medicine
Pills would be easier to distribute and more effective in fighting the disease.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Taking a pill rather than a vaccine may soon be an option to protect yourself from COVID-19.
A new paper has been published in a magazine Biology methods and protocolsA paper published Wednesday by Oxford University Press reported that Japanese researchers have developed a way to administer a coronavirus vaccine orally.
Pills would be easier to distribute and more effective in fighting the disease.
Like the shot, the tablets contain a small amount of inactive parts of the virus, but because they are released into mucus rather than the blood, they are closer to the actual virus and can fight it faster.
Neutralization of the virus is most effective before it enters human cells, which are only present on the outer surface of epithelial cells that produce mucus in the lungs, nose, and mouth. press release He explained.
Because the coronavirus infects bronchial cells, researchers believe it is important that antibodies are released into the mucus rather than the blood.
A specific class of antibodies, immunoglobulin A, can act in mucus and knock out the virus, but the production of these antibodies must first be induced by a vaccine.
Researchers found that when the tablets were given to monkeys, they produced the antibodies needed to fight coronavirus infection without causing any obvious side effects.
The findings suggest that with further research, clinics may soon be able to offer an oral vaccine to prevent COVID-19. This method will be more popular and more successful.
Scientists have recently been working to develop vaccines that are administered rather than shots, such as orally or nasally.
of food and drug administration approved new and updated coronavirus vaccine boosters on Monday; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention New vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older.
Just as the flu shot is updated annually to target circulating viruses, health officials are updating the COVID-19 booster to target viruses, especially during respiratory virus season. It is said that it can strengthen immunity.