A new type of vaccine can limit the spread of Covid-19

A new type of vaccine could be a game-changer in the battle against COVID-19, but it has yet to receive the green light from Canada.

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With the arrival of the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, scientists believe Canada should develop a new mucosal vaccine, according to Global News. This new type of vaccine can be inhaled or taken orally. According to scientists, this vaccine can significantly prevent transmission of the virus.

China and India decided to go ahead with this vaccine. However, it is not yet approved in Canada.

McMaster University immunology professor Don Bodish believes the country should accept this vaccine in hopes of returning to normal.

Until we have vaccines that actually stop transmission, we have to bargain between non-pharmaceutical interventions like a mask versus a vaccination. If we really want to get back to the life we ​​had before the pandemic, we’re going to have to invest in mucosal membrane vaccines.”

Current vaccines have the result of stimulating an immune response, while a mucosal vaccine can stimulate an immune response targeting the airways, according to the professor at the University of Ottawa School of Medicine.
Marc-Andre Langlois.

He says mucosal vaccines target the virus at its first point of entry — the mouth and nose — and can stop it even before it causes infection or transmission.

“We’re really focused on the point of entry, and we really want to try to complement mRNA vaccines with vaccine technology that’s almost entirely dedicated to preventing initial attachment of the virus to reduce transmission of the virus,” he explained.

According to Mr. Langlois, ignorance of this new vaccine explains why it has not yet been introduced in Canada.

“We need this kind of innovation,” he said. Without that, we cannot win the battle.”