News

Future COVID Boosters Could Be Nasal: URMC Researchers Lead Study on Next-Gen Vaccines

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Sore arms may soon rejoice—future COVID boosters could be delivered as a puff instead of a jab. Vaccine researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) are investigating whether nasal vaccines, already available for the flu, can be effective against COVID-19.

"Most of the time, the strains we select for vaccines aren't a perfect match, because the virus evolves faster than we can keep up," said David Topham, PhD, founding director of the University of Rochester’s Translational Immunology and Infectious Disease Institute and principal investigator of the new study. "We need vaccines that elicit cross-reactive immunity—immunity that doesn’t rely on which strain is circulating but still offers protection and prevents severe illness or hospitalization."

This study aims to set important benchmarks that could guide the development of COVID-19 nasal vaccines, which have the potential to strengthen the immune response in the respiratory system, where the virus initially attacks. A COVID-19 nasal vaccine is currently being tested in an early-stage clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The new study will use data previously collected by a consortium that included Angela Branche, MD, co-director of the URMC Vaccine and Treatment and Evaluation Unit. This prior study, called COVAIL, compared single- and multi-strain COVID vaccines. Results published in Nature Medicine in 2023 showed that boosters don’t need to match a specific strain to provide protection.

What Is H5N1 Bird Flu, How it Spreads to Humans, and Safety Concerns

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The H5N1 virus, also known as avian or bird flu, is once again in the news and on the radar of scientists and public health officials as a growing number of infections have been found in dairy cattle and farm workers.

David Topham, PhD, a professor of Microbiology and Immunology and director of the University of Rochester Translational Immunology and Infectious Disease Institute, has been studying the H5N1 and other influenza viruses for 27 years.