ADENOVIRAL VECTOR-BASED NEXT GENERATION VACCINE TO OVERCOME THE EMERGENCE OF SARS-COV-2 VARIANTS

Adenoviruses (Ads) have become an indispensable tool for both gene therapy and vaccine development over the years. They are considered an attractive platform due to their well-established track record and ability to elicit a robust innate and adaptive immune responses in hosts. Currently, adenovirus-based vectors are being approved for use as vaccines for various viral infections ranging from COVID-19 to malaria. Since the emergence of SARS CoV-2 in 2019 and its subsequent variants, which vary in their degree of pathogenies, global efforts to quelle the spread of the disease have encountered several setbacks. Five years since the onset of the pandemic and cases are still being reported, and more variants of concern have been emerging at an alarming rate. Although the rollout of billions of doses of vaccines have initially reduced morbidity and hospitalization, efficacy of these first generation of vaccines have been significantly reduced. This underscores the need to develop updated, next generation vaccines that offer broader protection in the face of these evolving variants.