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ANKARA
Scientists from the US state of Pennsylvania have succeeded in isolating the smallest biological molecule to date that neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of COVID-19.
The molecule, which is said to completely and specifically neutralize the virus, is 10 times smaller than a full-size antibody, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said Monday. It is used to make a drug known as “Ab8” for potential use against the coronavirus.
Ab8 is very effective in preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice and hamsters, they said, adding that it “does not bind to human cells, a good sign that it will not have negative side effects in people.”
“Ab8 not only has potential as a therapy for COVID-19, but it could also be used to prevent people from contracting SARS-CoV-2 infections,” John Mellors, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said in the statement.
While American scientists and companies rush to create a COVID-19 vaccine, other countries are making progress as well.
Russia approved a vaccine in August despite concerns from Western experts about the lack of adequate testing, and China’s Sinovac Biotech announced on September 6 that 90% of its employees and their families had taken an experimental vaccine.
China said on Tuesday that a vaccine could be available to the public starting in November, according to Wu Guizhen, director of biosafety at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who took an experimental vaccine in April.
While China is the birthplace of the new coronavirus, the country also has nine of the 30 vaccines worldwide that are currently in human trials. The University of Hong Kong also said last week that a nasal spray vaccine was entering its clinical trials.
On the demand side, some governments have already put plans in place to access millions of vaccines available to their public as soon as they become available.
The US Trump administration implemented Operation Warp Speed, offering to pay Pfizer and BioNTech $ 1.95 billion for 100 million doses if their vaccine proves “safe and effective,” and a $ 1.6 billion agreement with Novavax to manufacture and deliver 100 million doses by next January.
South Korea will buy 20 million doses of COVAX Facility, the global access plan to COVID-19 vaccines led by the World Health Organization, to distribute injections fairly, and another 40 million doses from private pharmaceutical companies. .
The United States has more than 6.5 million cases and more than 194,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Globally, the figures are almost 29.3 million infections and more than 928,000 deaths.
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