Research on the ability of vaccines to transmit immunity

The Covid-19 vaccine is currently considered an important solution for the world to escape the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even so, the repeated injection of vaccines for millions of people is still causing many people to be hesitant. So, instead of vaccinating each individual to trigger an immune system response, scientists are studying the potential that the vaccine could "self-transmit" from person to person, similar to the transmission mechanism of viruses. , thereby creating antibodies and reducing the number of people needed to be vaccinated.

Vaccination against Covid-19 for people in Los Angeles, California (USA).

An article published on dailymail.co.uk mentions that researchers are looking at the potential to develop vaccines that can transmit immunity between people. According to the article, if this were to happen, perhaps just 5% of the UK population - or 3 million people - would need to be vaccinated. The rest of the people will then "absorb" the vaccines as they "spread" rapidly across the country through airborne droplets when people are in close contact, similar to the mechanism of transmission of a cold or flu. season. More importantly, this could lead to herd immunity in weeks rather than months for millions of people to be vaccinated and develop immunity against Covid-19.

About 10 research organizations in the US, Europe and Australia have been investigating the possibility of a 'self-spreading vaccine' after the Covid-19 pandemic. Most research has been on animal-to-animal or animal-to-human transmission, with human research to date focusing on whether the idea is safe in principle. The research is being supported by well-known funding organizations, including the US National Institutes of Health.

Creating a vaccine that can transmit immunity requires finding a way to treat viruses or bacteria so that they can be easily passed from person to person, but not cause serious illness. Two options are currently the focus of research. The first is to design in the laboratory a very mild disease, weak virulence, but still must be able to infect large populations quickly to activate the basic immune system to produce antibodies against the virus. re-infection. The other option is to process some DNA from a dangerous new pathogen inside a relatively harmless but highly contagious virus, such as the virus that causes the common cold. Exposure to innocuous viral DNA fragments as the virus spreads in a population prompts the immune system to defend against the actual pathogen.

With both strategies, the vaccine would only need to be given to small groups of people from different parts of the country. These people will then 'transmit the vaccine' to people in the local community. Scientists have proven this approach can work. In 2000, researchers in Spain tackled a deadly virus in rabbits by injecting 70 rabbits with a self-contagious vaccine and releasing them into the wild, where they quickly spread. for hundreds of others, thereby preventing disease outbreaks. Similar techniques are currently being tested in pigs in parts of Europe to prevent the spread of African swine fever, which can devastate livestock.

Researchers are now looking at using 'self-spreading vaccines' in animals to prevent the virus from infecting humans. One of the most cutting-edge projects, funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is looking to protect US troops operating in West Africa against lassa fever - an acute viral illness. derived from mice. An international team of researchers, including some from the UK, are also working on an experimental 'self-spreading vaccine' that could stop the virus from infecting mice to humans. While there is no research literature on a 'self-spreading vaccine' for human use, it is something UK government officials are studying as a possible way to deal with the flu. season.