Fil-Am molecular biologist eyes development of yeast-based COVID-19 vaccine for Filipinos
MB – Published February 2, 2021, 7:24 PM
A Filipino-American molecular biologist and priest is looking into the development of a yeast-based COVID-19 vaccine to offer a cheaper alternative for the Filipinos.
Rev. Fr. Nicanor Pier Giorgo Austriaco, O.PPh.D., S. Th. D., who is currently a visiting professor of Biological Sciences at the University of the Santo Tomas (UST), confirmed that he is working on a COVID-19 vaccine that is yeast-based.
“We are working on a yeast-based oral vaccine for Filipinos that will be cheaper and can be transported without refrigeration,” Austriaco said in a presentation during the 121st Plenary Assembly of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) held last week.
Austriaco, who is also a professor of Biology and of Theology, started to bring his molecular biology expertise into the Philippines’ fight against COVID-19 in 2020. As a fellow of the OCTA Research team, he is also very much involved in pandemic management for the country.
In his presentation entitled, “The Science and Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccines,” Austriaco, discussed how COVID-19 vaccines work, which vaccines will be available in the Philippines and when will these arrive in the country.
He also discussed “ethical consideration” to clarify misconceptions on the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently developed.
“The key message here is antibodies destroy SARS-CoV2,” Austriaco explained.
“The reason why the pandemic was so devastating around the world – with 100 million have been affected by SARS-CoV2 in less than a year – is because no one has any antibodies against SARS-CoV2,” he added.
For the Philippines, Austriaco vaccines are expected to from the West including Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca; the Gamelaya from Russia; and the Sinovac and Sinopharm from China.
Austriaco also discussed the challenges in the different vaccines – including storage issues and efficacy – among others. Some vaccines need freezers such as Pfizer while others such as Gamelayaa nd AstraZeneca can be stored in regular fridge temperatures.
When it comes to efficacy, he noted that Moderna, Pfizer, and Russian vaccines are “relatively good.” AstraZeneca’s efficacy, he added, ranges from 60 to 90 percent. “The standard approved protocols for the UK is 62 percent – this is what we would be expecting to use in the Philippines,” he added. The Chinese vaccines, on the other hand, have 78 to 91% and can be “kept in the refrigerators that are usually used at home.”
Austriaco also touched on ethical considerations in the vaccines – noting that some vaccines used cells obtained from the remains of an “aborted female fetus” in 1973.
“What is clear is that we will not be morally-compromised if we choose vaccines that were made using these cells because there were no actual parts used, none of these are injected into you because they were all destroyed in the process of making the vaccine,” he explained.
Enormous challenges of the vaccination
As the country prepares for the roll out of its COVID-19 mass vaccination program, Austriaco pointed out some of the challenges in its implementation.
“It will be the largest and most complex public health effort in the history of the Philippines and will especially benefit the poor and most vulnerable among us,” Austriaco said.
He also pointed out that there will be a need to vaccinate at least 75 million people – every single Filipino adult – scattered over our 7,000 plus islands. “It is such a big logistical problem and a critical problem for the country,” he said. “We will have to vaccinate most of them twice within a month,” he added.
Austriaco also discussed vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos.
“It is heart-breaking to talk about vaccines but it is also important for them to be vaccinated,” he said.
“The goal of the vaccination program is not to prevent COVID-19 but to prevent severe COVID-19 that will kill you,” Austriaco said. “If we do not vaccinate the adults, the pandemic will not end and we will have lockdowns every three months in order to keep this under control,” he added.
As part of his recommendations, Austriaco requested the Bishops of the Philippines consider “adding intention to the oratio imperata for COVID-19 to beg God to bless our country’s vaccination efforts to end the pandemic.”
He requested bishops to consider being vaccinated on TV alongside mayors of the local governments to “encourage our Filipino people, especially our poorest people, to be vaccinated.”
To help the country in ending the pandemic, Austriaco asked for the help of the Church.
“It is very important for the Church to help the country fight this pandemic, otherwise, it will not end,” he ended.
SOURCE: https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/02/fil-am-molecular-biologist-eyes-development-of-yeast-based-covid-19-vaccine-for-filipinos/
