[ad_1]
The National Steering Committee of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 published this Sunday a press release on the effectiveness of vaccines against the new strain discovered in the United Kingdom, which is more contagious, according to the first information from specialists. Experts say that if there will be more mutations in the virus in the future, then the whole process of obtaining a vaccine will not be resumed, but an adaptation of it, a system similar to vaccination against influenza.
“Newly developed vaccines target the novel coronavirus spike protein, the virus surface glycoprotein, which can trigger an immune response. It is responsible for the penetration of the virus into human cells (and, implicitly, the initiation of infection ), by binding to specific receptors found in the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. The spike protein binds to these receptors through a region called the receptor-binding domain. The immune system recognizes the Spike protein as foreign, similar to when the virus enters the body and when it is produced after the vaccine, and triggers the immune response that produces antibodies, ”said the authorities’ response.
“Antibodies produced by natural infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been shown to recognize many regions of the virus surface protein (Spike protein). In fact, changing these regions due to mutations could lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of antibodies (whether they occur as a result of natural infection or as a result of vaccination). But for this to happen, it would be necessary to accumulate a large number of mutations to completely eliminate the protection conferred, and this phenomenon it would take a long time, taking into account the mutation rate of the virus, “says a source cited.
The National Steering Committee of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign also states that “in the long term, this possibility cannot be completely ruled out. However, even if this happened, it would not be necessary to resume the entire vaccine development process, but only to periodically adapt it to circulating strains. The best example in this regard is influenza vaccination, for which the recommendation of the strains to include in the vaccine for each season changes annually, and the vaccine is produced, tested and administered in a period of only a few months.
sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Understanding COVID19 mRNA Vaccines, 2020.Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
- Kemp SA, Datir RP, Collier DA, Ferreira ATM, Carabelli A, Harvey W, et al. Recurrent emergence and transmission of a SARS-CoV-2 spike H69 / V70 deletion. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.
- Yi Z, Ling Y, Zhang X, Chen J, Hu K, Wang Y, et al. Functional mapping of linear SARS-CoV-2 B-cell epitopes in the convalescent population of COVID-19. Emerging Microbes and Infections, 2020; 9 (1): 1988–1996. Doi: 10.1080 / 22221751.2020.1815591.
- Callaway E. The coronavirus is mutating, does it matter? Nature, 2020; 585 (7824): 7824. Doi: 10.1038 / d41586-020-02544-6.
- WHO. Flu shots. Available at: http://www.who.int/immunization/research/development/influenza/en/
What are messenger-based mRNA vaccines?
According to the information provided by the National Steering Committee of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19, vaccines based on messenger RNA aim to develop immunity against a disease; to trigger an immune response; to produce specific antibodies and cells that recognize the target pathogen.
To date, vaccines have been developed from inactivated or attenuated versions of the microorganisms responsible for causing the disease, from fragments of
microorganisms responsible for the production of the disease and viral vectors.
Although not approved for human use to date, mRNA vaccines have been studied for more than 10 years. They are tested on more than 1,500 volunteers and studies have shown that they have a very good safety profile.
Publisher: GC
