Uzbek scientists working on edible vaccine against COVID-19

By Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AA) - As part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, scientists in Uzbekistan are testing "an edible transgenic tomato vaccine".

Scientists from the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics of the Academy of Sciences are working to develop an edible vaccine against the virus by changing the genetics of tomatoes, an Innovative Department Ministry statement said on Friday.

It was noted that scientists cloned the crown part of the coronavirus detected in the country and placed it in the plant cell, and as a result, these plant cells acted as a vaccine.

Seedlings in the laboratory of the center will grow tomatoes in the form of a vaccine after two months, and people who eat these tomatoes are expected to produce antibodies against the virus, added the statement.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Zabardast Buriyev, deputy director of the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, said that scientific studies on this vaccine started in January, and experiments on animals continue.

The first phase of clinical trials will begin as soon as the animal experiments are finished, he added.