A new vaccine developed by researchers has the potential to protect against several types of coronavirus, many of which are not yet known.
The study was published by the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology this Monday (6). The new vaccine would work through antigens that are attached to a structure called a nanoparticle. It trains the body’s immune system to recognize at least eight different types of coronavirus, including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2.
Vaccine was tested on mice. The vaccine provoked a broad immunological response, even in mice that were pre-immunized with SARS-CoV-2.
“We have created a vaccine that offers protection against a wide range of different coronaviruses – including those we don’t even know about yet. Our focus is to create a vaccine that protects us against the next coronavirus pandemic and is ready before the pandemic even begins,” he said. Rory Hills, a researcher at the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and first author of the report, said in a statement.
“We don’t need to wait for new coronaviruses to emerge. We know enough about coronaviruses and the different immune responses to them that we can start building protective vaccines against unknown coronaviruses now,” said Mark Howarth, professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge , senior author of the study.
The work involved a collaboration between scientists at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Caltech.
