The University of Southampton have been working to develop a new vaccine to tackle covid which uses a jet of air to push it through the skin.
The jab is said to be able to give a wide range of protection as it uses DIOSvax technology which predicts how the virus could mutate rather that most existing Covid-19 vaccines which use the sequence of the RNA for the spike protein.
After Boris Johnson’s recent announcement to offer all over-18’s their third vaccine by the end of December to tackle the Omicron variant, the demand for vaccination has increased drastically.
Over 4.4 million people tried to book their booster jab within the first day, with 500,000 booking a slot before 9am.
Professor Jonathan Heeney, at the University of Cambridge who developed the vaccine with research company DIOSynVax, said: “As new variants emerge, and immunity begins to wane we need newer technologies.
“It’s vital that we continue to develop new generation vaccine candidates ready to help keep us safe from the next virus threats.
“Our vaccine is innovative, both in terms of the way it primes the immune system to respond with a broader protective response to coronaviruses, and how it is delivered.
“Crucially, it is the first step towards a universal coronavirus vaccine we are developing, protecting us not just from Covid-19 variants but from future coronaviruses.”
Volunteers from the Southampton area will be paid £785 to trial the new vaccine. Participants must have already had both of their vaccines, with the trial vaccine acting as a booster jab.
Saul Faust, clinical chief investigator and director of the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, said: "This isn't simply 'yet another' coronavirus vaccine as it has both Covid-19 variants and future coronaviruses in its sights.
"This technology could give wide-ranging protection to huge numbers of people worldwide."
