Uzbek scientists have created an edible COVID-19 vaccine synthesized from the common tomato called TOMAVAC.

Axar.az reports that according to the journal, the scientists inserted a fragment of the gene encoding the S1 antigenic protein of the coronavirus into special vectors and spliced it into the genome of tomato cells. A tomato plant that reproduces the S1 antigenic protein was obtained from these cells. As a result, tomato fruits derived from these plants were shown to synthesize a stable S1 antigenic protein and were selected as the new TOMAVAC vaccine.

The edible vaccine provides two-level protection against COVID-19.

Earlier, local media reported on the creation of a tomato-based vaccine, but it has now been tested on volunteers and animals at the Research Centre for Standardization of Medicinal Forms of the Pharmaceutical Institute in Tashkent. The research was approved by the institutional ethics board of the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics.

This is the first edible vaccine for COVID-19, according to local media. Scientists have been developing it since January 2021.