Pandemic updates: UW Medicine develops 'second-generation' Covid vaccine

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine are boasting good news after a new Covid vaccine has shown positive results in its phase three trials.

Once again during this Covid pandemic, a new vaccine technology is making headlines. Unlike an mRNA vaccine, or other types that use an inactivated virus, this vaccine is protein based. To put it in more sciencey terms, it's a "computationally designed nanoparticle vaccine," and it's the first time such a technology has gone through phase three trials. UW Medicine calls it a "second-generation Covid-19 vaccine."

Researchers have dubbed their vaccine with the super catchy name of "GPB510." This vaccine is given in two doses, four weeks apart, similar to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which it was compared to during trials. However, GPB510 produced higher levels of protective antibodies in trials than the Oxford/AstraZeneca option.