A new type of vaccine could be a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19, but has yet to get the green light from Canada.
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With the arrival of the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, scientists believe Canada must develop a new mucosal vaccine, according to Global News. This new type of vaccine can be inhaled or taken by mouth. According to scientists, this vaccine can significantly prevent the spread of the virus.
China and India have decided to pursue this vaccine. However, it is not yet approved in Canada.
Don Bodish, a professor of immunology at McMaster University, believes the country’s adoption of the vaccine is the only hope for a return to normality.
“Until we get vaccines that really stop transmission, we have to compromise between non-pharmacological interventions like masking and vaccination. If we really want to get back to the way life was before the epidemic, we have to invest in mucosal vaccines,” he argued.
According to a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine, current vaccines have the effect of stimulating the immune system, while a mucosal vaccine would stimulate an immune system targeting the airways.
Marc-Andre Langlois.
Mucosal vaccines target the virus at its first point of entry — the mouth and nose — and can stop it before it becomes infected or spread, he says.
“We’re really focused on the entry point, and we want to try to complement mRNA vaccines with vaccine technology that’s completely dedicated to blocking the initial binding of the virus, thus reducing the spread of the virus,” he explained.
Mr. According to Langlois, ignorance of this new vaccine explains why it is not yet offered in Canada.
“We need this kind of innovation,” he said. Without it, we cannot win the war.
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