The research team, a mixture of people from a biotech company and academic labs, used a commercial injection setup that mixes the injection of the DNA with short pulses of electricity. The electricity disrupts the cell membrane, allowing the plasmid DNA to make it inside cells. Based on animal testing, doing this in muscle cells is enough to turn the muscles into factories producing lots of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding eligibility for and access to the latest Covid-19 vaccine, a new study has found that a common nasal spray could help prevent infection. This randomized placebo-controlled trial examined the effectiveness of the nasal spray azelastine in preventing Covid-19 infection, as published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on September 2. Researchers concluded that the chance of developing Covid-19 was about three times lower in the azelastine group compared with the placebo group.