The Covid-19 vaccines that are being rolled out across the UK are a current miracle. It is a marvel that these safe and effective vaccines were produced, tested and delivered in such record time: a true triumph of science, which offers the hope that our lives will soon return to normal.
However, as remarkable as the speed and efficiency with which these vaccines have been produced is the new technology hidden behind some, which aims to transform our fight against other infectious diseases and even against the cancer.
I first saw the power of these new vaccines last March when I spoke with Professor Robin Shattock, who is head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, for a film that was doing on Covid-19.
Covid vaccines are a current miracle and offer hope that our lives will soon return to normal
Professor Shattock, whose laboratory is located at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, is just above the room where Sir Alexander Fleming discovered about 100 years ago that a fungus called penicillium could kill bacteria. show a refrigerator that contained a new type of vaccine he hoped to use. against Covid.
A vaccine is usually given with a deadly or weakened strain of the virus against which it is directed.
Once injected, it tricks the immune system into thinking it is being attacked, giving the body valuable time to align its defenses before it is actually attacked.
The approach used by Professor Shattock is very different. Instead of the real virus, it uses short stretches of genetic material called mRNA (messenger RNA), which contain the code that the virus uses to create handle-shaped tips on its surface.
An mRNA vaccine causes the body to start producing many copies of those harmless club-shaped spikes.
This causes the immune system to produce many specific antibodies to Covid and killer T cells (and to reassure those who are anxious about it, these vaccines have nothing to do with genetic engineering; there is no possibility that they alter your DNA).
Two of the three vaccines approved in the UK, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, are based on this mRNA technology.
Unfortunately, trials of the Imperial vaccine have been hampered by the success of these other vaccines, but Professor Stattock hopes to run them in other countries.
But, as I was recently told, the great thing about mRNA vaccines is that they are not only safe and effective, but if the coronavirus mutates, the current vaccine can be “modified” quickly.
Professor Shattock believes that these mRNA vaccines will be a powerful new weapon against Covid-19 as well as various other diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, HIV and cancer.
In addition to fighting infections, one of the key roles of your immune system is to look for and destroy cancer cells. The problem is that some cancers avoid detection until it is too late.
With mRNA technology, however, scientists could biopsy a patient’s cancer and identify the genes responsible for the “mutant” proteins found in the disease; once these genes were identified, they would develop a tailor-made mRNA vaccine, with chemical reinforcement. , to activate the immune system to search for and destroy the tumor.
If this sounds a little futuristic, in fact it has already been done. In 2017, researchers at BioNTech, the company that produced the Pfizer Covid vaccine, reported the first trials in humans that used this approach in 13 patients with malignant melanoma, which showed signs of improvement. One of them, a 52-year-old American man with cancer that had spread to the liver, said “my tumor began to disappear before my eyes.”
These are early days, but there are hopes that the war against Covid-19 will produce advances that, over time, will improve many more lives.
Give the vaccine a little va-va-vooM
In the meantime, what can you do, if necessary, to get the best protection against Covid Jab when you get it?
Because vaccines are completely new, we still don’t know for sure if there are lifestyle changes that can increase their effectiveness, but from studies on flu vaccines, here are some strategies you can try:
1 If you are overweight or obese, try to lose a few inches. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2017 found that obese adults who had the flu were twice as likely to get the flu as people with a healthy BMI (body mass index).
Being overweight, especially at the waist, makes the immune system less effective. (It is worth noting that trials of the Covid vaccine have shown that obese people get a high degree of protection.)
2 Increase your intake of prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are high-fiber foods that feed the “good” bacteria in the gut: they include beans, lentils, garlic, onions, and many vegetables.
Probiotics are live bacteria found mainly in fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and natural yogurt.
A review of studies published in the journal Nutrients in 2017 found that consuming prebiotics and probiotics before getting vaccinated nearly doubled the number of people who later developed protective levels of antibodies.
For simple recipes for growing your good bacteria, check out instagram.com/drclarebailey.
3 Sleep a good night. In a study conducted last year by the University of California, researchers found that healthy volunteers who slept less at night before receiving a flu shot produced the lowest level of antibodies to the flu in subsequent months. .
This is because while you sleep, your body produces many important components of your immune system, such as antibodies and killer T cells.
4 Exercise your arms. A study from the University of Birmingham a few years ago showed that people who did it a few hours before the flu flu developed a stronger immune response. It’s not clear why, but I’m sure I’ll do some push-ups and other arm exercises before my shot.
5 Quit smoking. Several studies suggest that smoking may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, probably due to their effect on the immune system.
Quarantine hotels are a bad idea … and you should know that
I was surprised that the Government was seriously considering introducing quarantine hotels, similar to those in New Zealand and Australia, to try to reduce the threat of coronavirus variants entering the UK.
I think it’s a bad idea. For starters, I suspect it’s too late to stop leaking new variants.
One thing we have learned in the last ten months is that this virus is moving fast and it often seems like there are many steps ahead (until new vaccines are paid for).
And while border closures and the use of quarantine hotels have worked brilliantly in countries like Australia and New Zealand, the virus is too ingrained here to do so.
There is also a significant disadvantage, in terms of mental health, of asking people to stay in a small room without natural light for an extended period of time.
Having recently spent two weeks in a quarantine hotel in Australia, with my wife, Clare, I can assure you that it is very difficult.
You can’t choose which hotel or room you pay between £ 1,500 and £ 2,500 for the dubious pleasure of being closed 24 hours a day (our room overlooked a brick wall). I suffer from mild claustrophobia and there were times when I wasn’t sure I could stand it.
The worst part is that you are not allowed to leave your room, not even to take a short walk (which is clearly difficult for the 72 tennis stars who are now in one of these Melbourne hotels before the Australian Open).
A friend who stayed at one of these hotels said she once heard someone screaming, for what seemed like hours, in the next room. When he called the front desk, he was told not to worry: “They’re probably just having a panic attack.”
If you’ve ever been in a situation like this, all you need is a really calm and reassuring companion like Clare.