One of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers is developing a coronavirus vaccine that would not require an injection.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his team are testing whether oral pills could work with – or even better than – Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines, CBS Los Angeles reported.
All three vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States – by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – work by creating antibodies that neutralize the spike protein that the coronavirus uses to enter and infect human cells.
But the team’s new vaccine targets the globe-like shape in the middle of the virus, which often doesn’t move.
In addition, the team says the vaccine would be faster, cheaper and easier to administer because it should not be stored in the refrigerator or at freezing temperatures.
Researchers at the Chan Soon-Shiong Research Institute are developing a new COVID-19 oral vaccine (above) that targets the globe-like shape in the middle of the virus
One of the developers, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (pictured), a partial owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, says the new vaccine will also generate T cells, which bind and kill viruses.
“Having a room temperature vaccine, which could be a pill, is life-changing,” one of the investigators, Dr. Tara Seery, of the Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Research Institute in El Segundo, told CBS Los Angeles. California.
For the trial, which is currently in Phase I, the team divided the volunteers into four groups to see how well the pills work.
One group received only pills, the second group received only one injection, the third group received pills and one injection and the fourth received none.
The new oral vaccine also targets a part of the coronavirus that is less prone to mutations.
Most of the most commonly recognized variants, including from the UK, South Africa and Brazil – have mutations that affect the virus’s spike protein.
This protein is what the coronavirus uses to “hijack” human cells, to make more copies of it, and to spread throughout the body.
But the new oral vaccine attacks the center of the virus known as the lipid bilayer envelope, on which the spike protein is anchored.
“And the value of doing this is that we’re generating killer T cells,” Soon-Shiong told CBS Los Angeles.
T cells are types of white blood cells that bind to and kill viruses.
The team believes that by generating both antibodies and T cells, recipients would have long-lasting protection.
On average, about three million adults are vaccinated every day, with one-day totals reaching four million on weekends.
Currently, 108.3 million Americans – 32.6% of the population – have received at least one dose and 63 million – 19% – are completely immunized
Soon, Chong says the researchers are also testing a combination of injectable and oral vaccines because he believes we may need both to remove the virus.
“By giving a jab, we hope to develop T cells around your body,” he told the station.
“And by oral administration, we protect the membranes of the mucosa, the intestine and, hopefully, the nose, the mouth, because that’s how the virus enters. It doesn’t enter through your blood.”
The study is open to adults between the ages of 18 and 55 who have never tested positive for COVID-19 and are not immunodeficient. Those who wish to register can visit here.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 108.3 million Americans – 32.6% of the population – have received at least one dose and 63 million – 19% – are completely immunized.
On average, about three million adults are vaccinated every day, with one-day totals reaching four million on weekends.
