In the corona crisis, he is a voice that has received much attention: virologist Christian Drosten. In a new episode of the NDR podcast, he talked about gene-based vaccines.
- The corona virus * keeps the world in suspense.
- Virologist Christian Drosten has been on the NDR podcast for a few weeks now.
- On Thursday, he spoke about possible vaccines and an acceleration of vaccine approval.
Berlin - The Coronavirus * has been keeping the world in suspense for weeks and presents huge problems for countries on all continents. Protective materials are scarce and difficult to obtain, hospitals and medical personnel struggle against the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 every day to the limit.
However, efforts are being made to advance research into a potential vaccine as soon as possible. In the podcast of the NDR , the well-known virologist Christian Drosten took the time to talk about different approaches to vaccine research *.
Coronavirus in Germany: carrier vaccines as a solution
At the beginning of the podcast, Drosten * spoke of abbreviations for vaccine approval . “Abbreviations,” according to Drosten, “are not only conceivable, but have also been in place for a long time.” So you can use so-called vector or carrier vaccines that you already know. Drosten mentions the carrier vaccine MVA (modified vaccinia ankara) as an example. “This is a vaccinia virus variant. It used to be used to vaccinate smallpox and is an extremely well-tolerated vaccine carrier, ”explained Drosten.
It is thus possible to "clone" proteins or antigens from the new coronavirus into this system and ultimately to obtain an immune response to the proteins of the coronavirus. Carrier vaccines have already clarified so many questions from previous findings that the process of vaccine approval can be accelerated. As a result, it is conceivable to shorten the so-called preclinical phase of vaccine approval.
Coronavirus in Germany: further approaches for a possible vaccine
However, one cannot avoid animal models in vaccine approval, explains Drosten. Good animal models are currently emerging based on new knowledge about the virus * - but this does not mean that each of them is also a good vaccination model. "The immune system of the animals is sometimes somewhat different from that of humans and the disease pattern in these animals is often not at all pronounced."
According to Drosten, there are two approaches for a possible vaccine. On the one hand, so-called dead vaccines (inactivated vaccine, contains only killed pathogens) are one possibility. The second option, which the virologist calls, are so-called vector-based live vaccines (weakened viruses), such as those known from the flu - or also from tetanus vaccination.
It is difficult to say which variant is the better. So there are "hopeful starting dates for both ways". Vaccine development is an incredibly large project, emphasizes Drosten. "With the very simple route of the simple dead vaccine, you have to look very carefully and be very careful about the dangers." Here, Drosten mentions, for example, an aggravation of the virus mediated by antibodies.
However, he sees potential in gene-based vaccines . This is a very modern and quick way. According to Drosten, purely genetic information in the form of DNA or RNA is inoculated.
"Perhaps that would also be vaccines that are available very quickly but cannot yet be vaccinated so widely," explains the virologist. Because: gene-based vaccines would bypass an entire production step in the biotechnological industry.
Coronavirus in Germany: when will there be a vaccine?
“Everyone is extremely keen and everyone speaks where you can still save time. Because it is so, the real relief of the situation comes from a vaccine, ”says the virologist. In the end, according to Drosten, the process as a whole, however, was not too speedy. "At the earliest we will have a vaccine at this time next year."
Most recently, in the podcast, Drosten spoke about the enormously high numbers of infected people and deaths in Italy. At Merkur.de * you will find ten golden rules to get through the time of the ban on contacts.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
