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New research in animals suggests that scientists could enhance a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to make individuals immune to multiple variant strains of the Covid-causing virus.
The resulting novel vaccine, dubbed the “MMS” vaccine candidate – for Measles, Mumps, and SARS-CoV-2 – could then confer immunity against measles, mumps, and COVID-19, according to scientists at The Ohio State University in the United States.
Antibodies against Covid generated by the MMS vaccine lasted at least four months in hamsters, they discovered.
Thus, the lifetime immunity against measles and mumps conferred by an MMR vaccine could likely transfer into prolonged protection against Covid in persons vaccinated with the MMS, the researchers said in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Scientists incorporated a very stable piece of the coronavirus spike protein into the existing MMR vaccination to create the novel MMS vaccine, which would be administered through the nose.
Jianrong Li, a professor of virology at the university and the senior author of the study, stated, “We have already known that the MMR is used in children, so we are building on a 50-year safety record.”
“We inserted three different spikes that allow broad neutralising antibodies to protect against the different variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2. It’s quite promising, and would be a fantastic new type of vaccine to prevent COVID-19,” said Li.
Furthermore, researchers found that the intranasal vaccine protected the tissues lining the nose and lungs from injury and prevented disease symptoms such as weight loss in mice.
The hamsters also exhibited no clinical signs, only small alterations in tissue in the airways, and undetectable virus particle levels in the lungs.
The MMS vaccination would provide immunity against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as two of its variations, Delta and Omicron, according to the researchers.
“The MMS platform is also readily and rapidly adaptable to new variants such as Arcturus (XBB.1.16) and Eris (EG.5), which are currently circulating in the human population,” said co-first author Yuexiu Zhang, a graduate student in Li’s lab.
Li suggested exploring options like reintroducing rubella into the platform and potentially incorporating more spike proteins or other coronavirus components into the vaccine to enhance protective immunity.
“We envision incorporating it into a routine immunisation program for children and to provide long-term immunity against COVID-19 for adults,” he said.
Source:IT
