US scientists are working on a coronavirus super-jab for the ‘pandemic age’

Name: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?
Uploaded: 2021-05-18T14:00:23.000Z
Duration: 6 min 18 s
Description: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

DHVI researchers say their ‘nanoparticle’ vaccine triggered an immune response to several coronaviruses in tests on monkeys

Their aim is to develop a shot that can protect against a range of such viruses, both known and unknown, to prepare for future outbreaks

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An electron microscope image shows the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Scientists are trying to create a “pan-coronavirus” vaccine. Photo: AP

Simone McCarthy

Published: 10:00pm, 18 May 2021Updated: 10:37pm, 18 May 2021

As countries race to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus and its variants, some scientists have turned their focus to a broader goal: a vaccine that protects against a range of coronaviruses, even those that have yet to emerge.

Researchers at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) in the United States say they have taken a critical step towards such a super-jab.

Their “nanoparticle” vaccine can trigger an immune response not only to the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 and several of its variants, but also to the Sars virus and related coronaviruses found in bats, according to findings published in the journal Nature last week.

The findings – based on animal tests – could have an impact on controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, the researchers say. The nanoparticle vaccine blocked monkeys from getting infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. It also provoked a stronger immune response, with higher levels of virus-fighting neutralising antibodies than seen with current vaccines.

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SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

That suggests the vaccine, if approved for humans, could be used as a booster shot to enhance immunity and counter new variants of the virus in the future, according to the researchers.