New York: An Indian-American scientist doing research on T-cell vaccines for COVID-19 has found that these vaccines are longer-acting than the currently available vaccines and may prove effective against possible future variants of the virus. The corona vaccines available at this time attack the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They become less effective when there is a mutation in the virus.
Pennsylvania State University, in collaboration with the company Evaxine Biotech, conducted a study focusing on T-cells instead. This is the first research that tested AI-made vaccines in a live challenge model of the virus. In this test conducted on mice, the researchers gave them a heavy dose of the virus. The mice that were given T-cell-based vaccines survived 87.5 percent, while only one survived in those that did not.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, said that all the mice that survived the vaccination were free of infection within 14 days. To our knowledge, this study shows for the first time the effect of AI-designed T-cell vaccines on COVID-19, said Girish Kirimanjeshwari, associate professor of animal science and biomedical sciences at Penn State.
He said that our vaccine was very effective in protecting against severe cases of Covid-19 in mice. It can be easily prepared for testing on humans. This study paves the way for rapid design of T-cell vaccines for seasonal and future potential influenza-like diseases. According to Kirimanjeshwari, changes in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to mutations that lead to new variants of the virus.
He said that this means that vaccine manufacturers will have to make new vaccines for the NA variant every time. At the same time, the advantage of the T-cell vaccine is that the virus will have to undergo mutations many times to avoid it. Another advantage, Kirimanjeshwar said, is that the immunity from T-cell-based vaccines generally lasts longer.
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