Jan 29, 2021 7:00am AAVCOVID vaccine candidates from Mass General Brigham elicited immune responses to COVID-19 in mouse models of aging and obesity as well as in nonhuman primates. (Pixabay) Among the logistical challenges facing public health agencies that are struggling to vaccinate the masses against COVID-19 is that the two mRNA shots on the market, from Moderna and Pfizer, need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures. Now, an alternative technology for shielding patients from the novel coronavirus—one that doesn’t pose that storage challenge—is showing early promise. Two vaccine candidates built from gene-therapy technology and developed by Mass General Brigham scientists elicited strong immune responses in mouse and nonhuman primate models, the researchers reported on the journal preprint site bioRxiv. The team received a grant of up to $2.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further develop the vaccine technology, called AAVCOVID.