A team of scientists from the University of Houston have come up with a novel vaccine that can be used to prevent the spread of various coronavirus strains, in addition to the flu.
With this, they’ve not only made progress in vaccinating against the flu and SARS-CoV-2 virus, but are also one step closer to developing a universal coronavirus vaccine.
According to Dr. Varadarajan, who led the new nasal spray research, the new treatment will be ‘a gamechanger’ as it will not only prevent people from developing serious illness, but will also prevent those who are infected from spreading the virus to others.
Current vaccines, on the other hand, are only capable of preventing serious illness and cannot prevent individuals from spreading the virus to vulnerable people.
Not only that but they also become less effective over time as viruses change and adapt to new environments. COVID-19 is no exception, with ‘successful variants’ winning over the weaker ones.
In some cases, the viruses also become more resistent to existing vaccines. For example, the COVID-19 virus is never completely eliminated from the body as it resides in the nose while vaccines are administered intramuscularly through the arm.
The new nasal spray vaccine, however, targets ‘the last mile’ of the nose, meaning it will be effective against all viruses in the coronavirus family.
In lab studies, the new nasal vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing the spread of the Omnicron variant to unvaccinated hosts.
Dr. Varadarajan also believes the novel vaccine will stop the need for COVID-19 boosters as the virus can only evolve inside a living host and the likelihood of that will be slashed with the nasal spray as it won’t be able to spread to other hosts as easily.
By not allowing the coronavirus to exist in the nose, you will be able to beat the game of Russian roulette.
In addition to NanoSTING-SN, which targets the COVID-19 virus, the startup, AuraVax Therapeutics, is also working on a second nasal spray vaccine called NanoSTING for the influenza virus. Like the former, it will be more resilient against viral adaptation and evolution compared to existing vaccines and treatments.
This has to do with the fact that it contains cGAMP, an immune-system boosting ingredient that allows the body’s cells to fend off against respiratory viruses.
Not only that but the new influenza vaccine will also be able to override resistant strains, making it more effective than antiflu drugs such as Tamiflu. It’s also more convenient as it only requires one dose for treatment compared to Tamiflu, which needs 10 doses.
Patients are also more likely to use it properly compared to Tamiflu, which is often stopped before the 10th dose once the individual starts to feel better. However, that only encourages the virus to evolve and spread further.
According to Dr. Varadarajan, the company plans on starting phase 1 testing within a year and are hopeful that the new nasal vaccine will be released sometime in the near future.
