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Coronavirus second wave has wreck havoc in India with active cases crossing 3L every day. On Tuesday, the country registered 3.29 lakh cases taking the total tally of COVID-19 infections to 2,29,92,517. A total of 3,29,942 infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 2,49,992 with 3,876 fresh fatalities. When the healthcare system is also falling apart in the country, scientists have developed a potential new vaccine, which has proven effective against the original SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and its UK, South Africa, and Brazil variants and related bat Coronaviruses that could potentially cause the next pandemic.
The ferocious second wave of coronavirus has swept India with a rising number of daily COVID-19 cases. Medical infrastructure has fallen apart as the country is witnessing a huge scarcity of beds and oxygen. COVID-19 vaccines were introduced in India a few months back and so far 17,27,10,066 vaccines have been administered. According to the reports, there is a shortage of vaccines as well. At a time when the country is fighting its biggest healthcare battle, the study which was published in the journal Nature stated that the new vaccine, called the pan-coronavirus vaccine, was effective in protecting monkeys and mice. Wondering how? Keep reading.
The pan-coronavirus vaccine triggers neutralizing antibodies via a nanoparticle. The nanoparticle is composed of the Coronavirus part that allows it to bind to the body's cell receptors and is formulated with a chemical booster called an adjuvant.
The researchers also stated that the nanoparticle vaccine, in monkeys, blocked Covid-19 infection by 100 per cent. The new vaccine also elicited significantly higher neutralizing levels in the animals than current vaccine platforms or natural infection in humans.
"We began this work last spring with the understanding that, like all viruses, mutations would occur in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19," said senior author Barton F Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI). "The mRNA vaccines were already under development, so we were looking for ways to sustain their efficacy once those variants appeared. "This approach not only protected SARS-CoV-2, but the antibodies induced by the vaccine also neutralized variants of concern that originated in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. And the induced antibodies reacted with quite a large panel of coronaviruses," Haynes said.
The team built on earlier studies involving SARS, the respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-1. They found a person who had been infected with SARS developed antibodies capable of neutralizing multiple coronaviruses, suggesting that a pan-coronavirus might be possible.
They identified one particular receptor-binding domain site on SARS-CoV-2, its circulating variants, and SARS-related bat viruses that make them highly vulnerable to cross-neutralizing antibodies.
The team then designed a nanoparticle displaying this vulnerable spot. The nanoparticle is combined with a small molecule adjuvant, which boosts the body's immune response to fight the disease.