A safe single-shot vaccine for COVID-19 has been successfully tested in Rhesus macaques, one of our closest relatives, and human trials began today.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine called Ad26 was produced using a virus of the common cold, an organism that stimulates our immune system. In 52 of the primates, robust antibody activity neutralized the viral functions and properties of the Sars-COV-2 virus.
“The optimal Ad26 vaccine induced robust neutralizing antibody responses and provided complete or near-complete protection in bronchoalveolar lavage and nasal swabs after challenge with SARS-CoV-2,” reads the study, published in Nature by scientists at the Harvard Virology and Vaccine Research Center.
This aspect of protection is critical, since Ad26 produced “complete or almost complete protection” in the respiratory tract, a theorized necessity for any COVID-19 vaccine since that is the main way in which the virus has spread throughout the world .
It was clear that the vaccine produced the observed antibody response, while correlating with the defense efficacy rating after administration. These results suggested that the observed protective effects were due to the vaccine and not to the monkey’s immune system.
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“These data demonstrate robust single-shot vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 in non-human primates. The optimal vector-based vaccine Ad26 for SARS-CoV-2, called Ad26.COV2.S, is currently being evaluated in clinical trials, “the Harvard team concluded.
Funded by the US government, the drug maker said it had begun early-stage human trials in the US and Belgium, according to Reuters, and that it would test its vaccine candidate on more than 1,000 healthy adults. from 18 to 55 years, as well as older adults.
The authors noted that a single-shot vaccine, as Ad26 would likely be, is the perfect solution for the pandemic, but they admitted that a two-dose administration would produce a stronger immune defense.
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