New Vaccine Delivery Systems to Help Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic

Vaccines have become an important medical resource that acts as a safeguard against an ever-increasing number of diseases. Despite the immense value provided to public health by currently available vaccines, the introduction of new vaccine channels is also of vital importance.

Recent work has been focused on vaccine delivery systems, as an alternative to injectable vaccines, to increase antigen stability and improve overall immunogenicity. In particular, novel strategies based on edible or intradermal vaccine formulations have been demonstrated to trigger both a systemic and mucosal immune response. These novel vaccination delivery systems offer several advantages over the injectable preparations including self-administration, reduced cost, stability, and elimination of a cold chain action.

In spite of the many successes achieved by vaccines, novel technologies and administration routes remain one of the main focuses in the vaccinology field. Although many licensed vaccines are administered by injection, in certain cases, this administration route suffers from limitations. In particular, injectable vaccines require trained personnel for the administration of the vaccine and may require multiple doses or inclusion of an adjuvant. Moreover, injectable vaccines may require specialized storage and transport conditions.

In the past decade, the vaccine requisites of developing countries have not been adequately met for a variety of reasons, including issues associated with fragile health care systems, conflict resolution, policymaking, program management, financing, supply chain, and distribution across large urban areas and to the most remote locations. Each of these issues contributed in some part to the delay in the distribution of experimental vaccines and therapeutics against Ebola during the 2014–2016 outbreak.

Thus, Distribution and administration cost also substantially add to the price of a vaccine. These costs are often not product-specific, as most vaccines are temperature sensitive and require cold-chain maintenance, which entails transporting, storing, and monitoring them at a recommended temperature from the point of production to the point of use. In total, the cost of distribution and administration often exceeds the cost of vaccine production, making them the most prohibitive barriers to global immunization campaigns. 

Recently, a new delivery method was devised by the scientists at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) which could give these efforts a huge boost, preserving the live elements in a lightweight film without the need for refrigeration. The scientists were able to produce their novel vaccine delivery system cheaply and easily, taking inspiration from the way the DNA of some living things can be preserved for years in amber. The team sought to replicate these storage abilities in a substance resembling hard candy, made up of different sugars and salts to form an amber-like material.

The team says it has demonstrated the ability of the delivery system to carry Ebola vaccines and a vaccine for influenza A at a proof-of-concept level, and believe it could be used for other vaccines as well, including, when it's developed, the COVID-19.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. An increasing patient mass pool has given rise to issues such as dosage in large volumes for the masses. Combined with a steadily escalating demand due to improving purchasing power, the global vaccine delivery market is projected to bode well during the forthcoming years.

The developments in vaccine delivery systems could give major relief to the affected countries through the ease of transportation, storage, and administration. As of now, the coronavirus has affected approximately 1,041,112 people killing 55,203. Although the vaccine may not be ready until the end of this year, efficient delivery systems could be almost a prerequisite in order to reach the masses. As a result, the New Vaccine Delivery Devices could be an important tool in combating and containing the Coronavirus Pandemic.