DR MICHAEL MOSLEY Reveals Simple Steps That Could Make It More Effective

The Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out across the UK are a modern day miracle. It is a wonder that such safe and effective vaccines have been produced, tested and administered in record time – a true triumph of science, offering hope that our lives will soon return to normal.

Yet, just as remarkable as the speed and efficiency with which these vaccines have been produced is the brand new technology behind some, which is poised to transform our fight against other infectious diseases, and even cancer.

I first discovered the power of these new vaccines last March when I spoke to Professor Robin Shattock, Head of Mucosal Infections and Immunity at Imperial College London, for a movie I was making on Covid-19.

Professor Shattock – whose laboratory at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington is just above the room where, almost 100 years ago, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered that a fungus called penicillium could kill bacteria – showed me a refrigerator with a new type of vaccine that he hoped to use against Covid.

Usually, a vaccine is made with a killed or weakened strain of the virus it is targeted against.

Once injected, it tricks the immune system into believing it is under attack, giving the body precious time to align its defenses before being attacked for real.

The approach used by Professor Shattock is very different. Instead of the actual virus, it uses short portions of genetic material called mRNA (messenger RNA), which contains the code the virus uses to create the club-shaped spikes on its surface.

An mRNA vaccine works by causing the body to start making many copies of these harmless club-shaped spikes.

This causes the immune system to produce lots of antibodies specific for Covid and killer T cells (and to reassure those who are anxious about this, these vaccines have nothing to do with genetic engineering; there is no chance that they alter your DNA).

Two of the three vaccines approved in the UK, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, are based on this mRNA technology.

Trials of the Imperial vaccine have unfortunately been hampered by the success of these other vaccines, but Professor Stattock hopes to make them work in other countries.

But, as he recently told me, the great thing about mRNA vaccines is that not only are they safe and effective, but if the coronavirus mutates, the current vaccine can be quickly “ tweaked ”.

Professor Shattock believes these mRNA vaccines will prove to be a powerful new weapon against Covid-19 and also a range of other diseases, including influenza, tuberculosis, HIV, and cancer.

In addition to fighting infections, one of the key roles of your immune system is to find and destroy cancer cells. The problem is, some cancers go undetected until it’s too late.

Using mRNA technology, however, scientists could biopsy a patient’s cancer and identify the genes responsible for the “ mutant ” proteins found in the disease – once they identified these genes, they would create tailor-made mRNA vaccine, with a chemical booster. , to activate the immune system to find and destroy the tumor.

If that sounds a bit futuristic, in fact, it already is. In 2017, researchers from BioNTech, the company that produced the Pfizer Covid vaccine, reported the first human trials using this approach on 13 patients with malignant melanoma, all of which showed signs of improvement. One of them, a 52-year-old American whose cancer had spread to his liver, is said to have said: “My tumor started to disappear in front of my eyes”.

We are at the start, but there is hope that the war on Covid-19 will produce breakthroughs that, over time, will improve many more lives.

Give the vaccine some va-va-vooM

In the meantime, what, if anything, can you do to make sure you get the best protection against the Covid jab when you get it?

Because the vaccines are new, we are not yet sure whether lifestyle changes can increase their effectiveness, but based on studies of influenza vaccines, here are some strategies you can try:

1 If you are overweight or obese, try to lose a few inches. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2017 found that obese adults who had received a flu shot were twice as likely to contract the flu as people with a healthy BMI (body mass index).

Carrying too much weight, especially around your waist, makes your immune system less effective. (It’s worth pointing out that Covid vaccine trials have shown obese people to have a high degree of protection.)

2 Increase your intake of prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are high fiber foods that feed the “good” bacteria in your gut – they include kidney beans, lentils, garlic, onions, and many vegetables.

Probiotics are living bacteria that are found primarily in fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and natural yogurt.

A review of studies published in the journal Nutrients in 2017 found that consuming prebiotics and probiotics before being vaccinated nearly doubled the number of people who subsequently developed protective levels of antibodies.

For simple recipes to boost your good bacteria, visit instagram.com/drclarebailey.

3 Have a good night. In a study last year from the University of California, researchers found that healthy volunteers who had the least sleep the night before receiving a flu shot produced the lowest level of antibodies against the flu. flu in the months that followed.

This is because when you sleep, your body produces many important components of your immune system, such as antibodies and killer T cells.

4 Exercise your arms. A study from the University of Birmingham a few years ago showed that people who did this a few hours before a flu shot developed a stronger immune response. It’s not clear why, but I’ll definitely be doing push-ups and other arm exercises before my jab.

5 Stop smoking. A number of studies suggest that smoking can really reduce the effectiveness of vaccines – possibly due to its effect on the immune system.

Quarantined hotels are a bad idea … and I should know it

I was surprised to hear that the government was seriously considering introducing quarantine hotels, similar to those in New Zealand and Australia, to try and reduce the threat of coronavirus variants entering the UK.

I think this is a very bad idea. For starters, I suspect it’s already far too late to stop new variants from creeping in.

One thing we have learned over the past ten months is that this virus is evolving rapidly and often seems to be way ahead of us (until new vaccines are paid for there).

And while closing borders and using quarantine hotels have worked brilliantly in countries like Australia and New Zealand, the virus is too entrenched here to do so.

There is also a significant downside, in terms of mental health, to asking people to stay locked in a small room with no daylight for an extended period of time.

Having recently spent two weeks in a quarantine hotel in Australia with my wife, Clare, I can assure you this is extremely difficult.

You are not given a choice of which hotel or room, and you pay between £ 1,500 and £ 2,500 for the dubious pleasure of being locked in around the clock (our room had a view of a brick wall). I suffer from mild claustrophobia and there have been times I wasn’t sure I could handle it.

The worst part is that you are not allowed to leave your room, not even for a brief walk (which is clearly difficult for the 72 tennis stars now in one of these hotels in Melbourne before the Open d ‘Australia).

A friend who stayed at one of these hotels said she once heard someone screaming, for what seemed like hours, in the next room. When she called the front desk, she was told not to worry – “they’re probably just having a panic attack”.

If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, you need a truly calm and reassuring companion like Clare.