Free vaccine for all in Japan
Tokyo: The Japanese parliament passed a bill on Wednesday to make vaccination against the coronavirus free for residents, obligating the government to cover all costs.
Under the legislation, passed unanimously by the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament, the government will also cover all expenses related to the possible adverse effects, and compensate pharmaceutical companies for possible lawsuits.
Japan is expected to start vaccination against COVID-19 in the first half of the next year. The government plans to administer vaccines to elderly people, medical workers and vulnerable groups on a priority basis.
Yellow fever vaccine for COVID?
London: Scientists have developed a new vaccine candidate against COVID-19 based on the yellow fever vaccine, a single dose of which protects hamsters and monkeys from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The researchers at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven in Belgium are currently preparing for clinical trials of the vaccine candidate.
To develop the vaccine, tentatively named RegaVax, the researchers inserted the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spikes into that of the yellow fever vaccine. The researchers first vaccinated the hamsters and then dripped the virus into their noses.
They found that ten days after a single vaccine dose, most of the hamsters were protected against the virus, adding that three weeks after vaccination, all hamsters were protected.
The team also tested the vaccine in monkeys. “In some of the monkeys, we observed neutralising antibodies already seven days after vaccination. After fourteen days, high titers of neutralising antibodies were measured in all animals,” Neyts said.
