Scientists in Germany say they've developed a nasal vaccine that can block Covid-19 infections in the nose and throat, where the virus first sets foot. The vaccine uses a weakened but live form of the coronavirus, which closely mimics the natural infection process. In hamster studies, two doses of the vaccine were found to be highly effective in preventing illness, achieving "sterilizing immunity" that eliminates the need for subsequent infections.
The nasal vaccine takes a new approach to an old idea: weakening a virus so it's no longer a threat and then giving it to people to allow their immune systems to recognize and fight it off. The technique, called codon pair deoptimization, makes the virus harder to translate into cells, preventing it from causing disease.
Researchers hope that this new approach will lead to more effective vaccines against Covid-19, particularly in boosting mucosal immunity - the immune defenses in tissues lining the upper airways where the virus first enters the body. This is a promising area of research, as scientists believe that vaccines targeting this site could provide long-lasting protection against future variants.
One study author, Emanuel Wyler, compares this approach to stationing firefighters under the smoke alarm: "If they are already on site, they can immediately eliminate the fire, but if they're like 2 miles away, they first need to drive there, and by that time, one-third of the house is already in full flames." This analogy highlights the potential benefits of targeting mucosal immunity.
However, experts caution that more research is needed before this vaccine can be widely used. The World Health Organization's vaccine tracker lists at least four nasal vaccines for Covid-19 currently in late-stage testing in people, although effectiveness data has not been published.
One other nasal vaccine, developed by Codagenix, uses a live but weakened version of the virus and has shown promising results in early studies conducted in South America and Africa. The German team is eagerly awaiting these results to assess their potential.
The development of Covid-19 vaccines has been slow and challenging, with many hurdles to clear before they can be widely available. Groups working on these vaccines are struggling to raise costs and face skepticism from some quarters that the vaccine "race" has already been won.
In reality, however, new variants of the virus could render current vaccines ineffective in a matter of weeks, highlighting the urgent need for continued research into more effective solutions - such as pan-coronavirus vaccines that induce mucosal immunity. As Wyler notes, "It's strongly attenuated, but it's still a real virus" and would have to be used with caution.
The nasal vaccine takes a new approach to an old idea: weakening a virus so it's no longer a threat and then giving it to people to allow their immune systems to recognize and fight it off. The technique, called codon pair deoptimization, makes the virus harder to translate into cells, preventing it from causing disease.
Researchers hope that this new approach will lead to more effective vaccines against Covid-19, particularly in boosting mucosal immunity - the immune defenses in tissues lining the upper airways where the virus first enters the body. This is a promising area of research, as scientists believe that vaccines targeting this site could provide long-lasting protection against future variants.
One study author, Emanuel Wyler, compares this approach to stationing firefighters under the smoke alarm: "If they are already on site, they can immediately eliminate the fire, but if they're like 2 miles away, they first need to drive there, and by that time, one-third of the house is already in full flames." This analogy highlights the potential benefits of targeting mucosal immunity.
However, experts caution that more research is needed before this vaccine can be widely used. The World Health Organization's vaccine tracker lists at least four nasal vaccines for Covid-19 currently in late-stage testing in people, although effectiveness data has not been published.
One other nasal vaccine, developed by Codagenix, uses a live but weakened version of the virus and has shown promising results in early studies conducted in South America and Africa. The German team is eagerly awaiting these results to assess their potential.
The development of Covid-19 vaccines has been slow and challenging, with many hurdles to clear before they can be widely available. Groups working on these vaccines are struggling to raise costs and face skepticism from some quarters that the vaccine "race" has already been won.
In reality, however, new variants of the virus could render current vaccines ineffective in a matter of weeks, highlighting the urgent need for continued research into more effective solutions - such as pan-coronavirus vaccines that induce mucosal immunity. As Wyler notes, "It's strongly attenuated, but it's still a real virus" and would have to be used with caution.
because it targets the right spot where Covid-19 first infects our body - the nose and throat! It's like having firefighters at the scene of the pandemic, ready to put out the flames (the virus) ASAP 
. The fact that two doses can give us "sterilizing immunity" is mind-blowing 
. I just hope it gets approved soon so we can have more effective vaccines against future variants. It's crazy how much research has gone into this - like, four nasal vaccines are already in late-stage testing 
. We need to keep pushing forward to make sure these new variants don't outsmart us.
It's about time we think outside the box (or syringe) when it comes to Covid-19 protection. Targeting the virus where it first hits our bodies could make all the difference in preventing those nasty symptoms 
. And let's be real, the current vaccines have been around for years now, it's not like we've got a monopoly on vaccine tech 
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, but I'm all for pushing the boundaries of what's possible. We can't just sit back and wait for the next big thing to come along – we need to keep innovating and stay ahead of the curve 
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! I think targeting mucosal immunity is the way forward for Covid-19 vaccines. It makes total sense that we need to focus on areas where the virus first enters our body, like our nose and throat. 
. I'm hoping this approach will lead to more effective vaccines in the long run. It's crazy how quickly new variants can render current vaccines useless - we really need to stay ahead of this! 
. With so many groups working on them and not enough funding, it's hard to see how they'll all get made and distributed. We need more investment in vaccine research ASAP 
. Let's keep pushing forward and seeing where it takes us! 
I'm thinking it could be a game changer for covid-19 infections especially if we can boost mucosal immunity 
what do you guys think about the idea of targeting the upper airways where the virus first enters our body? 
it seems like researchers are on the right track with this codon pair deoptimization technique 
and I'm curious to see how effective it'll be in real-world studies 
! It's like they're trying to get ahead of the game here 
. The idea of weakening the virus so it can't cause disease, then using it to train our immune systems is genius 
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. The World Health Organization has a lot of nasal vaccines in the works right now, so let's hope they all pan out 
. And I love that Codagenix is developing another version of this vaccine in South America and Africa 
. It's about time we start targeting mucosal immunity here 
, finally got the shot and then... my grandma gets infected 
it's just so frustrating thinking about all these new vaccines coming out but we still need more research 
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. I mean, just because it worked in hamster studies doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna work on humans, right? 
And what about all those other nasal vaccines that are already in testing? Are they not worth considering? 
And what's up with all this talk about "sterilizing immunity"? Is that even a real thing? 
and now we got another "sterilizing immunity" claim 
what if it's not? what if new variants blow this whole thing outta water 
gotta wonder how long these vaccines will actually be effective before we need another one just as soon as the old one wears off 
but for real, this could be a game changer if it works out... think of it like having firefighters on site before the fire even starts 
. I mean, what makes them think they can do better this time around?
. And if this vaccine does end up being effective, that would be awesome 
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it's like having your own personal firewall against the virus
it's true that more research is needed, but I'd rather see some concrete results soon than keep waiting for a miracle shot. let's hope groups working on vaccines can raise the funds they need and not face unnecessary skepticism from people who think they're behind the curve 
. the fact that there are multiple nasal vaccines in late-stage testing shows progress, but also highlights how quickly the virus can mutate and make current vaccines less effective 
I think this nasal vaccine approach is a game-changer in the fight against Covid-19. By targeting the mucosal immunity, they're potentially creating a more robust defense mechanism that can provide long-lasting protection against future variants. The idea of using a weakened but live form of the virus to prime the immune system's response is actually quite clever. I mean, think about it - we've been trying to create vaccines that are too perfect, with no viral component at all, which has led to some issues in terms of immune evasion and duration of protection. This approach could be just what we need to overcome those challenges.
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. I don’t think we can afford to wait any longer for something like this