British scientists are testing a new drug that can prevent coronavirus disease through the formation of “instant immunity” to the disease, writes The Guardian.
The Storm Chaser drug was developed by specialists from University College London in conjunction with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which, together with the University of Oxford, released its vaccine against coronavirus.
The new drug is a mixture of antibodies to COVID-19, which is administered in two stages. It is expected that an immune response to this injection will occur within a few days, while the production of antibodies using known vaccines lasts for a month.
If research is successful, the drug will help prevent outbreaks of coronavirus among hospital patients and residents of nursing homes, as well as among students who live in dormitories, scientists say.
Experts expect the drug to protect against the virus for 6 to 12 months. At the moment, the drug is in the first phase of clinical trials in humans – it was administered to 10 volunteers. If approved, the drug may appear in civil circulation in the spring.
On December 24, Skoltech professor Georgy Bazykin named a way to stop a series of coronavirus mutations. According to the expert, this is possible thanks to mass vaccination.