Vaccines to prevent future strains of Corona virus

Researchers say the experimental vaccine is a step toward the goal of creating a preemptive vaccine, which can help prevent a pandemic before it begins.

The Guardian reported on May 6 that scientists have just created a vaccine that promises to protect people against many strains of the Corona virus , including those currently unknown.

The experimental shot has been tested in mice, marking a shift in strategy toward "preemptive vaccination ," in which vaccines are designed and ready for production before a virus with pandemic potential emerges.

The new vaccine marks a shift in strategy toward preemptive vaccines. (Photo: REUTERS).

The vaccine is made by attaching harmless proteins from different coronaviruses to tiny nanoparticles, which are then injected to boost the body's defenses against the virus if it enters.

Because the vaccine trains the immune system to target the same proteins in many different coronaviruses, protection is extremely broad, making the vaccine effective against known and unknown viruses in the same family.

"We have shown that a relatively simple vaccine can still provide a broad response across a wide range of viruses. We must move a step closer to the goal of having a vaccine before the pandemic begins ," said Rory Hills, an expert at the University of Cambridge (UK) and the first author of the report.

Tests in mice showed the vaccine generated a broad immune response to coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, the pathogen that caused the 2003 Sars outbreak, even though proteins from that virus were not added to the vaccine's nanoparticles.

Details of the study, conducted in collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford (UK) and the California Institute of Technology (USA), are published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology .

A common coronavirus vaccine could be produced in existing facilities for microbial fermentation, Hills said, adding that researchers are working with industrial partners to find ways to scale up the process.

Nanoparticles and viral proteins can be created at different times, in different places, and mixed together to create a vaccine.

If the vaccine is found to be safe and effective in humans, it could be used as a Covid-19 booster shot, with the added benefit of protecting against other coronaviruses.