The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is unveiling a possible candidate vaccine for the Coronavirus pandemic that has spread across the world. Multiple medical doctors and PhDs were involved in the collaboration at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, and funding came from three NIH institutes.
Researchers from @PittHealthSci tested a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, which produced SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in mice at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus.
Dr. Falo says they have started the process of filing for phase one clinical trials with the Food and Drug Administration, but it is a lengthy process often spanning years.
However, in light of the worldwide pandemic, researchers are hopeful they will receive approval and be allowed to move forward with additional testing.
KDKA
They have also developed a new delivery method:
Doctors believe it could change the way vaccines are delivered to people worldwide.
It looks like a small piece of Velcro, and it is officially called a Microneedle Array.
"It's a lot like a band-aid with hundreds of small needles. In this particular case, the needles are made out of the sugar substance, and we actually incorporate the vaccine directly into the needles," Dr. Louis Falo, of the University of Pittsburgh School, said.
Each of the 400 microneedles are the width of a human hair, and they are only a half a millimeter long. The whole thing is made of liquid sugar and mixed with the antigen doctors want to use in their vaccine.
"When the microneedles are hard, they're able to penetrate the outer layers of the skin. And, then, as they absorb moisture, they actually dissolve and release the antigen into the skin, so the needles are actually the vaccine," Dr. Falo added.
Sunday, Apr 5, 2020 · 4:25:59 PM +00:00
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Definition of Vaccine
From Dictionary.com:
* any preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate antibody production.
From the British section:
* a suspension of dead, attenuated, or otherwise modified microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, or rickettsiae) for inoculation to produce immunity to a disease by stimulating the production of antibodies
From the medical section:
* A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or of a portion of the pathogen's structure that upon administration stimulates antibody production against the pathogen but is incapable of causing severe infection.
From the scientific section:
* A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or of a portion of the pathogen's structure, that stimulates immune cells to recognize and attack it, especially through antibody production.
From Merriam-Webster:
* a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease