Researchers keen to develop low-cost COVID shot

Experts at the University of Virginia in the United States are working on a universal code vaccine that targets the spike protein of the virus that is common to all types of coronaviruses. However, a single dose of this universal covid vaccine can cost less than a dollar.

The medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has released the results of a trial of this vaccine on animals.

The results showed that the vaccine protected animals from diseases caused by two types of coronaviruses, one of which was the measles-causing virus and the other the cholera-causing virus.

The researchers said that the two coronaviruses are somewhat similar, suggesting that the vaccine could protect against several different types of COVID-19.

Medical experts say that a universal vaccine could be the best way to prevent the common coronavirus, other than the new coronavirus, which causes 25% of the world's flu cases.

The cost of the new vaccine can be very low because it is based on a genetically modified bacterium that will cost a lot less to develop than existing cod vaccines.

According to the magazine, the current cost of MRNA COVID vaccines is $10 per dose, making them difficult to use in developing countries, while a single dose of vaccines made to prevent various bacterial diseases costs less than a dollar.

The vaccine, NDV-HXP-S, can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius and is made in eggs, a method also used for flu vaccine manufacturing. These factors mean that affordable manufacturing capacity already exists in each of the countries involved with trials.

The vaccine uses a highly stabilized spike protein from the surface of the coronavirus to train the human immune system to recognize and fight infection. This modified spike protein, dubbed HexaPro and engineered by three faculty labs at UT Austin was found in earlier research to be promising for use in robust vaccines.