| abstract |
Live attenuated viruses for protection against the novel coronavirus which emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China, designated as Sars-CoV-2 by the World Health Organization (WHO) are provided. The live attenuated chimeric virus strains are based on a live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV), used a master backbone, which includes deletion of the viral virulence element, the NS1 (non-structural protein 1) (DeLNS1), engineered to express one or more antigens of the Sars-CoV-2 (herein, CoV2Ag). The chimeric virus strain is referred to generally herein, as DelNS1-Sars-CoV-2-CoV2Ag. The DelNS1-Sars-CoV-2-CoV2Ag strain preferably shows spontaneous cold adaption with preference to grow at 30-33° C. The DelNS1-Sars-CoV-2-CoV2Ag strain can be used to protect a subject in need thereof, against a challenge of Sars-CoV-2. DelNS1-Sars-CoV-2-CoV2Ag is an important strategy for making highly attenuated and immunogenic live attenuated vaccines with the ability to induce protective immunity against Sars-CoV-2. |