Covid-19 vaccines launched across the UK are a modern miracle. It is a wonder that such safe and effective vaccines have been produced, tested and distributed in record time – a true triumph of science, offering hope that our lives will soon return to normal.
However, just as remarkable as the speed and efficiency with which these vaccines were produced is the new technology behind some, which should transform our fight against other infectious diseases, and even cancer.
I first saw the power of these new vaccines last March, when I spoke with Professor Robin Shattock, who is head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, for a film I was making about Covid-19.
Covid vaccines are a modern miracle, offering hope that our lives will soon return to normal
Professor Shattock – whose laboratory at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, sits just above the room where, almost 100 years ago, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered that a fungus called penicillium can kill bacteria – showed me a refrigerator containing a new type of vaccine that he hoped to use against Covid.
Typically, a vaccine is made with a dead or weakened strain of the virus against which it is directed.
Once injected, it tricks the immune system into thinking it is under attack, giving the body valuable time to align its defenses before it is actually attacked.
Professor Shattock’s approach is very different. Instead of the real virus, it uses small pieces of genetic material called mRNA (messenger RNA), which contains the code that the virus uses to create the club-shaped tips on its surface.
An mRNA vaccine works by causing the body to start producing many copies of these harmless taco-shaped tips.
This causes the immune system to produce many specific antibodies to Covid and killer T cells (and to reassure those anxious about it, these vaccines have nothing to do with genetic engineering; there is no chance of altering their DNA).
Two of the three vaccines approved in the UK, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, are based on this mRNA technology.
Imperial vaccine tests have unfortunately been hampered by the success of these other vaccines, but Professor Stattock hopes to run them in other countries.
But, as he told me recently, the best thing about mRNA vaccines is that not only are they safe and effective, but if the coronavirus mutates, the current vaccine can be quickly ‘adjusted’.
Professor Shattock believes that these mRNA vaccines will prove to be a powerful new weapon against Covid-19 and also a host of other diseases, including flu, tuberculosis, HIV – and cancer.
In addition to fighting infections, one of the main functions of the immune system is to search for and destroy cancer cells. The problem is that some types of cancer avoid detection until it is too late.
Using mRNA technology, however, scientists could biopsy a patient’s cancer and identify the genes responsible for the ‘mutant’ proteins found in the disease – as soon as they identified those genes, they would make a tailored mRNA vaccine , with a chemical boost, to activate the immune system to search for and destroy the tumor.
If that sounds a little futuristic, it’s actually already been done. In 2017, researchers at BioNTech, the company that produced the Pfizer Covid vaccine, reported the first tests on humans using this approach in 13 patients with malignant melanoma, which showed signs of improvement. One, a 52-year-old American whose cancer has spread to the liver, was reported as saying, ‘My tumor started to disappear in front of my eyes’.
It is still the beginning, but there is hope that the war against Covid-19 will produce advances that, in time, will improve many more lives.
Give the vaccine some va-va-flightM
In the meantime, what can you do to ensure the best protection for Covid Jab when you do?
As vaccines are new, we are still unsure whether any lifestyle changes can increase their effectiveness, but based on studies with influenza vaccines, here are some strategies you can try:
1 If you are overweight or obese, try to lose a few inches. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2017 found that obese adults who had a flu vaccine were twice as likely to get the flu as people with healthy BMI (body mass index).
Carrying too much weight, especially around the waist, makes the immune system less effective. (It is important to emphasize that Covid vaccine tests have shown that obese people have gained a high degree of protection.)
two Increase your intake of prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are fiber-rich foods that feed the “good” bacteria in your gut – they include beans, lentils, garlic, onions and many vegetables.
Probiotics are live bacteria found mainly in fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi and plain yogurt.
A review of studies published in the journal Nutrients in 2017 found that consuming prebiotics and probiotics before being vaccinated nearly doubled the number of people who developed protective levels of antibodies.
For simple recipes to raise your good bacteria, visit instagram.com/drclarebailey.
3 Have a good night of sleep. In a study by the University of California last year, researchers found that healthy volunteers who slept less the night before the flu vaccine produced the lowest level of flu antibodies in the months that followed.
This is because while you sleep, your body produces many important components of the immune system, such as antibodies and killer T cells.
4 Exercise your arms. A study by the University of Birmingham a few years ago showed that people who did this just hours before a flu vaccine developed a stronger immune response. It is not clear why, but I will certainly do some push-ups and other arm exercises before my jab.
5 Stop smoking. Several studies suggest that smoking can actually reduce the effectiveness of vaccines – probably because of its effect on the immune system.
Quarantined hotels are a bad idea … and I should have known
I was surprised to learn that the government is seriously considering the introduction of quarantine hotels, similar to those in New Zealand and Australia, to try to reduce the threat of coronavirus variants entering the UK.
I think it’s a bad idea. To begin with, I suspect it is already too late to prevent new variants from creeping in.
One thing we’ve learned in the past ten months is that this virus moves quickly and often appears to be many steps ahead of us (until the new vaccines do away with it).
And while closing borders and using quarantined hotels works brilliantly in countries like Australia and New Zealand, the virus is too ingrained here to do that.
There is also a significant disadvantage, in terms of mental health, of asking people to stay in a small room without daylight for a long time.
Having recently spent two weeks in a quarantine hotel in Australia, with my wife, Clare, I can guarantee that it is extremely challenging.
You have no choice about which hotel or room, and you pay between £ 1,500 and £ 2,500 for the dubious pleasure of being locked up 24 hours a day (our room overlooked a brick wall). I suffer from mild claustrophobia and there were times when I wasn’t sure I could take it.
The worst thing is that you cannot leave the room, even for a short walk (which is clearly difficult for the 72 tennis stars now at one of these hotels in Melbourne before the Australian Open).
A friend who stayed at one of these hotels said she once heard someone screaming, for what seemed like hours, in the next room. When he called reception, he was told not to worry – “they are probably just having a panic attack”.
If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, what you need is a really calm and comforting companion like Clare.