A new “future proof” vaccine is effective against all variants of Covid-19 and could offer protection against all known coronaviruses, according to a study.
Scientists from Cambridge University and DIOSynVax have created a jab using an antigen - a substance that causes the immune system to produce antibodies – that could protect against an even greater range of current and future coronaviruses.
It offers protection against all known variants of Covid-19 as well as other major coronaviruses, including those that caused the first SARS epidemic in 2002. This is despite the fact it was designed in early 2020, well before the emergence of variants such as Omicron and Delta.
Researchers found that the vaccine provided a provided a strong immune response in mice, rabbits and guineau pigs by targeting parts of the virus that are required for replication. Human trials are already underway in Southampton and Cambridge.
The jab works by attacking the coronaviruses’ “achilles heel”, scientists said. Rather than targeting the virus’ spike proteins, the Cambridge vaccine targets the other critical regions of the virus that it needs to complete its virus life cycle.
Professor Jonathan Heeney from Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, who led the research, said: “This approach allows us to have a vaccine with a broad effect that viruses will have trouble getting around.”
He said the public health risk of “spillover” viruses from animals to humans necessitated a vaccine that could provide wide-ranging protection.
“In nature, there are lots of these viruses just waiting for an accident to happen. We wanted to come up with a vaccine that wouldn’t only protect against SARS-CoV-2, but all its relatives.”
All currently available vaccines, such as the seasonal flu vaccine and existing Covid-19 vaccines, are based on virus strains or variants that arose at some point in the past, researchers noted.
“However, viruses are mutating and changing all the time,” said Prof Heeney. “Current vaccines are based on a specific isolate or variant that occurred in the past, it’s possible that a new variant will have arisen by the time we get to the point that the vaccine is manufactured, tested and can be used by people.”
Results of the trial were published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering on Monday.
