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Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused over than 250.000 deaths in world till date. Nearly all countries have taken extraordinary precautions that radically effect life styles, and also serious economical problems have become an important factor in the pandemic process. The world has focused on treatment protocol development and vaccine production studies. Including the two past coronavirus endemics, obesity has been detected to be an important risk factor for many of the acute and chronic diseases. In this study, a systematic review has been planned to determine the relationship between COVID-19 and obesity. For this aim, databases were searched and 390 researches have been determined. Among them 10 (ten) researches meeting criteria have been included in the study. The researches have been done with 6.073 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and obesity ratio (BMI ≥30) among them differ between 33-75.8%. Obesity has been obtained to be an independent and important risk factor for COVID-19 process in nearly all researches. Further detailed multidisciplinary researches about COVID-19 and obesity will be valuable in the unknown and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic process.

Introduction: Bacterial ghosts (BGs), known as the empty cell envelope of gram-negative bacteria lacking cytoplasmic content yet retaining all unaltered morphological and structural features of their living counterparts, are widely studied and used as the platform for the production of the vaccines as well as the transporting drug and gene delivery. However, the study related to the creation of BGs based on gene expression is still limited because of the difference in cell wall structure between microorganisms. Therefore, in the current study, for the aims to determine chemicals combination and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) to optimize BGs production. Material and method: Salmonella choleraesuis strain was collected from NAVETCO company. The study used critical concentrations from chemical combination to convert salmonella cells to BGs. Chemicals combination and MIC, temperature, shaking speed were optimized using Plakett- Burman matrix and response surface methodology. Cell structure was determined by using a scanning electron microscope, experimental mice were vaccinated and challenged with virulence to determine immune responses of bacterial ghost. Results: The appropriate chemicals for the production of BGs biomass were NaOH 3.125 mg/ml; SDS 1.15 mg/ml, H2O2 8.79 µl/ml, ethanol. The observation of morphology, BGs have remained the structure and shape, which were like the living microbial cells. Conclusions: The conditions of BGs production have been identified to produce large amounts of bacterial ghost biomass to further application in vaccine production and pharma.

A serious problem for the development of industrial avian diseases is the emergence of viral diseases, in particular fowl pox virus. Improvement of dysfunctional farms for fowl pox, elimination of foci of pathogens are the most difficult problems facing modern veterinary science and practice. Outbreaks in poultry farms, leading to the need for veterinary and sanitary measures, are a way to protect the poultry from infection on the farm, which is very expensive. In recent years, attempts have been made to improve the means for specific prophylaxis of avian fowl pox diseases. This article describes the widespread use of the cultural vaccine in poultry farming, notes the promise of a cultured cell system, quail embryos, characteristic of economy, the absence of extraneous contaminants, the stability of biological properties, which facilitates the work with them, and is of no small importance in the production of vaccines. The article describes the analysis of the possible cultivation of the strain "Baku". It is also shown that embryos of Japanese origin are more convenient and advantageous tissues for the cultural production of primary cell systems, as well as for biological mass, vaccine production, simplicity, economy, lack of extraneous contaminants and biological properties. It is shown that the culture of the cells of Japanese quail embryos is a promising system for creating highly immunogenic agents that provide special protection against diseases lacking extraneous contaminants and stable biological properties.

The numerous ongoing research programs aimed at finding and producing rapidly an effective anti-coronavirus vaccine require some explanations about the vaccine immunobiology principles. In this article, the fundamental concepts of modern vaccine preparation are summarized and some of the main research initiatives in vaccine production are illustrated. The author hopes that positive results may emerge soon, allowing the solution of the current coronavirus pandemics emerged at the end of 2019 and still ongoing worldwide.

Introduction: Many potential vaccines for COVID-19 are being studied and developed. Several studies have reported on the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. This systematic review aimed to report on the current evidence concerning the feasibility and effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19. Methods: A systematic search was carried out utilizing the keywords in the online databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. We included both human and non-human studies because of the vaccine novelty, limiting our ability to include sufficient human studies. Results: This review showed several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to be currently under development using different platforms, including eight vaccines that are adenovirus-based vectors, six vaccines that are RNA-based formulations, one vaccine being DNA-based formulation, and other vaccines using other platforms, including lipid nanoparticles. Although the safety and efficacy profiles of these vaccines are still under debate, some countries have allowed for emergency use of some vaccines in at-risk populations, such as healthcare workers and the elderly. Conclusion: It is crucial to gather as much clinically relevant evidence as possible regarding the immunogenicity, efficacy, and safety profiles of available vaccines and adhere wisely to CDC protocols and guidelines for vaccine production.

Ticks are increasingly a global public health and veterinary concern. They transmit numerous pathogens that are of veterinary and public health importance. Acaricides, livestock breeding for tick resistance, tick handpicking, pasture spelling, and anti-tick vaccines (ATVs) are in use for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs); acaricides and ATVs being the most and least used TTBD control methods respectively. The overuse and misuse of acaricides has inadvertently selected for tick strains that are resistant to acaricides. Furthermore, vaccines are rare and not commercially available in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It doesn't help that many of the other methods are labor-intensive and found impractical especially for larger farm operations. The success of TTBD control is therefore dependent on integrating all the currently available methods. Vaccines have been shown to be cheap and effective. However, their large-scale deployment for TTBD control in SSA is hindered by commercial unavailability of efficacious anti-tick vaccines against sub-Saharan African tick strains. Thanks to advances in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics technologies, many promising anti-tick vaccine antigens (ATVA) have been identified. However, few of them have been investigated for their potential as ATV candidates. Reverse vaccinology (RV) can be leveraged to accelerate ATV discovery. It is cheap and shortens the lead time from ATVA discovery to vaccine production. This chapter provides a brief overview of recent advances in ATV development, ATVs, ATV effector mechanisms, and anti-tick RV. Additionally, it provides a detailed outline of vaccine antigen selection and analysis using computational methods.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented event, and in order to control its spread and minimize its damages, all efforts are immediately mobilized. Mass vaccination is considered a promising solution to combat this universal issue. However, given the urgent need for vaccine production, some of the side effects may not have been presented during trials and will only appear during the mass vaccination. Limited vasculitis cases have been reported so far following vaccination against COVID-19. We present a case of cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) induced following the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in an otherwise healthy individual.

Cell culture-based vaccine technology is a flexible and convenient approach for vaccine production that requires adaptation of the vaccine strains to the new cells. Driven by the motivation to develop a broadly permissive cell line for infection with a wide range of viruses, we identified a set of the most relevant host receptors involved in viral attachment and entry. This identification was done through a review of different viral entry pathways and host cell lines, and in the context of the Baltimore classification of viruses. In addition, we indicated the potential technical problems and proposed some solutions regarding how to modify the host cell genome in order to meet industrial requirements for mass production of antiviral vaccines. Our work contributes to a finer understanding of the importance of breaking the host–virus recognition specificities for the possibility of creating a cell line feasible for the production of vaccines against a broad spectrum of viruses.

The novel Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is a new contagious, dangerous, and deadly viral/immunological systemic disorder with predominantly respiratory features caused by human infection with SARS-CoV-2, which is rapidly spreading from person-to-person all around the world as a pandemic. If the COVID-19 pandemic is not controlled, and then eradicated, it will probably cause the extinction of the human race in the coming years or decades! It shows the fastest multiple genetic mutation for SARS-CoV-2 in the development of the disease. According to the author of this article, an effective vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will not be made any time soon or may never be made. If it is made, due to the need to use the vaccine several times a year, the staggering cost of vaccine production, its potentially insufficient effect in preventing COVID-19, its possible side effects, and the complexity of its equitable distribution worldwide, it cannot be a significant success in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, the only way to eradicate COVID-19 pandemic is: simultaneous, synchronized, and universal quarantine for at least 40 days for all the people of the planet as staying at home for 99% of them and staying at workplace for another 1%, that because of the need for their key job, they need to be present at work. By applying the COVID-19 Referral System for screening people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and Persian Gulf Criteria for diagnosis of COVID-19, we recommend home isolation for mild cases of COVID-19 and hospitalization in Corona Center for severe cases. Also, along with these, more and more SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests should be performed using highly sensitive kits, and the principles of prevention of becoming infected with the SARS-CoV-2 should be followed carefully and as soon as possible. By applying all the above, success in controlling and suppressing the SARS-CoV-2 epidemics is anticipated.

Process intensification for Peste des Petites Ruminants Virus (PPRV) vaccine production in anchorage dependent Vero cells is challenging, involving substantial amount of bioprocess development. In this study, we describe the implementation of a new, scalable bioprocess for PPRV vaccine production in Vero cells using serum-free medium (SFM), microcarrier technology in stirred-tank bioreactors (STB), in-situ cell detachment from microcarriers and perfusion. Vero cells were successfully adapted to ProVero™-1 SFM, reaching growth rates similar to serum-containing cultures (0.030 1/h vs 0.026 1/h, respectively). An in-situ cell detachment method was successfully implemented, with efficiencies above 85%. Up to 2.5-fold increase in maximum cell concentration was obtained using perfusion when compared to batch culture. Combining perfusion with the in-situ cell detachment method enabled the scale-up to 20 L STB directly from a 2 L STB, surpassing the need for a mid-scale platform (i.e. 5 L STB) and thus reducing seed train duration. Head-to-head comparison of cell growth and PPRV production in the 2 L and 20 L STB was performed, and no significant differences could be observed. Estimated infectious PPRV titers in Tissue Culture Infection Dose (TCID50) (TCID50/mL = 5 × 106 and TCID50/cell = 5) are within the log-range reported in literature for PPRV production in STB and SFM by Silva et al. (2008), thus confirming the feasibility and scalability of the seed train designed [1] . The novel and scalable vaccine production process herein proposed has the potential to assist the upcoming Peste des Petites Ruminants (PPR) Global Eradication Program (targeted by FAAO for 2030) by providing African local and/or regional manufacturers with a platform capable of generating over 25,000 doses of Nigeria 75/1 strain in just 19 days using a 20 L STB.

The paper demonstrates results of testing different modes of Avibacterium paragallinarum inactivation with formaldehyde and thiomersal. The bacterium destruction by 0.20% and 0.10% formaldehyde proceeds at the constant rate thus indicating exponential dependence of the microorganism inactivation processes. This fact allows for calculation of the inactivation rate constant that amounts to 2.94 ± 0.37 h-1 for 0.10% formaldehyde and 5.86 ± 0.72 h-1 for 0.20% formaldehyde. Inactivation using formaldehyde at final concentration of 0.10% at 37 °С and continuous stirring (60 rpm) produces 7.0 dm3 of bacterin at concentration of 9.5 ± 0.2 lg microbial cells (mc)/cm3 in 4.3 ± 0.1 h. Thiomersal demonstrated bactericidal action against Avibacterium paragallinarum at concentration of 0.04% (1:2500) or higher. Herewith, inactivation process is specified by linearity and the inactivation rate constant amounts to 7.92±1.12 h-1. Under thiomersal sublethal concentration of 0.2% (1:5000) the survival curve is of irregular shape. However, the process of the microorganism death is not exponential, and under continuous decrease, the inactivation rate is going to zero thus making impossible the calculation of the inactivation rate constant. Inactivation mode involving use of 0.04% thiomersal at 37 °С allows production of 7.0 dm3 of bacterin at 9.5 ± 0.2 lg mc/cm3 concentration in 5.8 ± 0.1 h. Right after production, the hemagglutination activity of the thiomersal inactivated antigen was higher as compared to formaldehyde inactivated antigen (Р 0.05). The antigen produced using formaldehyde maintains high hemagglutination activity during storage that is critical for high quality vaccine production.

Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is considered one of the most effective vaccines and can be manufactured quickly and inexpensively to counter seasonal or pandemic influenza. Lyophilization is widely used in vaccine production. However, it requires a longer production cycle and large-scale equipment, thus posing a considerable financial burden for developing countries. A potential solution is the development of liquid LAIV, which can increase the yield and reduce the cost of production. In this study, influential factors of LAIV, such as potential stabilizing excipients and pH, were optimized by an orthogonal design. We found that pH is the most critical factor for the stability of LAIV; salt concentration and initial virus titer are also important for LAIV stability. With these data, we developed a liquid formulation consisting of 2.5% sucrose, 0.1% monosodium glutamate, 1% arginine, and 0.5% human serum albumin, with pH ranging from 6.2 to 6.9 (optimum pH 6.5-6.7), for optimal production of monovalent or trivalent LAIVs. This liquid formulation has the potential to considerably improve vaccine production capacity to compensate for the immense shortfall in influenza vaccines globally.

In the event of a pandemic, demand for vaccines may exceed supply. One proposal for allocating vaccines is to use a lottery, to give all citizens an equal chance, either of getting the vaccine (McLachlan) or of surviving (Peterson). However, insistence on strict equality can result in seriously suboptimal outcomes. I argue that the requirement to treat all citizens impartially need not be interpreted to require equal chances, particularly where citizens are differently situated. Assuming that we want to save lives, we should also seek to use vaccine efficiently, so far as this is compatible with equality. Thus, in allocating vaccine, we may want to be sensitive to (i) different levels of need and/or (ii) effects on vaccine production. While such policies may result in unequal chances, they may even improve everyone’s chances. In such cases, the resultant inequality is not a violation of impartiality, but a consequence of considering each person’s claim seriously., Dans le cas d’une pandémie, il est possible que la demande pour des vaccins excède l’offre. Une proposition concernant la distribution des vaccins est d’employer une loterie, afin de donner à tous les citoyens une chance égale soit de recevoir le vaccin (McLachlan) soit de survivre (Peterson). Toutefois, l’accent mis sur une stricte égalité peut produire des résultats gravement sous-optimaux. Je soutiens que l’exigence de traiter tous les citoyens de manière impartiale ne doit pas forcément être interprétée comme une exigence d’égalité des chances, particulièrement en ce qui concerne des citoyens qui sont dans des situations différentes. En supposant que nous voulons sauver des vies, nous devrions également viser à employer les vaccins de manière efficiente, dans la mesure où cela demeure compatible avec l’enjeu d’égalité. Ainsi, notre distribution du vaccin devrait tenir compte de (i) différents degrés de besoin et/ou (ii) des effets sur la production du vaccin. Bien que de telles politiques risquent de conduire à une inégalité des chances, elles peuvent néanmoins améliorer les chances de tous. Dans de tels cas, l’inégalité qui en résulte ne va pas à l’encontre de l’impératif d’impartialité, mais découle plutôt d’une considération sérieuse de la demande de chacun.

The aim of this study is to prepare an applied model for the study of the effect of the economics of vaccine production on health and environment in Egypt, which will achieve the greatest benefit for individuals from the availability of serums and vaccines and the ease of immunization process that provides protection For the individuals. Which impede the production of serums, vaccines and immunization in Egypt . These challenges are the presence of some misconceptions and the lack of awareness of some individuals in the community of the benefits of serums, vaccines and the benefits of immunization in reducing diseases and eradicating them in the beginning before they spread and turn into an epidemic. Destroyed The study examined the concept of serums, vaccines and the difference between each of them in order to know the impact of these challenges on the production of vaccines, immunization and immunization process, and the impact of the immunization process in improving the health of individuals and reducing the spread of diseases and reduce the cases of infections. The study was also based on the analytical method in the practical side based on the answers of the sample of the study and on the study data which was obtained through the survey questionnaire which was distributed to the personnel working in the Holding Company for Biologics and Vaccines (275) 261). The valid questionnaire for the analysis is (250) questionnaire. The survey form is the tool used to achieve the objectives of the study by means of the statistical test of the tests using the statistical program SPSS The study found that there is a statistically significant trend in the economics of serums production and vaccines in Egypt at a significant level of 0.05. There is a statistically significant effect of the production of serums and vaccines on the status of serums and vaccines in health and environment in Egypt at a significant level of 0.05 There is a statistically significant effect for the economics of serums production and vaccines on the status of serums and vaccines in the health and environment in Egypt at a significant level 0.05

— The paper discusses the techniques which are currently implemented for vaccine production based on virus-like particles (VLPs). The factors which determine the characteristics of VLP monomers assembly are provided in detail. Analysis of the literature demonstrates that the development of the techniques of VLP production and immobilization of target antigens on their surface have led to the development of universal platforms which make it possible for virtually any known antigen to be exposed on the particle surface in a highly concentrated form. As a result, the focus of attention has shifted from the approaches to VLP production to the development of a precise interface between the organism’s immune system and the peptides inducing a strong immune response to pathogens or the organism’s own pathological cells. Immunome-specified methods for vaccine design and the prospects of immunoprophylaxis are discussed. Certain examples of vaccines against viral diseases and cancers are considered.

Procedure for validation of the method for indirect assessment of cultural FMD virus titre (T FMDV) in raw materials used for vaccine production with real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCRrt) based on determined amplifcation threshold cycle value (Ct) using linear regression model, TFMDV= –0.2956Ct+ 11.4650, is described in the paper. Testing results for 390 samples of cultural FMD virus were analyzed and basic validation characteristics of the proposed method: specifcity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantifcation, application scope and linearity, were defned. Validation results for the method for indirect assessment of FMD virus titre with RT-PCRrt met the acceptance criteria.

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is an endemic disease in Egypt causing disease in animals and humans since the 1977. Full molecular description of the national vaccine strain is a strategic concern to ensure the antigenic makeup of local vaccine is adequate to provide the required protective immunity for the vaccinated animal species and as a tool of final product quality control. Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Gc gene of M segment of RVF-ZH501 strain which used in local vaccine production in veterinary serum and vaccine research institute (VSVRI) were carried out in this study. RVF-ZH501 strain was propagated by passages on BHK cell line and then purified my plaque purification technique. RT-PCR for amplification of the Gc gene of M segment. Sequence analysis of the obtained PCR product carried out by MEGA7 program. The result of the study revealed that RVF strain ZH501 Gc genomic content has 99.5 % molecular identity to the strains firstly isolated in Egypt in 1977, so still suitable for vaccine production.

Graphical abstract, As global vaccine production capacity is limited, every optimization strategy must be explored to rapidly increase the number of people vaccinated. The objective of this study is to determine which medical devices allow the extraction of the maximum number of doses from different vaccine vials (Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines) by analyzing all the factors involved in the preparation of the injected doses. By measuring the dead-volume of 32 syringe-needle combinations, we show that fixed-needle syringe with a dead-volume of less than 5 µL can extract up to 7 doses from Pfizer vials, 13 doses from AstraZeneca vials, 12 doses from Moderna vials and 6 doses from Johnson & Johnson vials. We found that the syringe accuracy is important, and can compromise the chances of extracting additional doses when withdrawing too large a volume. For Pfizer vaccine, particular attention must be paid to the choice of dilution syringe, which may compromise the extraction of the 7th dose. The withdrawal of extra doses from vaccine vials was not operator-dependent. In this unprecedented health context, the medical device considerations presented here could help to optimize every COVID-19 vaccine vial.

Significance Shortages of COVID-19 vaccines hampered efforts to fight the current pandemic, leading experts to argue for delaying the second dose to provide earlier first-dose protection to twice as many people. We designed a model-based strategy for identifying the optimal second-dose delay using the hospitalization rate as the key metric. While epistemic uncertainties apply to our modeling, we found that the optimal delay was dependent on first-dose efficacy and vaccine mechanism of action. For infection-blocking vaccines, the second dose could be delayed ≥8 weeks if the first-dose efficacy was ≥50%. For symptom-alleviating vaccines, this delay duration is recommended if the first-dose efficacy was ≥70%. These results suggest that delaying the second vaccine dose is a feasible option., Slower than anticipated, COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution have impaired efforts to curtail the current pandemic. The standard administration schedule for most COVID-19 vaccines currently approved is two doses administered 3 to 4 wk apart. To increase the number of individuals with partial protection, some governments are considering delaying the second vaccine dose. However, the delay duration must take into account crucial factors, such as the degree of protection conferred by a single dose, the anticipated vaccine supply pipeline, and the potential emergence of more virulent COVID-19 variants. To help guide decision-making, we propose here an optimization model based on extended susceptible, exposed, infectious, and removed (SEIR) dynamics that determines the optimal delay duration between the first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses. The model assumes lenient social distancing and uses intensive care unit (ICU) admission as a key metric while selecting the optimal duration between doses vs. the standard 4-wk delay. While epistemic uncertainties apply to the interpretation of simulation outputs, we found that the delay is dependent on the vaccine mechanism of action and first-dose efficacy. For infection-blocking vaccines with first-dose efficacy ≥50%, the model predicts that the second dose can be delayed by ≥8 wk (half of the maximal delay), whereas for symptom-alleviating vaccines, the same delay is recommended only if the first-dose efficacy is ≥70%. Our model predicts that a 12-wk second-dose delay of an infection-blocking vaccine with a first-dose efficacy ≥70% could reduce ICU admissions by 400 people per million over 200 d.

Meningococcal disease has been a public health problem in Brazil since the serogroups A and C epidemics occurred in the 1970s. The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil has been working to develop a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine composed of detergent-treated outer membrane vesicles (OMV) and detoxified endotoxin (dLOS) from Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B prevalent strains. Experimental vaccine were produced in a pilot-scale under Good Manufacturing Practice condition (GMP). Physicochemical and biological controls were established based on what has been reported previously for OMV vaccines. The developed vaccine contained the main class 1, 2, 3, and 5 proteins, some minor iron-regulated proteins, and 5–10% residual lipopolysaccharide related to total protein content. The dLOS was added, as a vaccine component, in half of the total protein amount. The pyrogenicity of the final products, based on the residual LOS in OMVs, varied from 1.01 to 2.24 ng LOS/kg rabbit. Three experimental vaccines, were highly immunogenic in mice with better performance using higher antigen concentrations.

The scale-up of animal cell cultivation is important but remains complex and challenging. In the present study, we propose a novel scale-up strategy for baby hamster Syrian kidney-21 (BHK-21) cell cultivation based on similar hydrodynamic environments. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the different scale bioreactors were determined by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and further correlated with the agitation speed. The optimal hydrodynamic environment for cell cultivation and vaccine production was determined from the cultivation experiments of BHK-21 cells in 5-L laboratory-scale bioreactors equipped with different impellers at various agitation speeds. BHK-21 cell cultivation was scaled up from 5-L to 42-, 350-, and 1000-L bioreactors by adjusting the agitation speed to make the hydrodynamic features similar to those in the 5-L bioreactor, especially for the shear rate in the impeller zone (γimp) and energy dissipation rate in the tank bulk zone (εtan). The maximum cell density and cell aggregation rate in these scaled-up bioreactors were in the range of 4.6 × 106 ~ 4.8 × 106 cells/mL and 16 ~ 20%, which are comparable to or even better than those observed in the 5-L bioreactor (maximum cell density 4.8 × 106 cells/mL, cell aggregation rate 21%). The maximum virus titer of 108.0 LD50/mL achieved in the 1000-L bioreactor was close to 108.3 LD50/mL that obtained in the 5-L bioreactor. Hence, the scale-up strategy proposed in this study is feasible and can efficiently facilitate the scale-up processes of animal cell cultivation.

Vaccination is of paramount importance to global health. With the advent of the more recent pandemics, the urgency to expand the range has become even more evident. However, the potential limited availability and affordability of vaccines to resource low- and middle-income countries has created a need for solutions that will ensure cost-effective vaccine production methods for these countries. Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) (also known as Komagataella phaffii) is one of the most promising candidates for expression of heterologous proteins in vaccines development. It combines the speed and ease of highly efficient prokaryotic platforms with some key capabilities of mammalian systems, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. This review will examine the latest developments in P. pastoris from cell engineering and design to industrial production systems with focus on vaccine development and with reference to specific key case studies.

Millions of people are being vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 every day, but the virus is also mutating and spreading fast. Vaccine production is increasing, but supply still constrains vaccinations worldwide. Using lower doses of vaccines could dramatically accelerate vaccination. Available evidence on efficacy is not dispositive but suggests half- or even quarter-doses of some vaccines could be almost as effective as currently-used doses. Even if fractional doses are less effective than standard doses, an epidemiological model suggests they could significantly reduce total infections and deaths. The social value of testing dwarfs the costs. However, firms do not internalize the full social value, a market failure that could be addressed with public funding. Governments could support either experimental or observational evaluations of fractional dosing.

UV radiation is highly effective in killing against viruses, bacteria, algae, molds, and yeasts. They are compact, have rapid turn-off and turn-on times, and provide UV radiation at different wavelengths allowing to target specific contaminants. The deep UV LEDs (UVC LEDs) do not contain hazardous substances, such as mercury. Since their operating voltage is low they could be powered by photovoltaic cells. Recent studies have shown that UV radiation at 222 nm is effective in killing viruses but safer for humans compared to 265 nm to 280 nm radiation. Another advantage of UVC LEDs is an ability of rapidly adjust the output power of UVC LED lamps that allows to use the feedback and Artificial Intelligence models to optimize the effects of the UV radiation, save power, and ensure safety. One example, where this is important, is the application of deep UVC LED systems with feedback in vaccine production. A more traditional application of UV LEDs is in water purification being enabled by the recent improvements in deep UV LED power, reliability, packaging, and lifetime. These improvements allow for scaling up the emerging deep UV LED applications and make it feasible to use deep UV LEDs for improving plant yield, extending produce storage time, disinfecting grain and chicken feed, and fighting Hospital Acquired Infections. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Advances in biotechnology has been the subject of praise for a decade now, this is due to techniques such as gene expression which has contributed immensely in the success of genetic engineering, medical advancement, vaccine production and agriculture. Gene expression has become a very important tool for the overall improvement of quality of life. This paper tries to look into the development of gene expression in the last forty years and to highlight how technological advancements in the study of gene expression brought about improvements as a focal point. Technological advancements associated with northern blotting, western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosobent assays, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology with emphasis on quantitative PCR, differential protein display technique and DNA sequencing and hybridization arrays technology with emphasis on macroarrays and microarrays in facilitating gene expression will be discussed.

Pandemics have a devastating effect on lives across the globe as evinced by the ongoing COVID-19. Production of vaccine, medicines and other critical supplies such as oxygen are indispensable and are to be expedited. This work examines the problem of maximizing the manufacturing of critical supplies within a target stipulated time by various manufacturing units. Two scenarios are considered in vaccine production: centralized and distributed. In the former case, the manufacturing units are closely located and transport the raw materials with no delay. In the latter case, the units are located geographically apart and transport of raw materials takes a finite time causing delays in vaccine production. The main contribution of the paper lies in the elucidation of optimal algorithms for both scenarios that take the dependencies between the ingredients into consideration. The dependencies have a constraining effect on the order of manufacturing of both the raw materials and the end products referred to as targets and hence careful consideration is necessary to maximize production. The optimality is measured by an incentive-based scheme that seeks to reward the faster development of targets.