Commentary: Booster shots will likely be needed even if a COVID-19 vaccine is ready

Some vaccines are made by disabling the infectious agent in some way so that it becomes safe to introduce to our bodies, but still goes through its normal life cycle.

Children are given two doses of the vaccine a few years apart. This is in case the vaccine does not “take” the first time around and the immune system needs a reminder of what the viruses look like. But it takes years to create a safe and effective live vaccine, so for SARS-CoV-2, research teams are trying different routes. A good approach is to use a killed version of the virus rather than a modified, live version as in the case of MMR.

In the case of polio, most countries now use the inactivated polio vaccine in their childhood vaccination programme instead of the live, oral version.As the disease is close to being eradicated, the theory is that giving each cohort of children a single dose should be enough to protect them as they start mixing with others.WHAT A COVID-19 VACCINE MAY LOOK LIKE

Another approach in vaccine design is to take the genetic code for a part of the virus which is known to stimulate an immune response, and place that into a carrier organism which cannot cause disease. The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the team at Oxford University, which has shown promising early results, uses a broadly similar approach, in that researchers have taken the code for the SARS-CoV-2 “spike protein” and put it into a harmless virus carrier.So, it is possible that the initial schedule for everyone who received this type of vaccine would involve one or two booster doses a few months after the first, in a similar way to the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Moderna vaccine protects against Covid-19 in monkey studyWASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Moderna Inc on Tuesday (July 28) said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response and protected against infection in a study on monkeys.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

Moderna vaccine protects against COVID-19 in monkey studyCAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: Moderna on Tuesday (Jul 28) said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response and protected ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Moderna vaccine protects against Covid-19 in monkey study
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Britain signs supply deal for 60 million doses of Sanofi/GSK Covid-19 vaccineLONDON/PARIS (REUTERS) - Britain has signed a supply deal for up to 60 million doses of a possible Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline , it said on Wednesday (July 29), its fourth such arrangement.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be widely available before mid-2021, says GermanyGerman Research Minister Anja Karliczek said on Wednesday that a coronavirus vaccine was unlikely to be widely available before the middle of next ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Russia may register world's first Covid-19 vaccine by Aug 10MOSCOW (BLOOMBERG) - Russia plans to register a coronavirus vaccine as soon as Aug 10 to Aug 12, clearing the way for what its backers say would be the world's first official approval of an inoculation against the epidemic.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »