In 2021, a group of scientists led by researchers at the
Now a follow-up study by the same group, published
The co-senior authors of the paper are
To evaluate infant vaccinations for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the researchers immunized two groups of eight infant rhesus macaques at the
Consisting of 3M's molecular adjuvant 3M-052 formulated in a squalene emulsion by the Access to
'Following up on our SARS-CoV-2 infant rhesus macaque study, we gave the animals a high-dose challenge with a SARS-CoV-2 variant one year later to assess durability of vaccine-induced immune responses and their efficacy,' De Paris said. 'We found that both vaccines protected against lung disease, despite the fact that the challenge SARS-CoV-2 variants acquired numerous mutations in their spike protein that differed from the vaccine immunogen.'
Overall, the adjuvanted protein vaccine candidate maintained higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and provided superior protection compared to the mRNA vaccine, De Paris said. These data imply that these vaccines are safe and highly effective when given to young infant macaques. Furthermore, the results inform the optimization and development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a way that may reduce the need for frequent boosters and protect special populations that don't have fully developed immune systems, such as children.
'With COVID-19, young infants are one of the most vulnerable pediatric populations. This fall, we are seeing a sharp rise in hospitalizations due to respiratory virus disease in infants as the result of a confluence of SARS-CoV-2, flu, and RSV circulation,' said Permar, the Nancy C. Paduano Professor in Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at
The paper's co-first authors are
This research was funded through grants from the
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