BRITISH scientists reckon they can make a vaccine for coronaviruses we do not even know about yet.
Cambridge University experts are developing a pandemic-proofing jab that triggers immunity to the basic building blocks that are common across a number of coronaviruses.
It could work against different viruses and variants by targeting shared parts that do not change when they mutate.
Typical vaccines target super-specific parts of the viruses and become less effective when the bugs evolve.
Lab tests on mice suggest a single vaccine using the new technology can already defend against Sars, Covid and a number of high-risk coronaviruses known to spread between bats.
Researcher Rory Hills said: “Our focus is to create a vaccine that will protect us against the next coronavirus pandemic and have it ready before the pandemic has even started.
“We’ve created a vaccine that provides protection against a broad range of different coronaviruses – including ones we don’t even know about yet.”
Teaches immune system to attack common part of viruses
The vaccine is made by sticking together proteins that are found across a range of different viruses.
These teach the immune system to attack them, developing immunity to all viruses that contain one of the target proteins.
Writing in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the scientists suggest the jab could be “broadly protective” against most or even all coronaviruses.
They could then be updated to target a specific virus more directly if there was an outbreak.
It took around nine months to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with a public rollout starting in December 2020, and thousands of Brits died waiting.
We need to work out how to do even better than the Covid vaccine
Professor Mark Howarth
Professor Mark Howarth added: “We know enough about coronaviruses that we can get going with building vaccines against unknown ones now.
“Scientists did a great job in quickly producing an extremely effective Covid vaccine but the world still had a massive crisis with a huge number of deaths.
“We need to work out how we can do even better than that in the future and a powerful component of that is starting to build the vaccines in advance.”
Scientists believe a flu virus is the most likely cause of the next major pandemic, although coronaviruses also rank in the top threats.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A SPRING BOOSTER?
This spring’s eligible cohorts include:
- Adults aged 75 years and over by 30 June 2024
- Residents in care homes for older adults
- Individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed
Those at the highest risk will be called forward first, though you don’t need to wait for an invitation to book a booster.
You will be invited to have your booster around six months after your last dose, but you can have it as soon as three months afterwards.
If you are turning 75 between April and June, you don’t have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.
You will be given a booster dose of a vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna, both of which have been approved in the UK.
These vaccines have been updated since the original vaccines and target a different Covid-19 variant.
The booster will boost your protection against the virus and give you higher levels of antibodies against recent strains.
Source: UKHSA