Such an experiment is currently being conducted at the Chan Sun-Shiong Research Institute in El Segundo, California.
The researchers divided people into several groups: some participants were injected, some were not. Other volunteers are given one dose of the vaccine and tablets are given twice.
The challenge for developers is to determine if an oral vaccine can work as well as one given intramuscularly.
“The oral vaccine is part of an experimental protocol that is being tested in healthy volunteers. But since it is still not known whether pills alone can prevent transmission of the virus, the researchers are testing four different approaches,” the report said.
Note that the capsule form of the drug is not its only difference. While the available vaccines help create antibodies to the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus, then the T-cell vaccine ImmunityBio targets the virus nucleus – the part that is less susceptible to mutations.
Scientists say they are aiming to create killer T cells with this vaccine that will better protect against COVID-19.
When it comes to taking the vaccine, it’s not just about avoiding the injection. The combination of injection and oral administration may be key, the researchers say.
“With the injection, we hope to develop T cells throughout your body. And when taken orally, we protect the mucous membranes, intestines and hopefully the nose and mouth, because this is how the virus gets in. It does not get through your blood,” the developers added.
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