China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, which once has faced scrutiny for its role over the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming millions of lives and multiple lockdowns around the world has now developed a Internasal nano vaccine that provides universal protection against all major COVID-19 variants and other future strains. 

Since now COVID-19 seems like a past thing, while the nationwide lockdowns, quarantine, and social isolation become a bitter part of our memory. People are now back to their usual routine and have might forgotten about it. But COVID-19 has not been completely wiped out. Now it’s kept on emerging with different variants like Delta, Omicron, and the WIV04 around different corners of the world. 

While the existing vaccines proved to be helpful for the prevention of Sars-CoV-2 and reduced fatality rate, they didn’t provide any universal cure and protection against all the mutants of the virus, the Wuhan Institute has now come up with a new vaccine. 

According to the team of researchers at the laboratory, this new vaccine has combined properties of COVID epitopes along with ferritin (blood protein) that can act as a shield against multiple Sars-CoV-2 variants. 

How was the Internasal Nano vaccine created? 

Reportedly, the team combined epitopes with ferritin, which is derived from Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which is present in Escherichia coli cells. In order to create the vaccine, these formed nanoparticles were removed and concentrated from bacterial cells which can then be administered intranasally without any use of injections. 

The Nano vaccine was tested on mice and showed the potential to provide long-lasting and broad protection against current and future coronavirus variants, enhancing pandemic preparedness. 

This nano vaccine has claimed that claimed that the anti-bodies produced by the nanoparticle vaccine exhibited broad neutralizing activities against Mers, bird flu, swine flu, and all types of coronaviruses. 

“The nanoparticle vaccine “has the potential protective capability as a broad-spectrum vaccine against various (coronaviruses),” the research team mentioned. 

Further, they also shared that a similar procedure to making nano vaccine could offer protection against the Zika virus too. 

Wuhan Institute’s COVID Lab leak 

Additionally, the theory suggesting that coronavirus or COVID-19 originated at Wuhan’s Institute of Virology has been a significant matter of debate and controversy over the years. It suggests that the virus had accidentally spread from the Wuhan Institute where the researchers were studying coronavirus, including those found in bats.

Various investigations have been conducted to determine the origin of COVID-19. Some researchers and scientists have also argued that there is no concrete evidence to support this theory, and this virus is likely to be originated from natural zoonotic transmission.