The AstraZeneca vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson shot expected to roll out soon are made with cold viruses engineered to sneak a spike protein gene into the body. Adjusting their vaccines requires growing cold viruses with the mutated gene, a little more complex than the mRNA approach but not nearly as laborious as reformulating old-fashioned flu shots.
The Novavax vaccine also in final-stage testing is made with a lab-grown copy of the spike protein that also could be tweaked to match mutations.
Testing COVID Vaccines 2.0
First-generation Covid-19 vaccines were tested in tens of thousands of people to be sure they work and are safe — research that took many months.
Changing the recipe to better target virus mutations will not require repeating those studies in thousands of people, Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, recently told the American Medical Association.
FDA still is finalizing requirements, but Marks said ” If an updated vaccine is needed, tests in a few hundred people likely would be enough to tell if it triggers a good immune response.”
But an even bigger question: If only some places face vaccine-resistant virus mutants, would authorities want variant-only shots or vaccines that protect against two kinds in one jab? After all, flu vaccines protect against three or four different types in one shot.
Companies would first have to perform some basic research to be sure a variant-only version properly stimulates the immune system and then a combination shot would need more testing to be sure there’s an equal response to all types of COVID.
It is worth noting that many of the new Covid-19 vaccines are made with new, flexible technology that is easy to upgrade. The challenge is determining when or if the virus has mutated enough to modify vaccines, as well as what changes to make to the vaccine.
To help contain the spread of the coronavirus variants while people wait their turn to get vaccinated, people are turning to double masking. The CDC is reportedly studying the efficacy of wearing two masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Learn more about the AMA’s efforts to spread the #MaskUp message and discover the six things doctors wish patients knew about masks.