THE SECOND (CBSLA) – A new vaccine being developed by one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers could provide protection against COVID-19 without the need for an injection.
A research institute in El Segundo is testing whether an oral COVID-19 vaccine could work just as well, if not better, than existing vaccines. (CBSLA)
Researchers at the Chan Soon-Shiong Research Institute in El Segundo are testing whether a series of capsules could work just as well, if not better, than existing COVID vaccines.
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“Having a vaccine at room temperature that could be a pill is life-changing,” said Dr. Tara Seery, a trial physician.
The oral vaccine is part of an experimental protocol being tested in healthy volunteers such as Matt Henshaw.
But because scientists still don’t know whether pills alone can prevent transmission, the researchers are testing four different approaches. Some patients, such as Henshaw, are given one injection and two rounds of pills.
But the delivery of the vaccine, in a capsule, isn’t the only thing that sets this vaccine apart from others.
While existing vaccines help create antibodies against the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus, ImmunityBio’s T-cell vaccine targets the world in the middle – a part that scientists say is less prone to mutation.
“And the value of this is that we generate deadly T cells,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns part Lakers and part vaccine mastermind.
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The ImmunityBio researchers hypothesize that they can create long-term protection against the virus by producing both deadly T cells and antibodies.
Soon-Shiong believes there is cause for optimism for continued protection, even though the Operation Warp Speed-funded vaccine is still in its experimental phase, with safety and efficacy yet to be proven.
“We know from earlier SARS-COV-1 in 2003, that people who became infected have T cells that last 17 years,” he said.
As for giving the vaccine orally, it’s not just avoiding an unnecessary poke with Soon-Shiong in the belief that the combination of the two could be key.
“By injecting, we hope to develop T cells all over your body,” he said. “And by giving orally, we protect the mucous membranes, the intestines and hopefully the nose, the mouth, because that’s how the virus gets in. It doesn’t enter through your blood.”
As for Henshaw, now that he’s done with his vaccine and boosters, he will undergo intensive monitoring over the next 12 months and hopes his experience will encourage others to participate in a trial.
“The virus is mutating,” he said. “So I hope we have solutions.”
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The trial is open to healthy adults under the age of 55 who are not pregnant and have not had a COVID. More information about the vaccine trial can be found on the ImmunityBio website.