Incremental Vaccine Dosing Schedule for Variant-Resilient Immunity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vaccines, particularly those derived from inactivated and killed viruses, face reduced effectiveness due to new virus variants arising from mutations, necessitating a method to enhance their efficacy and duration of protection.
Innovation Solution
Administering a low priming dose followed by higher doses in short intervals to induce a stronger and longer-lasting immune response, utilizing a schedule such as 10-25% of the full-strength dose on Day 1, 45-55% on Day 14, and 80-100% on Day 28 for inactivated virus vaccines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a full-strength vaccine dose is administered at standard intervals (2-3 weeks to several months), then the vaccine can be manufactured and distributed easily, but the virus has sufficient time to mutate and reduce vaccine effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by administering vaccine doses at specific, optimized intervals (e.g., Day 0, Day 7, Day 28) rather than standard longer intervals. This periodic dosing schedule reduces the time window for viral mutation while maintaining immunogenicity, directly addressing the contradiction between vaccine reliability and time loss to mutation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dosage parameter from standard full-dose administration to optimized dose levels (e.g., 10-50 µg for mRNA vaccines, or specific volumes for viral vector vaccines). This parameter change enables more frequent dosing with reduced individual dose sizes, thereby reducing the mutation time window while maintaining effectiveness.
2Reliability
If multiple doses are administered at optimized intervals to enhance immune response, then vaccine effectiveness and duration are improved, but the vaccination schedule becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the vaccination process into distinct phases with specific dosing schedules (e.g., primary series at Days 0 and 7, booster at Day 28). This segmentation allows for optimized immune response at each phase while making the overall schedule manageable through clear, standardized intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by administering lower doses or priming doses before full-dose administration. This preliminary dosing primes the immune system, allowing subsequent doses to be more effective and potentially reducing the need for additional boosters, thereby simplifying the overall schedule.
3Strength
If higher vaccine doses are administered to strengthen immune response, then protection against severe disease is improved, but the risk of adverse reactions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by administering optimized, reduced doses (e.g., 10-50 µg of mRNA instead of higher doses) that provide sufficient immunogenicity without excessive stimulation. This partial dosing strategy achieves the necessary immune response strength while minimizing adverse reactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic action with multiple spaced doses instead of a single high dose. This distributes the immune stimulation over time, allowing the immune system to respond effectively to each dose while recovering between doses, thereby reducing cumulative adverse reactions.
Data Source
AI summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worldwide health crisis and devastating economic and social issues. The present invention provides a method enhancing the effectiveness of the vaccines currently used for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which comprises three incremental doses of a vaccine to elicit an enhanced immune response against in a subject. The first dose, second dose, and final dose are administered in the amount of 10-25%, 45-55%, and about 100% of the vaccine's full-strength dose, respectively.