Researchers at the Israel Institute for Biological Research have published a new report claiming significant process in their efforts to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.
The report by the Ness Ziona-based institute, which is under the Defense Ministry’s control, was published yesterday on the website of bioRxiv, an online repository for papers that haven’t yet been peer-reviewed.
In the abstract of the report, the researchers say their vaccine, which they tested on hamsters, “results in rapid and potent induction of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2,” the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Importantly, single-dose vaccination was able to protect hamsters against SARS-CoV-2 challenge, as demonstrated by the abrogation of body weight loss of the immunized hamsters compared to unvaccinated hamsters,” they write in the report.
While the lungs of infected hamsters showed extensive tissue damage and a high viral load, the report says those given the vaccine “showed only minor lung pathology” and had no viral titer.
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Saturday, June 20, 2020
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