New coronavirus vaccine is easier to manufacture and doesn't require refrigeration

Most of the Covid-19 vaccines currently available require refrigeration and have complex manufacturing processes, making them difficult to produce and distribute widely, especially in less developed countries

The researchers pointed out that in experimental mice, the vaccine produced a strong immune response to the new coronavirus and its mutant strains

Unlike the current Covid-19 vaccine, the new vaccine is made entirely of protein: it consists of two components, an antibody from alpaca, a nanobody, and a portion of the spike protein that binds the SARS-CoV-2 to human cell receptors

"Furthermore, we can link the entire spike protein or other parts of the virus to quickly and easily modify the vaccine to deal with mutated strains of the new coronavirus," said Novalia Perisha, the study's first author

Because the new vaccine is a protein, not messenger RNA like Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines, it's more suitable for mass production

The research team has patented the new technology and hopes to partner with a biotech or pharmaceutical company to further test it and eventually conduct clinical trials