Anthony Fauci called for the development of “universal coronavirus vaccines,” relying on an “international effort” to hunt down viruses capable of infecting humans.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) Director alongside two other agency officials, David Morens and Jeffrey Taubenberger, called for the development of new vaccines in a letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
The January 27th statement – titled “Universal Coronavirus Vaccines — An Urgent Need” – argues in favor of a vaccine that could all animal coronaviruses capable of infecting humans.
“These sobering facts suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is unlikely to be eliminated, let alone eradicated; it will probably continue to circulate indefinitely in periodic outbreaks and endemics,” argue the authors as part of their rationale for dedicating resources to developing new coronavirus vaccines.
“The limitations of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines suggest that they will ultimately need to be replaced by second-generation vaccines that induce more broadly protective and more durable immunity,” they add.
To do so, the officials from NIAID, which funded bat coronavirus experiment at the Chinese Communist Party’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, call for an “international effort” to hunt down these viruses in wild and farmed animals.
This research approach is similar to studies carried out by Peter Daszak’s controversial nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, which sought “killer” coronaviruses and appeared to manipulate them to increase lethality.
“To fully characterize the coronavirus ecosystem, a collaborative international effort should include extensive viral sampling of multiple bat species in multiple locales and of wild and farmed animals — including masked palm civet cats and raccoon dogs, which are frequently infected with coronaviruses — as well as viral and serologic study of humans involved in wildlife and farmed animal trades and those who are occupationally exposed to bats,” explain the National Institutes of Health officials.
“Some animal coronaviruses that may have pandemic potential have already been identified, and many more remain to be detected,” the authors summarize.
Fauci and his co-authors emphasize how this approach can be applied “in developing broadly protective “universal” vaccines (protecting against all betacoronaviruses, and ideally all coronaviruses).”
“It would also permit study of cross-reacting epitopes, which is important for vaccine development, and support epidemiologic and serologic studies of human infection,” adds the statement.
