French company, Valneva is making a coronavirus vaccine that is in phase 3 clinical trials now. It claims that it is variantproof and will get against all mutant strains of the covid vaccine. This news is heartening and need of the hour. Because mutant variants of the deadly virus have emerged and could pose a threat of creating more trouble for the world. Since December 2019, the infection originated in Wuhan in China and has spread to the world like a wild fire causing a lot of morbidities and mortality. If a vaccine acts also against the new variant forms of the vaccine, it is a welcome step towards control of the virus.
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| Valneva vaccine (Source: The Conversation) |
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Covid pandemic and its wrath
The coronavirus that was first reported from Wuhan in China took the world by storm. It spread via the air and land route and no country was spared by it. The first wave seemed to subside but the second wave was bad. People are still dealing with it. The virus has mutated multiple types and the UK, Brazil, and South Africa variants of the virus emerged. These came to India and there double and triple mutants emerged that have cost a lot of human life losses. These variants are more faster transmissible and more deadly. It is affecting the young people more and causing them to require hospitalization and oxygen need more and faster. The pandemic in India seems uncontrollable and its peak is yet to come.
In the midst of all this comes the news of Valneva vaccine from a French vaccine maker.
What is Valneva vaccine?
Valneva vaccine is being developed by a different method. It is also called VLA2001. Here the whole virus is used but after it has been deactivated. Thus it is a killed virus similar to the inactivated polio virus (Salk). Beta-propiolactone or BPL is the chemical used to kill the virus. This is further purified and added with an adjuvant to amplify the immune response.
Thus it can induce an immune response to not only the spike proteins of the virus but to many other viral antigens. Thus it is more efficient and protective.
Besides, even if the virus mutates, the vaccine can synthesize antibodies against the antigen that has not mutated and hence can protect against even the variant vaccine. This is an assumption and hopefully should be right. But one cannot be sure until the ongoing clinical trials have also shown this to be true.
The developed countries have shown a great interest in this vaccine and UK has allowed the clinical trials of this vaccine in its country. The results of the trials would be out in autumn this year. We hope that it is effective against the variant covid in clinical trials.
Besides, safety is also a parameter to be tested. Considering its multiple antigens, more adverse effects are expected. But attempts to minimize it at the development stage are being done. These would be compared against the Astrazeneca covid vaccine. Additionally, it would be better if the vaccine undergoes trials in countries with a number of cases with this mutated covid virus.
More on the vaccine schedule
The vaccine is to be administered as two shots. And it can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius. Europe, the UK, and Australia have already ordered ample number of vials of the vaccine for procurement for trials as well as later after approval for use on the masses. Moderna and Novavax companies are already reformulating their covid vaccine so that it is successful also against the variant coronavirus.
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