Corbevax: How Not-For-Profit Covid-19 Vaccine Wants To End Global Inequality

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic keeps throwing new surprises towards scientists with each mutation. The current surge around the world is being driven by the Omicron variant.

The problem with a virus is that it continues to mutate until most global population is either vaccinated or infected. Since the latter isn't an option given Covid's long-term effects, vaccines are the only saving grace for most.

Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, one Corbevax creators / Texas Children's Hospital

Slow vaccination rates plague the world

Even then, most current vaccines that work against Covid-19 are concentrated in the developed world. According to a BBC report, just seven countries in Africa have reached the 40% vaccination target. While countries like Seychelles (79.50%) and Mauritius (71.50%) are doing well in terms of vaccinations, many like Mali (1.90%), South Sudan (1.40%), Guinea-Bissau (1.10%), Chad (0.50%), DR Congo (0.10%) are still eons behind the speed required to permanently eliminate Covid-19.

Also read:?9 Disease-Preventing Vaccines That Changed Humanity Forever

Each time someone becomes terminally ill from Covid-19, their body risks mutating the virus - potentially infecting others. The longer we delay aggressive global vaccinations, the longer this pandemic will last.

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Eliminating Covid-19 through vaccine equality

A not-for-profit is trying to shorten the life-span of Covid-19 and its potential mutations by building a "Peoples' Covid vaccine".

Developed by scientists in Texas, US, the low-cost Covid-19 vaccine is intended to help middle to low-income countries fight Covid-19 pandemic.

Officially called "Corbevax", the vaccine was developed by Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston towards the end of 2021. India has already approved the vaccine - placing 300 million orders for the same.

“This announcement is an important first step in vaccinating the world and halting the pandemic. Our vaccine technology offers a path to address an unfolding humanitarian crisis, namely the vulnerability the low- and middle-income countries face against the delta variant,” Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, said in a?statement.

Also read:?India Approves Covid Pill Molnupiravir, And Corbevax & Covovax Vaccines

Corbevac is a recombinant protein subunit vaccine and works by "containing a version of the receptor-binding domain" of the Covid spike protein that is primarily responsible for infecting us.

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When this protein is introduced to the body, it produces an immune response to create antibodies. ?In India, the production has been handed over to Biological E. Limited (BioE) with an open licence. According to estimates, they will produce 1.2 billion doses each year priced at ??230 (around $3). So far, India has managed to vaccinate 49.8 per cent of its approximately 1.38 billion citizens.

Do you think global efforts should now be made to eradicate Covid-19 through vaccines? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.

References

Hale, T. (2022, January 4). Not-For-Profit “Peoples’ COVID Vaccine” Starts To Target Global Inequality. IFLScience.?