Is a Universal COVID-19 Vaccine Feasible?

COVID-19 remains prevalent across the United States with more than 69,000 cases reported daily. So how do we finally put the global pandemic to bed? Well, a universal vaccine that is effective against all mutations of the novel coronavirus may be the answer, and researchers believe this is possible, all thanks to a nanoparticle. While researching a universal flu vaccine, researchers at the California Institute of Technology pivoted to begin work on a universal COVID-19 vaccine. Their vaccine uses a mosaic nanoparticle, or a protein with spikes similar to the novel coronavirus, designed to adhere to not only the eight coronaviruses within the protein but also other coronaviruses not included in the vaccine. Research, which was published in Science, showed that the mosaic nanoparticle vaccine offered protection to a wide variety of coronaviruses in mice and monkeys. Click here to read more.