Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine in the United States may have discovered a new “universal vaccine” that protects against the various main forms of coronavirus, including the common cold. The immune system will be an important first step in preventing new epidemics or outbreaks of respiratory viral diseases, according to a preliminary version of the study published today in the journal Nature.

According to the research, vaccination in monkeys with vaccines using Sars-Cov-2 RBD nanoparticles (Receptor Compulsory Domain), along with alum adjuvants, was able to produce multiple antibodies against the beta corona virus family. This type of coronavirus is responsible for the same outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which appeared in China, in 2002; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), identified in India, in 2013; And the current Covid-19 epidemic.

It will also protect immunizations from key specific variants of the new coronavirus, such as the British (b 1.1.7), the Brazilian (p.1) and South Africa (b 1.351). The study also found an immune response in monkeys to SARS-Cov-1 (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and the batCoVs strain.

The research indicates that vaccines containing mRNA and modified kernel technology are also effective, albeit to a lesser extent, against the novel coronavirus and against the batCoV strain found in animals. They can also prevent the transmission of new types of coronavirus from animals to humans.

For now, the tests have only been applied to monkeys and the study has been published in a preliminary version. The research has not yet undergone review by the scientific community on the evidence presented prior to its final release.

Source: Agência Estado

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