Vaccine
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We developed a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) subunit recombinant protein vaccine candidate based on a high-yielding, yeast-engineered, receptor-binding domain (RBD219-N1) of the SARS beta-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike (S) protein. When formulated with Alhydrogel®, RBD219-N1 induced high levels of neutralizing antibodies against both pseudotyped virus and a clinical (mouse-adapted) isolate of SARS-CoV. ⋯ Specifically, a formulation with a 1:25 ratio of RBD219-N1 to Alhydrogel® provided high neutralizing antibody titers, 100% protection with non-detectable viral loads with minimal or no eosinophilic pulmonary infiltrates. As a result, this vaccine formulation is under consideration for further development against SARS-CoV and potentially other emerging and re-emerging beta-CoVs such as SARS-CoV-2.
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Vaccine hesitancy is cited as one of the top threats to global health. The Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Company was found to have violated good manufacturing practices in July 2018, leading to widespread distribution of sub-potent vaccines in China. We estimated the prevalence and determinants of vaccine hesitancy following the Changchun Changsheng vaccine incident (CCVI). ⋯ Vaccine hesitancy was prevalent following the CCVI. Over half the caregivers either accepted childhood vaccination with doubts or delayed vaccines; only a small number were active refusers. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy, especially following vaccine incidents. Tailored communications are needed to reduce vaccine hesitancy, especially among the highly educated and Buddhist caregivers.
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Underreporting is a limitation common to passive surveillance systems, including the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) that monitors the safety of U.S.-licensed vaccines. Nonetheless, previous reports demonstrate substantial case capture for clinically severe adverse events (AEs), including 47% of intussusception cases after rotavirus vaccine, and 68% of vaccine associated paralytic polio after oral polio vaccine. ⋯ For anaphylaxis and GBS, VAERS sensitivity is comparable to previous estimates for detecting important AEs following vaccination.
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The development of an effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. We generated SARS-CoV-2 RBD-Fc fusion protein and evaluated its potency to elicit neutralizing antibody response in mice. RBD-Fc elicited a higher neutralizing antibodies titer than RBD as evaluated by a pseudovirus neutralization assay and a live virus based microneutralization assay. ⋯ The cell-cell fusion assay results correlated well with the virus neutralization potency and could be used for high-throughput screening of large panels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and vaccines without the requirement of live virus infection in BSL3 containment. Moreover, the anti-RBD sera did not enhance the pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 infection of K562 cells. These results demonstrate that Fc fusion can significantly improve the humoral immune response to recombinant RBD immunogen, and suggest that RBD-Fc could serve as a useful component of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
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The world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic. The development of a vaccine is challenging. We aimed to determine the proportion of people who intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in France or to participate in a vaccine clinical trial. ⋯ Nearly 75% and 48% of the survey respondents were respectively likely to accept vaccination or participation in a clinical trial against COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy will be the major barrier to COVID-19 vaccine uptake.