Vaccine Research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Currently, there is no proven cure for COVID-19. Treatments of the infections are based similar to the kind of care given for influenza, cold, bronchitis and other severe respiratory illnesses. To find a possoble vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, researchers make use of published genomes of the virus. Several vaccine projects are ongoing including projects supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH is involved in the development of an RNA vaccine matching a spike of the coronavirus surface. Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies started to work on developing a vaccine, using the same technologies as for its experimental Ebola vaccine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced that it would collaborate with Janssen and, later, Sanofi Pasteur to develop a vaccine. Recently, the Univerity of Utrecht and Erasmus MC in the Netherlands announced that researchers found antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 that could lead to a new vaccine. Inovio Pharmaceuticals is developing a DNA-based vaccination and collaborating with a Chinese firm, planning human clinical trials in 2020. In Australia, the University of Queensland is investigating the potential of a molecular clamp vaccine that would genetically modify viral proteins in order to stimulate an immune reaction. The International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada is also working on a vaccine.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
There is currently also is no specific vaccine or treatment for the MERS disease. The World Health Organization recommends that those who come in contact with camels wash their hands frequently and do not touch sick camels and that camel-based food products be appropriately cooked.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
As of today, there is no cure or protective vaccine for SARS that has been shown to be both safe and effective in humans. It has been said that the identification and development of novel vaccines and medicines to treat SARS is a key priority for governments and public health agencies around the world. However, a vaccine is not on the market yet.