Russian COVID-19 Vaccine in the Form of Yogurt?

Russian scientists are developing a vaccine against the new coronavirus, which can be introduced into the body in the form of yogurt. The agency quoted a statement from Vladimir Chekhonin, vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The work on the creation of the vaccine is carried out by the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg. It refers to the type of mucosal vaccine that is given into the body by mouth in the form of an aerosol or drops.

As a rule, the antigens of such preparations are enclosed in microcapsules, which protects them from digestive enzymes. "The target for cloning is a gene encoding the S-protein of the coronavirus. As a result, the gene is introduced to the area that codes probiotic bacteria pili, creating a bacterium with an immunogenic viral protein on its surface. Such a vaccine can be administered in the form of a product such as yogurt. Preclinical trials of this vaccine are currently underway" said Chekhonin.

According to the latest statistics, over 6,383,800 people have been infected worldwide and more than 377,700 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 2,920,880 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 423,741 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 186,985 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia's latest data indicates 5,037 fatalities nationwide.