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Pfizer and BioNTech believe that their vaccine is effective and has few side effects. It could be a revolution.
News came in on Monday that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech after all sun brands is safe and effective.
Also read: Pfizer Vaccine Preview: – A Great Day for Humanity
It’s been in the cards for a long time that it should be possible to make a vaccine against the pandemic virus. The fact that the world’s largest pharmaceutical group believes it has succeeded is, however, a very important confirmation.
It is true that the vaccine is believed to be a logistical nightmare, as it must be stored at minus 80 degrees. Therefore, it will probably be used mainly in the richest parts of the world.
Also read: Three vaccines struggle to be approved first: the favorite can create additional challenges
New technology
What is less well known is that the vaccine the two companies are developing is based on a vaccine technology that until now has never been approved for use in humans: mRNA.
Also read: Vaccine technology has never been used before, now it can save the world
There are many different ways to make vaccines, but so far they have all had this in common: the vaccine contains all or part of the virus it must protect against.
The Pfizer vaccine, on the other hand, does not use any part of the virus at all. Instead, the vaccine is based on what is called mRNA, often called “messenger RNA.”
There are several companies working with similar vaccines, including American Moderna and German Curevac.
The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says that the covid-19 vaccine they are developing together with Germany’s BioNTech is 90 percent effective against preventing COVID-19 infections in phase 3 trials. Here, the first dose of vaccine is applied to a participant in the test. Photo: University of Maryland School of Medicine via AP / NTB
Photo: (NTB scanpix)
An mRNA vaccine does not need the virus itself to make it immune. Instead, advanced genetic engineering is used for the body to produce the foreign material that the immune system will recognize, so that it can begin producing antibodies without becoming infected..
The body thus receives the recipe to produce parts of the virus.
In Pfizer’s case, it means the spike protein itself in the coronavirus.
The famous spikes of the coronavirus, the spike protein, are what the vaccine is supposed to cause the body to attack.
Photo: National Institutes of Health brochure (NTB scanpix)
– People began to think of this type of vaccine in the 90s, but the problem is that it is broken down very quickly by enzymes, both in the body and “on the shelf”, which means that you have to have good techniques of stabilization to make it. I work in practice, lead researcher Stig Tollefsen of the vaccine organization CEPI told Nettavisen earlier this year.
It is possible that the stabilization of the virus was solved by encapsulating the RNA in “soap bubbles” (lipid nanoparticles), in combination with low temperature storage.
Aavitsland: – A revolution in the field of vaccines
The crucial importance of mRNA vaccines is twofold:
To develop the vaccine, you do not need the virus itself, but only the genetic sequence of the virus. If a new virus is detected in China, the genetic sequence can be sent electronically to Germany and a new vaccine can be made from it. The production itself does not involve the growth of viruses.
2. It is believed that it is very easy to change a vaccine and put it into production quickly. This means that the mRNA can function as a vaccine platform: it has a ready-to-use template and therefore only needs minor modifications.
Competitor Moderna said it took 42 days from the moment they received the genetic sequence until they had a vaccine ready to test.
If Pfizer were to get this vaccine approved, it would likely be the first step toward that platform.
FHI chief physician Preben Aavitsland says this is potentially a revolution:
– This is only a preliminary analysis. We should expect the final results in a few weeks. If they are equally good, there is good evidence for the concept of mRNA vaccines. It’s a revolution in the field of vaccines, Aavitsland writes in an email.
Chief physician Preben Aavitsland of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health says a possible approval of an mRNA vaccine, which Pfizer may now be the first to receive, will be a revolution for vaccines.
Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder (NTB scanpix)
– In principle, the mRNA that is included in the vaccine can be changed so that it adapts to the most prevalent virus. The Norwegian Medicines Agency must respond if such a change in mRNA requires a completely new assay, he notes.
Nettavisen has failed to get immediate comment from the Norwegian Medicines Agency, but this is unplowed ground for everyone.
– You may be able to use so-called surrogate targets, for example a level of antibody that you know is sufficient to provide protection. Then it may be worth testing new variants in just a few hundred people in order to show that the vaccine provides a sufficient level of antibodies. We don’t know yet, he says.
May mean more effective vaccines
This could dramatically reduce the development time of a vaccine and it will be very good news, including news that comes from mutations in Denmark.
Also read: Health authorities fear Denmark’s mink virus: they present a series of new recommendations
It has been said previously that mRNA vaccines could also provide much more effective flu vaccines. Today’s vaccines are typically less than 50 percent effective, because you have to “guess” long in advance which influenza viruses will attack when winter comes to produce vaccines in large enough quantities.
With an mRNA vaccine, it is assumed that much longer can be expected to start production, and therefore more is known about which variant of influenza is about to spread.
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