Scientists in Japan claim they have developed a pill that 'vaccinates' against COVID-19 without the ‘side effects’ of existing vaccines.
The pill contains allegedly contains a small part of SARS-CoV-2 and then produces antibodies to protect against the virus.
Unlike mRNA or traditional vaccinations that are administered through the blood, this pill is claimed to activate through the mucus to allow antibodies to neutralise the virus closer to the source of transmission.
One of the research paper’s authors, Shin Nakamura, said this new pill would make it both easier to 'administer' vaccines and more effective at combating other illnesses.
“The best way to neutralise viruses is before they can enter inside human cells but are only on the external surface of epithelial cells that line and produce mucus in the lungs, nose, and mouth,” Oxford University Press said in a statement.
“Since the coronavirus, like influenza, infects bronchial cells, researchers believe it is important to induce the secretion of virus antigen-specific Immunoglobulin A in the mucosa rather than in the blood.”
