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Researchers KU Leuven select candidate vaccine after months of research in hamsters

The hamsters were divided into groups for the study. One group was vaccinated, the other group was not. The animals then received SARS CoV-2 virus in the nose. That causes pneumonia. The symptoms of that pneumonia are very similar to the symptoms you see in human patients with COVID-19.

Hamsters are very suitable for this type of research, even more so than mice. Mice are less likely to develop pneumonia if you infect them.

The researchers tested eight candidate vaccines in this way. “We wanted to investigate which of those eight candidates works best,” says Neyts. “In the end, we have now identified one vaccine. We will investigate this further.”

The “winner” appears to work particularly well with hamsters. The test animals developed a powerful immune response even after a single dose. “Once vaccinated hamsters were found to be highly protected. A single injection was sufficient to greatly reduce the amount of virus. Four weeks after vaccination, almost no virus was found.”

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