A vaccination patch against Corona should better protect against a severe course of Covid 19. Researchers in Australia are convinced of this. Even before Omicron variants.
Brisbane – It is a Herculean task to develop an effective vaccine against Corona. A new vaccination method without a needle is a groundbreaking step according to researchers in Australia: a vaccination patch. The vaccine patch can fight coronavirus variants like Omicron and Delta better than a traditional needle vaccine. This is the result of a study by scientists from The University of Queensland .
Corona vaccine: vaccine patch 11 times more effective than needle – also protects against omicron
The vaccine patch is also said to be effective against omicron variants. This type of vaccination is superior to traditional types of vaccines that are administered through a needle. According to the research team, the patch variant has “groundbreaking potential”.
“We found that vaccination via a patch was approximately 11 times more effective in controlling the omicron variant than the same vaccine administered via a needle,” said Dr. Christopher McMillan, according to a statement from the university.
The patch is a so-called high-density microarray patch. The vaccine delivers precisely into the layers of skin rich in immune cells, explains study author McMillan. According to the Australian researcher, each vaccine has a superior immune response when tested with the patch compared to conventional needle vaccination methods.
Covid vaccines are no longer effective against the ever-changing variants. The omicron variant with over 30 mutations on the spike protein evades the immune response of current Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines. A new method, such as the vaccine patch, could achieve better efficacy with the currently available vaccine candidates.
“However, patch technology has the potential to offer a new – and more effective – weapon in our arsenal at a time when new variants are mutating at a rapid pace,” said study co-author Dr. David Muller.
Corona: Vaccination is still an effective remedy against severe Covid courses
The patches are more effective than the needle-based vaccines and are also easier to administer. “But it is important to emphasize that existing vaccines are still an effective means of combating serious illnesses and diseases from this virus and it is not time to let go of our vigilance.”
Vaccine patches: promising results in mouse study
However, these encouraging results came about as part of a mouse study. Mice are one of the most important model organisms in research. But a mouse is not the same as a human. Whether the medical study results from the mouse model, which was published in the journal Vaccine , can be transferred to humans? The mouse ( Mus musculus ) is not genetically our closest relative. Only “50” percent of mouse genes have a human counterpart. For comparison: We are genetically only 4 percent different from chimpanzees – 96 percent are identical.
New Covid 19 vaccination method: nasal spray against corona
A research team from Nuremberg is working on a nasal spray against Corona. The coronavirus enters the body through the mucous membranes of the nose or mouth. Vaccines, which are administered via the nasal or oral mucosa, are based on the so-called mucosal immunity. The virus is repelled and eliminated directly at the mucous membranes. This new vaccination method is also promising in initial tests on mice.
For the Berlin virologist Christian Drosten, such a vaccine would be the “next milestone”. In the form of a “live vaccination” with a weakened virus or with a modern variant. “You would have to put it in your nose and then trigger mucosal immunity. That would be much better protection against transmission, it would be the next milestone, ”explained Drosten in a Tagesspiegel interview in January. (ml)
