Top scientists call for universal coronavirus vaccine

The prestigious journal Science on Feb. 18 published an editorial calling for a global effort to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine that would remain effective against other members of the same virus family that might cross over to humans.

Wayne Koff, head of the Human Vaccines Project, and Seth Berkley, who leads the global vaccine alliance Gavi, said that although the COVID-19 pandemic was far from over, humanity now possessed the tools to end it and was undertaking the most rapid immunization campaign in history.

But, they warned: "More virulent and deadly coronaviruses are waiting in the wings. Thus, 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, which comes from the spike proteins that dot their surfaces.

They are capable of infecting a wide range of animals, from bats and pangolins to pigs and mink.

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

That changed with the 2002 SARS-CoV-1 outbreak that eventually killed some 8,000 people with a fatality rate of 10 percent.

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

Koff and Berkley wrote there was a risk that SARS-CoV-2 may mutate in ways that will render current vaccines less effective - as has already been seen with the South African variant - or even become ineffective.

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

"Modern agricultural practices, viral evolution, and relentless human encroachment on the natural environment mean there is an...