Corona inactivated vaccine works well: Valneva reports success against omicron variant
Created: 01/27/2022, 15:12
By: Patrick Mayer
In focus: vaccinations against the corona virus.
(Iconic image) © IMAGO / Bihlmayerfotografie
The French biotechnology company Valneva claims to be developing an effective inactivated vaccine against the corona variant Omikron.
In April there could be deliveries to Germany.
Munich/Lyon – Vaccine research against the insidious corona virus is progressing.
Apparently also with a view to the Omicron variant.
The French biotechnology company Valneva has now published the latest laboratory data on its so-called inactivated vaccine "VLA2001".
Accordingly, this should be highly effective against omicron.
Corona inactivated vaccine VLA2001: Valneva from France reports study success
According to a press release, in a study after three doses of vaccine, 26 out of 30 samples and thus “87 percent had neutralizing antibodies against the omicron variant.
The mean reduction by neutralization compared to parent virus was 2.7-fold for Delta and 16.7-fold for Omicron.”
In the title of its scientific article, the pharmaceutical company from Lyon even goes one step further and writes that the "vaccine candidate from Valneva (...) demonstrably neutralizes the omicron variant".
On top of that.
It goes on to say that “all 30 samples had neutralizing antibodies against Ancestral virus (
parental virus, ed
.) and the delta variant”.
If the results of this study are confirmed, this would be another important step in the fight against the virus.
Recently, it was repeatedly read that there were unvaccinated people who were waiting for a dead corona vaccine - in order to then be vaccinated.
Corona inactivated vaccine VLA2001: Valneva is developing a new vaccine against the corona virus
"We are extremely pleased with these results, which confirm the potential for broad-spectrum protection of our inactivated, adjuvanted, whole-virus vaccine and its ability to target the variants of concern currently circulating," Valneva Chief Medical Officer Juan Carlos Jaramillo said in a statement from his employer. "These results complement previous findings from our phase 3 study."
In the video: Study shows - Corona inactivated vaccine Valneva neutralizes omicron
But: What is the difference between a so-called dead vaccine and the previously known mRNA vaccines, for example from Biontech or Moderna?
The weekly magazine
ZEIT
recently explained the difference (simplified) as follows: In the case of classic live vaccines, living pathogens are used "whose disease-causing effect was bred away in the laboratory, so to speak".
Ultimately, these are “pathogens rendered harmless”.
In the case of inactivated vaccines, on the other hand, only structures of the pathogens would be used, for example proteins from the surface.
According to ZEIT
, these would be
recognized by antibodies and cells of the immune system.
Some pathogens would be bred and then killed in order to administer them as a "dead" virus.
The result: a so-called dead vaccine.
Corona dead vaccine: EU Commission orders 60 million doses from Valneva
According to
Bild
, the EU Commission had agreed a contract with Valneva in November 2021 for the delivery of up to 60 million vaccine doses within two years.
According to the report, the first deliveries to Germany could take place in April if approval by the European Medicines Agency EMA were granted in the near future
.
(pm)
