{UAH} Inside Uganda’s 3 COVID vaccine Types Being Developed By UVRI

https://commandonepost.com/index.php/2021/07/03/inside-ugandas-3-covid-vaccine-types-being-developed-by-uvri/

_{New Vision-Kampala- Scientists at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and Makerere University are working on three vaccine types against coronavirus, Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, the institute's executive director, has said.}

_{Speaking at the World Health Organisation (WHO) press briefing Thursday, July 01, Kaleebu revealed that scientists are working on an inactivated vaccine, viral vector vaccine and the recombinant protein vaccine.}

_{Inactivated vaccine}

_{Regarding the inactivated vaccine, Kaleebu revealed that they have been able to grow the virus needed for the making of the vaccine and inactivated it.}

_{"We are now working with Makerere University to have it tested in animals. So far, a small animal facility has been set for this procedure," he said.}

_{In making an inactivated vaccine, scientists grow a virus or bacteria similar to the one they intend the vaccine for and then kill/inactivate it.}

_{According to WHO, this approach of making vaccines uses a technology that has been proven to work in people — this is how the flu and polio vaccines are made.}

_{While opening the World Health Summit regional meeting at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Sunday, President Yoweri Museveni revealed the challenge Ugandan scientists faced in acquiring cells needed to grow the viruses.} 

_{He said the good cells for growing the virus were found in the African green monkeys, but then it was in the custody of foreign countries, who were reluctant to share with the Ugandan scientists.}

_{Through much struggle, Museveni said the scientists were able to secure the cells.}

_{Viral vector vaccine}

_{The second vaccine that Uganda is working on is the viral vector vaccine. This, according to WHO, uses a safe virus to deliver specific subparts, called proteins of the germ of interest, so that it can trigger an immune response without causing disease.}

_{To do this, the WHO says the instructions for making particular parts of the pathogen of interest are inserted into a safe virus.}

_{The safe virus then serves as a platform or vector to deliver the protein into the body.}

_{The protein triggers the immune response. This type can be developed rapidly. One such vaccine is the Ebola vaccine.}

_{Recombinant protein vaccine}

_{The third vaccine is the recombinant protein vaccine being developed by UVRI in collaboration with Makerere School of Veterinary Medicine, which Kaleebu said they are moving towards the animal study stage.}

_{In the making of the vaccine, he said scientists artificially, in the lab, make a protein that resembles the virus.} 

_{"Our interest is mostly part of the spike region of the virus. So, we genetically engineer it in the lab so that the protein looks like the protein of the real virus," Kaleebu explained.}

_{Currently, there are several vaccines being administered globally to curb the transmission rate of COVID-19.}

_{These include Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, Sputnik, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca, among others.}

_{The AstraZeneca vaccine, which Uganda is currently using to inoculate its population, is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus from chimpanzees, which has been modified to make it look like coronavirus, but the weakened version.}

_{Fast spreading variants}

_{However, with the increased mutation of COVID-19, where the world is facing an upsurge of more aggressive and fast-spreading strains, such as the Delta variant, there are concerns on the potency of these vaccines on the new variants.}

_{The Delta variant has been found to be resistant to vaccines such as the AstraZeneca.}

_{On the other hand, there are also developing theories that these vaccines can be mixed to provide a better efficacy against the strains, especially the Delta variant.}

_{Efficiency of vaccines}

_{According to the European Medicines Agency, two doses of COVID vaccine appear to provide protection against the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.}

_{Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa, said the Africa Centre for Disease Control strategic advisory is analysing these emerging studies before they can come up with an advisory on the double COVID jab.}

_{She acknowledged that there are studies that have proven that when the AstraZeneca vaccine is used together with the Pfizer vaccine, it can protect one from not only COVID-19 but also other viruses.}

_{Mixing vaccines}

_{Dr Richard Mihigo, the immunisation and vaccines development programme co-ordinator at WHO Africa region, said there is still a need for more evidence on the effectiveness of mixing vaccines, adding that they are already studying the available data, especially on vaccines manufactured using the same platforms.}

_{"If true, this will potentially alleviate issues of delays in shipping of vaccines," he said, noting that instead of waiting for shipment of similar vaccines for a second dose, another vaccine can be used to complete the doses.}

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