Beyond COVID-19: the promise of next-generation coronavirus vaccines

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44298-024-00043-3?utm_campaign=+61911015&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= Acknowledging the potential for a new coronavirus (CoV) to emerge, infect humans, and possibly cause disease, a NIAID research group has shared preparedness recommendations after evaluating more than 10 existing CoV vaccines and another 20 in development. Their advice, published in npj Viruses, emphasizes using a tiered approach and developing vaccines delivered via muscle injection and nasal administration. The tiered approach prioritizes, in descending order: first, creating COVID-19 vaccines that protect against all variants of concern; second, developing an effective vaccine against all sarbecoviruses (e.g. SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2); third, making a vaccine against all beta coronaviruses; and lastly, developing a universal coronavirus vaccine. However, the work will be challenging, due to the numerous obstacles CoVs pose as they evolve and diversify.