Israeli Laboratory Hopes to Produce a Coronavirus Vaccine in a Year
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A laboratory run by Israel’s Defense Ministry has said it may have a functioning COVID-19 vaccine in a year or less, the Times of Israel reports. The Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) reported that it completed a successful coronavirus vaccine test on rodents and will move on to trials with other animals before starting on humans.
Describing its test on rodents, the IIBR said researchers first injected two separate groups of rodents with the trial vaccine. Both groups of rodents were then infected with COVID-19. The laboratory found that the rodents that were not vaccinated became sick while those that received the vaccine remained healthy.
The IIBR also reported earlier this month that it had isolated an antibody that could help to treat COVID-19 patients, the Times of Israel reported. According to reports, the laboratory said it was the first in the world to find an antibody that specifically targets and destroys the virus. Moreover, this antibody does not have additional proteins that could give rise to complications.
According to the Times of Israel, Channel 12 reported IIBR laboratory has since identified a further eight antibodies to COVID-19 and has filed for an international patent on the technology. The antibodies were isolated in blood samples taken from COVID-19 patients who had recovered from serious symptoms.
The laboratory reportedly hopes to combine these antibodies in a treatment for patients who are already infected with the COVID-19 virus.
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