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Coronavirus Vaccine

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breadstick | 13:13 Wed 28th Oct 2020 | Health & Fitness
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Hi there

I keep hearing a vaccine for covid could be widely available by next year, however am I right in saying the virus is very similar to the common cold virus, I can't get my head around how a vaccine for a virus they know very little about can be rolled out so quickly

There has never been a vaccine for the common cold so how can one for covid be created so quickly
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Lol.....what a very good point.
Peter P will be along shortly to explain.(if you can understand him.)
Its also similar to flu though, and they can produce a vaccine for that.
Coronaviruses have been extremely difficult to develop any vaccine so far.

Flu may have similarities but it also has differences.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm#:~:text=Influenza%20(Flu)%20and%20COVID%2D19%20are%20both%20contagious%20respiratory,by%20infection%20with%20influenza%20viruses.
I can't explain why Covid specifically is comparatively easy to make a vaccine for, at least compared to a cold. Party of it, presumably, is the incentive to make one: a disease that has the potential to kill so many is far more of a threat than a disease that has the potential to make people miserable for a few days, and has prompted one of the most intense medical research programmes in history.

Also, there is no single "cold" virus, but a couple of hundred of them: you'd have to make a vaccine for each one, or a vaccine in combination. Also, the mutation rate is faster than a vaccine can keep up with.

This presumably also explains why flu vaccine is both important and also annual: the virus also mutates, so no one vaccine would be useful for long, but since flu actually *does* have the potential to kill, it's that much more important to have a vaccine for it.
// Lol.....what a very good point.
Peter P will be along shortly to explain.(if you can understand him.)//

see one oclock news today - really very good summing up

but I did stir them up with the observation that antibody levels werent be all and end all.

but

There has never been a vaccine for the common cold so how can one for covid be created so quickly

easy - common cold 200 types and easily mutates
covid so far - - - mutation but very little
and some covid bits - no mutation so it makes sense to get an antibody against the non changing bits

that OK isnt it?

Incomprehensible bit - the virus docks on a well described human cell receptor and then gains entry to the cell and KKKKKIIIIIILLLLS it and so
define the protein bit of that part - - - and get a vaccine
because the antibody should - - - interfere with docking

actually they have identified a very stable sequence ( the idea is if the sequence changes then the virus wont dock) just under the binding site and one of the vaccines is against that sequence

the one oclock summary beeb tv was the best I have seen
( following some really dire ones)
and she was on again 14 00 so they seem to be running with it



in terms of it is so quick
are they cutting corners?

No the steps taken have been adequate / good

there have been surprises - the president thinking he cd win an election if he empowered it ( use of the vaccine)
the pharma unexpectedly saying no mr president

and the unexpected thing of - it should have happened at all.
Colds are not deadly. Not as far as I'm aware anyway. I'm prone to catching them and get one or two a year.

My question would be regarding the T-cells produced after recovering from a cold.
short answer to that one
we cant really do T cell assays
this lot say they can
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53764640
and then can we have £50k please which kinda gives away the reason that they say it will get up and run

and there is A LOT of this around

we do T cell assays for renal transplantation and the French dont
and - - - the results are the same - therefore .....
o god T cells after a cold
different epitope

fambly of four you can pass a cold around indeffo
for months
and this hasnt happened in coivd
The main reason that vaccine developments is proceeding at pace is because of previous research into the structurally similar SARS and MERS virus. Research has never been from scratch and previous work has put us ahead considerably. In a broad sense, yes, there are very common features with SARS-CoV-2, SARS, MERS and even the common cold virion variants.

As to our knowledge of coronavirus, I can tell you that we know a huge amount more about the virion that we did in the early months of this years. I've worked on research of the virion in three secure research facilities in the UK on and off since March as well as continuing with my my university duties and rest assured, our knowledge of the pathogen is increasing.

The effectiveness of vaccination against covid is a difficult question to answer right now here not least because there are many differing opinions in both academia and research facilities on the subject. My opinion might not be the same as my colleagues on the matter. Nevertheless,intensive research into the way forward has never really stopped in recent months and I remain optimistic.
prof if you remain optimistic that's good news
the cold isnt caused by one virus so they can't make a vaccine for it

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