Mucosal COVID Vaccine Protects From Disease & Transmission

New study found that a COVID vaccine designed to be taken as a pill results in the neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in mucosal tissues.

New investigational COVID vaccine designed to be taken orally not only protects the host but also decreases the airborne spread of the virus to other close contacts.

The study demonstrated the potential of a COVID vaccine that works through the mucosal tissue to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus, limiting infections and the spread of the active virus in airborne particles.

‘Researchers tested a new COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses an adenovirus as a vector to express the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to be taken as a pill.’
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The findings are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“Considering most of the world is under-immunized -- and this is especially true of children -- the possibility that a vaccinated person with a breakthrough infection can spread COVID to unimmunized family or community members poses a public health risk,” Langel said.

“There would be a substantial benefit to developing vaccines that not only protect against disease but also reduce transmission to unvaccinated people.”

Langel and colleagues, including teams from the vaccine developer, Vaxart, and a clinical research non-profit, Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute tested a vaccine candidate that uses an adenovirus as a vector to express the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The human vaccine is designed to be taken as a pill.

In studies using hamsters, the vaccine elicited a robust antibody response in blood and the lungs.

When the animals were exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus at high levels, prompting breakthrough infections, they were less symptomatic than non-vaccinated hamsters, and had lower amounts of infectious virus in the nose and lungs. Because of this, they did not shed as much virus through normal airborne exposures.

Unlike vaccines that are injected into the muscle, Langel said, mucosal immunizations increase the production of immunoglobulin A (IgA), the immune system’s first line of defense against pathogens in the nose and lungs.

Going Airborne Accelerates COVID-19 Transmission
The airborne transmission of COVID-19 is confirmed by a group of scientists, highlighting the need to refine strategies to control the COVID-19 spread.

These mucosal ports of entry are then protected, making it less likely that those who are vaccinated will transmit the infectious viruses during a sneeze or cough.

“Our data demonstrate that mucosal immunization is a viable strategy to decrease the spread of COVID through airborne transmission,” Langel said.

Langel said the study focused on the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, and new studies will be designed to test the vaccine against Omicron variants.

Source-Medindia