Canadian health officials have approved plant-based approval COVID-19 vaccine, the first of its kind.
Covifenz, developed as a joint venture between CanadaMedicago and GlaxoSmithKline from the United Kingdom use plant material to mimic the spike protein of the virus once injected into a person’s body.
The shot was approved by Canadian regulators for use by residents aged 18 to 64 on Thursday.
It has shown 71 percent effectiveness in preventing Covid infection before Omicronalthough trials were conducted before the rise of the variant at the end of last year, which means that there is still no data on how effective the strike is against the dominant strain.
The significance of this shot in the release of vaccines in the country is unknown, as Canada already has easy access to Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, among others.
The Canadian company Medicago has received approval for its herbal vaccine against COVID-19, Covifenz, in its home country. This is the first plant-based vaccine to be approved for Covid control worldwide (photo)
The vaccine works by using plant particles to mimic the spike protein of the virus, similar to how the mRNA vaccine uses its technology (photo file)
“The approval of our vaccine against COVID-19 is an important step for Canada in the fight against the pandemic,” said Takashi Nagao, president of Medicago.
The vaccine is a two-dose vaccine that is ‘refrigerator-stable’, which means that it does not require the hyper-cold storage that Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do for transport.
Phase 3 shooting trials involved 24,000 adults in six countries. Not enough data has been collected for the age group over 65 for regulators to make a decision.
The impact works by using plant particles that can create artificial protein in the body.
When the immune system releases this protein, it will make antibodies to fight the virus. This is how mRNA vaccines work.
National health officials are promoting the vaccine as a way back in biotechnology to Canada, a nation they say is lagging behind.
“As one of our government’s top priorities is to reverse the 40-year decline facing the Canadian organic farming sector, we are pleased to see approval of the Medicago vaccine,” said Francois-Philippe Champagne, a Canadian member. parliament.
“This is a big cornerstone for Canada’s biotechnology sector and local innovation.”
However, there are still questions to be answered about the strike, especially because other countries will not be so eager to approve the shot out of national pride.
The vaccine is effective against Delta and other previous strains of Covid, but many have almost disappeared in recent months.
Omicron is the most infectious version of Covid to date, and combined with its even more infectious BA.2 line, other strains of the virus have been pushed into the unknown.
It is also the most mutated strain to date and has so many changes from other versions of Covid that it may evade the protection provided by Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other vaccines made for older virus strains.
While booster shots have proven effective in strengthening the defense for other shots, Covifenz does not yet have an approved booster.
The staff will also have some competition. The Novavax protein injection, which may be the most effective and durable to date, has begun its global spread and will likely soon be available in the United States.
Glaxo also has a protein-based vaccine, a joint venture with French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, that is seeking permission from US officials.
Both injections have been shown to be effective against Omicron in laboratory tests, and protein injections can be stored at refrigerator temperatures, eliminating the potential advantage that a Canadian injection may have.
Canada also already has five other approved vaccines and has purchase agreements with Pfizer and Moderna to purchase Covid vaccines and booster vaccines from the companies at least until next year.