German Researchers Develop Nasal Vaccine That May Shut Down Covid-19 Infection Before It Takes Hold
Scientists in Germany say they've made a breakthrough in developing a nasal vaccine that can effectively shut down a Covid-19 infection before it even gets a foothold in the body. The vaccine, which uses a live but weakened form of the coronavirus, has shown promising results in hamster studies, achieving "sterilizing immunity" and preventing illness.
The researchers' approach is to boost mucosal immunity by targeting the tissues that line the upper airways, where the virus first enters the body. This approach mimics the way firefighters might respond to a fire by quickly shutting down its source. The idea is to create an immune response that can neutralize the virus before it causes any harm.
The vaccine has several advantages over traditional vaccines, which rely on injecting instructions into cells. By using a live but weakened form of the virus, the nasal vaccine previews the entire coronavirus for the body, allowing the immune system to mount a more effective response against a wider range of targets.
While this development is promising, experts caution that the vaccine still has to pass further tests before it's ready for use. One of the biggest challenges will be determining how well it works in humans, particularly against emerging variants like Omicron.
Other nasal vaccines are already in late-stage testing, with at least four candidates reaching human trials according to the World Health Organization's vaccine tracker. Some of these vaccines rely on harmless adenoviruses to ferry their instructions into cells, while others use live but weakened versions of the virus.
One notable development is a recombinant vaccine that can be produced cheaply in chicken eggs, similar to flu vaccines. Another nasal vaccine uses a live but weakened form of the virus and is being developed by a company called Codagenix. The results of these studies are expected later this year, providing further insight into their effectiveness.
While some experts see promise in these developments, others express concern about the challenges of developing effective vaccines against respiratory infections like Covid-19. FluMist, a live but weakened form of the flu virus, has shown relatively poor performance in adults due to existing immune memory from previous infections.
Ultimately, researchers hope that next-generation Covid-19 vaccines will be able to induce mucosal immunity and provide long-lasting protection against the virus. With multiple candidates in development, it remains to be seen which approach will prove most effective in preventing the spread of infection.
Scientists in Germany say they've made a breakthrough in developing a nasal vaccine that can effectively shut down a Covid-19 infection before it even gets a foothold in the body. The vaccine, which uses a live but weakened form of the coronavirus, has shown promising results in hamster studies, achieving "sterilizing immunity" and preventing illness.
The researchers' approach is to boost mucosal immunity by targeting the tissues that line the upper airways, where the virus first enters the body. This approach mimics the way firefighters might respond to a fire by quickly shutting down its source. The idea is to create an immune response that can neutralize the virus before it causes any harm.
The vaccine has several advantages over traditional vaccines, which rely on injecting instructions into cells. By using a live but weakened form of the virus, the nasal vaccine previews the entire coronavirus for the body, allowing the immune system to mount a more effective response against a wider range of targets.
While this development is promising, experts caution that the vaccine still has to pass further tests before it's ready for use. One of the biggest challenges will be determining how well it works in humans, particularly against emerging variants like Omicron.
Other nasal vaccines are already in late-stage testing, with at least four candidates reaching human trials according to the World Health Organization's vaccine tracker. Some of these vaccines rely on harmless adenoviruses to ferry their instructions into cells, while others use live but weakened versions of the virus.
One notable development is a recombinant vaccine that can be produced cheaply in chicken eggs, similar to flu vaccines. Another nasal vaccine uses a live but weakened form of the virus and is being developed by a company called Codagenix. The results of these studies are expected later this year, providing further insight into their effectiveness.
While some experts see promise in these developments, others express concern about the challenges of developing effective vaccines against respiratory infections like Covid-19. FluMist, a live but weakened form of the flu virus, has shown relatively poor performance in adults due to existing immune memory from previous infections.
Ultimately, researchers hope that next-generation Covid-19 vaccines will be able to induce mucosal immunity and provide long-lasting protection against the virus. With multiple candidates in development, it remains to be seen which approach will prove most effective in preventing the spread of infection.
! I mean, think about it, we're talking sterilizing immunity here, which basically means we can shut down Covid-19 before it even starts to cause problems. That's like having a fire extinguisher for our immune system 
!
, but I've got faith in the researchers. We'll get there, and when we do, it's going to be a game-changer for public health 
.
! And with one of them being produced cheaply in chicken eggs, that's just genius 
. Bring it on, 2025, let's make this year one to remember 
!
I'm all for trying new things and seeing what works best we've been stuck with this virus for ages it's time for some innovation 
it's like they're using a firehose to put out the Covid-19 fires before they even start 
its like they're using a live but weakened form of the virus to create an immune response 
so this is like a game changer 
they still have to do more tests before it's ready for human use 
they're literally trying to tackle covid-19 like a fire 
by boosting mucosal immunity first... can you imagine being able to prevent an infection from even happening? it's like having a superhero shield for your nose 
and the fact that they're using live but weakened forms of the virus is genius 
. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that this vaccine works well in humans, especially against those pesky omicron variants 
. it's amazing how much research and development has gone into this already... multiple nasal vaccines are in testing and some have shown promising results 
. let's hope next-gen covid-19 vaccines become a reality soon! 
especially since we're getting better at understanding how the virus works. The idea of boosting mucosal immunity by targeting the tissues in our noses sounds so cool 
BUT I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS RESEARCH TAKES US 
they're literally so good i mean what's the point of having a nasal vaccine if you can just eat something that tastes like chicken but isn't actually chicken lol anyway back to covid-19 yeah it's crazy how many different vaccines are being developed and tested right now. i'm kinda hoping one of them will be able to take on those omicron variants without getting too overwhelmed 
imagine being able to shut down covid-19 before it even takes hold 
plus it's made with a weakened form of the virus, so you're not exposing yourself to too much of it 
and give us long-lasting protection 
. It makes sense that this approach would be more effective than traditional vaccines. Fingers crossed that one of these nasal vaccines will come out on top! 
The idea of having a nasal vaccine that can shut down Covid-19 before it even takes hold is literally like fireproofing against a fire 
. Of course, we need more testing and data before this vaccine is ready for prime time, but if it works, I think it could be a total game-changer 
and yeah, fluMist didn't do so well... but I guess that's what happens when our immune systems get too used to dealing with one virus 
anyway, can't wait to see the results of these studies later this year 
But seriously, the fact that they're targeting those upper airway tissues is genius 
And the fact that these nasal vaccines are already being developed, with others in late-stage testing, is just crazy 
And what about those emerging variants like Omicron? Can our nasal vaccine handle that? 
. We need something that can provide long-lasting protection against Covid-19 and its variants 