Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines may help stop future pandemics

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may help guard against future viruses from animals, according to new research. Experts say current mRNA Covid-19 jabs may already offer some protection against killers like MERS or other unknown threats.In “exciting” experiments, scientists at North Carolina’s Duke University tested mRNA vaccines similar to the approved Covid jabs on lab monkeys. They found they induced antibodies that not only protected against Sars-CoV-2 – which causes Covid-19 – but could also protect against other coronaviruses, reports the Telegraph. “These results demonstrate current mRNA vaccines may provide some protection from future zoonotic betacoronavirus [coronaviruses crossing from animal to human] outbreaks, and provide a platform for further development of pan-betacoronavirus vaccines,” the researchers concluded.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology while AstraZeneca is considered a viral vector-based vaccine. The mRNA-based Covid vaccine works by tricking the body to produce a harmless piece of the virus, triggering an immune response. Scientists have long warned the next coronavirus-style pandemic may well be just “around the corner.” They say it is not a matter of “if”, but “when” another Covid-style pandemic rocks the world. In “exciting” experiments, scientists at North Carolina’s Duke University tested mRNA vaccines similar to the approved Covid jabs on lab monkeys. They found they induced antibodies that not only protected against Sars-CoV-2 – which causes Covid-19 – but could also protect against other coronaviruses, reports the Telegraph. “These results demonstrate current mRNA vaccines may provide some protection from future zoonotic betacoronavirus [coronaviruses crossing from animal to human] outbreaks, and provide a platform for further development of pan-betacoronavirus vaccines,” the researchers concluded. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology while AstraZeneca is considered a viral vector-based vaccine. The mRNA-based Covid vaccine works by tricking the body to produce a harmless piece of the virus, triggering an immune response.

Scientists have long warned the next coronavirus-style pandemic may well be just “around the corner.” They say it is not a matter of “if”, but “when” another Covid-style pandemic rocks the world. Asked if the next Disease X could potentially be around the corner, Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said in January “absolutely”. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “You could use the phrase ‘it is when, not if’. “We can’t put a handle on when, of course. The precise mechanism by which a virus comes out is always extremely unpredictable. “You can never predict precise events, so you have to do it on sort of statistical grounds probability.” “Disease X” is the name given to the unknown viruses that pose a great danger. Prof Woolhouse said every year or two scientists are discovering one or two viruses that are transmissible to humans – a rate that has been constant for more than 50 years. Sars-Cov-2 is the third threatening coronavirus to strike this century, after the viruses causing MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome).

May 23, 2021 | 12:04 am