Current vaccines will remain effective against coronavirus mutations

British vaccinologist Sarah Gilbert, who led the team that created the Oxford vaccine-AstraZeneca against him COVID-19, does not expect that the coronavirus mutations that cause the disease will make it necessary to change its composition in the coming months because they have already shown that “they work with all variants”, although it has also recognized that they continue to store data to generate new formulas if necessary.

This biologist specialized in the development of vaccines against the flu and other emerging pathogens, and who led the group that developed the British vaccine, is one of the seven scientists who this Friday received in the Spanish city of Oviedo the Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research for their contribution to development of the first vaccines against COVID-19.

Together with Gilbert, they will receive this award from the King of Spain Felipe VI, the founder of Moderna, Derric Rossi, the immunologist Drew Weissman, the biologist Katalin Karikó, the biochemist Philip Felgner, the doctors Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci.

With 59 years and dedicated to research at the University of Oxford since the nineties, Gilbert does consider that in the second generation of vaccines against COVID-19 it would be interesting to improve their thermostability since the current ones have to be frozen or They require refrigeration and it would be better if they could be stored at room temperature.

There are already formulas that could allow this, although it is necessary to continue researching in this line, according to Gilbert, who has recognized that another improvement that can occur from the theoretical point of view, but that cannot be applied quickly, is the possibility of applying the vaccine with a nasal spray that goes directly to the lungs.

There are some aerosols that in the case of influenza are given to children, but applying this system in COVID-19 “will not be something very fast”, in the opinion of the British scientist for whom, in the absence of deciding whether to proceed with When vaccinating children, it must be taken into account that during childhood it is normal to have infections, which are not serious and create personal immunity.

In the United Kingdom there is already a study underway among children under 12 years of age that aims to obtain data on the reactions caused by the anti-COVID vaccines and the immune responses they arouse, a study that will be made available to politicians, the scientist pointed out. in a telematic press conference from Oviedo.

Given the reluctance that the AstraZeneca vaccine has aroused when applying it in some age groups, he has assured that they have produced excellent data and have been shown to be effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, so he does not believe that there are doubts about its application in all older bands.

And before the deniers, he pointed out that “it is very clear that for adults the benefits of vaccines are greater than the risks” for which he has asked them “not to reject them and not to despise them if they do not understand it” and that they do it is like this “take time to document yourself.”

“You have to give information to those who do not want the vaccine, they have to understand how it works,” stressed the British biologist, who led the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011.

Like most epidemiologists, Gilbert hopes that the coronavirus will become endemic and that over time we will live with it without creating too many problems, as is already the case with four other coronaviruses that infect the population on a regular basis and that there is no need to monitor because they do not cause significant damage.

Although he does not know how long it will take to reach this situation, he is clear that it is important that vaccines are available throughout the world because, not only is it a question of rights, regardless of where you were born, but because it is allowed As the virus continues to spread, it will be given more facilities so that it continues to mutate, becomes more transmissible and is more difficult to control by the vaccines that already exist.

Gilbert has recognized that one of the main problems in dealing with the pandemic worldwide has been the lack of vial manufacturing capacity, in part due to a lack of facilities in some parts of the world, especially in Africa, where it intends to support initiatives so that in the coming years centers for the production and distribution of vaccines are established “so that this situation does not reappear.”

Precisely, from the NGO Campaing for Female Education (Camfed), Princess Award for International Cooperation 2021, yesterday claimed equality in the distribution of vaccines in the sub-Saharan area due to the devastating effect that the pandemic has had on the future of girls.

“More must be done to ensure that they reach countries that do not have them,” he stressed after defending that new technologies are the only way to address the development of safe vaccines quickly, an issue that was taken into account by the jury that awarded the Research Prize to scientists who, according to the minutes, with their “innovative applications” managed “in an extraordinarily short time” to cope with the pandemic.