the micron and caused serious diseases such as the delta variant. “You would not want a vaccine [against] not only serious illness, but [to] prevent transmission? ” asked. Seder and his colleagues are now focusing on designing what he calls a “bake-off” – a lab experiment that compares early nasal vaccines to see what holds the promise. “In my mind, this is one of the most important things we can do in the future,” said Sender. When Cincinnati’s Dan Wagner finally got the chance to get the coronavirus vaccine last year, he postponed it. The 33-year-old has an online business that sells car parts from home, so he did not worry about being exposed to work. He had no underlying health risks for serious Covid-19. Until he was suitable for vaccination, he kept hearing about vaccinated people who became infected. “Where I’m younger, I’ve had no comorbidity and I’m watching all the time – I’re not really worried about getting Covid,” Wagner said. “At that point, getting a vaccine that I know would not stop the transmission did not make sense to me.” Then, before the Omicron variant exploded last year, Wagner heard about a scientific test at the Cincinnati Hospital Children’s Medical Center with a nasal spray vaccine aimed at stopping the spread of the virus. He registered and received his vaccination – a puff droplet in each nostril – in late January. Instead of the familiar needle sting, he felt the vaccine slip on the back of his nose and throat. The feeling was a bit strange, he said, but other than that, it was not noticeable and had no side effects. The Wagner vaccine, developed by Georgia-based biotechnology company CyanVac, contains a version of a virus used to vaccinate dogs against kennel cough that has been modified to include the sharp protein found outside the coronavirus. The theory is that the dog’s virus will multiply in humans for a limited time, teaching their immune system to recognize the coronavirus’s protein and to block the actual pathogen. The virus used in the vaccine is harmless to humans, and Wagner returns for regular nasal swabs to check for antibodies to the virus in his nose – and to see how long it takes to clear the dog’s virus. Other vaccine manufacturers use different underlying technologies to deliver the same critical load. Vaxart, a San Francisco-based company, is testing a pill that contains a harmless version of a common cold-related virus. The virus can not make copies of itself, so it can not cause infection, but it is endowed with the coronavirus’s protein and has been shown in early studies to elicit an immune response in the nose. In New York, researchers at Mount Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai developed an intranasal vaccine that contains a virus that usually causes sneezing, coughing and down feathers in chickens, but has been modified to include coronavirus protein. Researchers at Meissa Vaccines in California use a version of the respiratory syncytial virus that …
