We have faced many variants of COVID-19 over the past year, braving through both the Delta and Omicron variants. With these new challenges, we are starting to wonder, “Will it ever end?”

But don’t worry! There is one catch-all solution to this problem: a universal coronavirus vaccine.

Universal coronavirus vaccines are aimed at creating immunity for both the current COVID variants and variants in the future.

Scientists hope to create this vaccine by identifying parts of the virus’s spike protein that are similar in coronaviruses. The parts of the protein that generate the largest antibody response will be attached to a nanoparticle in order to simulate a whole virus, without actually being harmful to the patient. These proteins will then be injected into patients, leading to the immune system’s manufacturing of antibodies that will later protect against the real virus.

Nanoparticles are especially useful to simulate viruses because they can carry fragments from a multitude of coronaviruses. The immune system can recognize these similar viruses and generate antibodies that can act on several of these viruses instead of antibodies that only work against a single virus. Using this process can result in saved time and resources.

Although not much research on this new type of vaccine is public, I am sure that more information will soon be available! This blog post will be updated as more information is released.