Top scientists call for universal vaccination against coronavirus

The prestigious journal Science published an editorial on Thursday calling for a global effort to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine that will remain effective against other members of the same virus family that can be transmitted to humans.

Wayne Koff, head of the Human Vaccines Project, and Seth Berkley, who lead the global vaccine alliance Gavi, said that although the COVID-19 pandemic was far from over, humanity now has the tools to end it and undertake the fastest vaccination. campaign in history.

But they warned: “More virulent and deadly coronaviruses are waiting in the wings. So the world needs a universal coronavirus vaccine.”

SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a diverse group of viruses, of which there are thousands, characterized by their crown-like appearance, derived from the vein proteins that dot their surfaces.

They can infect a wide variety of animals, from bats and pangolins to pigs and mink.

Four coronaviruses are known to cause common colds, and historically they have been considered a low priority for research.

That changed with the SARS-CoV-1 outbreak in 2002, which eventually killed about 8,000 people with a death rate of ten percent.

The respiratory syndrome of the Middle East coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was 34 percent fatal in 2012.

Koff and Berkley wrote that there is a risk that SARS-CoV-2 may change in a way that will make current vaccines less effective – as has already been seen with the South African variant – or even become ineffective.

In addition, the potential for other coronaviruses to jump the species barrier is growing.

“Modern agricultural practices, viral evolution and relentless human encroachment on the natural environment mean that there is an increasing risk that humans will encounter previously isolated animal populations that contain new strains with pandemic potential,” they said.

“With human migration, population growth, urbanization, rapid world travel and climate change accelerating the spread, it has never been so easy for outbreaks to become epidemic and escalate into pandemics.”

On the other hand, they argued that advances in biomedical research, computer and engineering sciences ushered in a new era in the discovery of vaccines.

High-performance supercomputers can help identify new “antigens” – key viral proteins that elicit immune responses, which use vaccines to train our bodies.

Databases of genetic sequences of coronaviruses from animals can be used to model how they will develop. And research on how immune systems decline with age can help improve the design of vaccines.

“It should be a global effort. A roadmap is needed to set out the core scientific issues, as well as a framework for funding and sharing information, data and resources,” scientists said.

It will not be easy, they said, but “if we choose to wait for the next coronavirus, it may be too late, as with COVID-19.”

© 2021 AFP