Right now the race is on to find a vaccine for the coronavirus outbreak that has impacted the world. Unfortunately, there is no known vaccine in the market yet, but there have been great efforts made by companies in which some potential vaccines have already been sent for human trials.It looks like we might be able to add another to the list, thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who have created a potential new effective vaccine against the virus. The vaccine that they created was tested on mice and based on their initial findings, it managed to produce enough antibodies in the host’s system to neutralize the virus within two weeks of injection.
According to Andrea Gambotto, associate professor of surgery at the Pittsburgh School of Medicine, “These two viruses, which are closely related to [Covid-19], teach us that a particular protein, called a spike protein, is important for inducing immunity against the virus. We knew exactly where to fight this new virus.”
The method of delivery involves a patch that is placed on the skin. The patch contains 400 tiny microneedles that can inject the vaccine into the skin where the immune reaction is the strongest. The patch is made using sugar and protein pieces and will eventually dissolve away. It is unclear how this will work on humans, but so far it appears to be promising as the researchers’ work have since been peer reviewed by other scientists outside of the university.
Filed in . Read more about Coronavirus, Covid-19, Health, Science and Social Hit. Source: independent