[ad_1]
They believe that there is a risk that SARS-CoV-2 could mutate so that current vaccines are less effective or even ineffective.
Scientists warn that the potential for other coronaviruses to jump the species barrier is growing.
The prestigious magazine Sciences on Thursday he published an editorial calling for a global effort to develop a coronavirus
A vaccine that would remain effective against other members of the same family of viruses that could be transmitted to humans. Wayne Koff, head of the Human Vaccines Project, and Seth Berkley, who leads the global Gavi vaccine alliance, said that although the COVID-19 The pandemic was far from over, humanity now possessed the tools to end it, and it was undertaking the fastest immunization campaign in history.
But they warned: “More virulent and deadly coronavirus they are waiting in the wings. Therefore, the world needs a coronavirus vaccine.”
SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a diverse group of viruses, of which there are thousands, which are characterized by their crown-like appearance, which comes from the spiky proteins that dot their surfaces. They are capable of infecting a wide range of animals, from bats and pangolins to pigs and mink. Four coronavirus Common colds in humans are known to cause common colds and have historically been considered a low priority for research. That changed with the 2002 SARS-CoV-1 outbreak that ultimately killed about 8,000 people with a 10 percent death rate. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 was 34 percent fatal.
Koff and Berkley wrote that there is a risk that SARS-CoV-2 could mutate such that current vaccines are less effective, as has already been seen with the South African variant, or even become ineffective.
In addition, the potential for other coronavirus it is to jump the species barrier.
“Modern agricultural practices, viral evolution, and relentless human encroachment on the natural environment mean there is an increased risk of people encountering previously isolated animal populations harboring new strains with pandemic potential,” they said. “With human migration, population growth, urbanization, rapid global travel and climate change accelerating the spread, it has never been easier for outbreaks to develop into epidemics and escalate into pandemics.”
On the other hand, they argued, advances in biomedical research, computer science, and engineering sciences had ushered in a new era in vaccine discovery.
High-performance supercomputers can help identify new “antigens,” key viral proteins that induce immune responses, that vaccines use to train our bodies.
Databases of animal genetic sequences coronavirus they can be used to model how they will evolve. And research on how the immune system declines with age can help improve vaccine design.
“This should be a global effort. A roadmap is needed to establish the fundamental scientific questions, as well as a framework for funding and sharing information, data and resources,” the scientists said.
It won’t be easy, they said, but “if we decide to wait for the next coronavirus emerge, it may be too late, as it happened with COVID-19 . “
