COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 update from Immunopaedia.org.za.

Disclaimer: This is a summary of an article that is in a preprint and has not been peer reviewed.

In a pre-peer reviewed bioRxiv manuscript, authors show that the adenovirus-vectored vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, encoding the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, is immunogenic in mice, showing a robust humoral and cell-mediated response. This was recapitulated with a single immunization of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in rhesus macaques, inducing both humoral and cellular immune response. There was significantly reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissue of vaccinated animals challenged with SARS-CoV-2 compared with control animals, and no pneumonia was observed in the vaccinated monkeys. Importantly, there was no evidence of immune-enhanced disease following viral challenge in vaccinated animals. The authors state that: “Safety, immunogenicity and efficacy against symptomatic PCR-positive COVID-19 disease will now be assessed in randomised controlled human clinical trials.”

Journal Article: van Doremalen et al., ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination prevents SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in rhesus macaques. BioRxiv

SOURCE: www.immunopaedia.org.za/breaking-news/can-a-chimpanzee-vector-vaccine-prevent-sars-cov-2-pneumonia