Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have developed a vaccine they believe is effective in protecting against Omicron and all Covid and SARS variants.
The jab that is reportedly effective even against previous SARS-origin viruses is the culmination of nearly two years of work at the US Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research facility, in Maryland.
Scientists at the army lab received the first DNA sequencing of Covid-19 in early 2020 and decided to work on a vaccine that would fend off not only the present strain.
Unlike existing vaccines, the Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle Covid-19 vaccine, or SpFN, utilizes a protein shaped like a soccer ball with 24 faces that allows scientists to attach spikes of various coronavirus strains.
‘It’s very exciting to get to this point for our entire team and I think for the entire Army as well,’ Dr Kayvon Modjarrad, director of Walter Reed’s infectious diseases branch, told Defense One on Tuesday.
Animal trials for SpFN wrapped up earlier this year successfully, and phase 1 of human trials that including testing against the Omicron variant, concluded this month. The results were positive and SpFN is heading into phase 2 and 3 trials.
Human trials for SpFN took longer than anticipated because scientists had to test individuals who had not been vaccinated or previously contracted the coronavirus, amid the rapid spread of the Delta and Omicron variants.
‘With Omicron, there’s no way really to escape this virus. You’re not going to be able to avoid it,’ Modjarrad said. ‘So I think pretty soon either the whole world will be vaccinated or have been infected.’
Almost all of the 2,500 staff at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research worked on developing SpFN over the past two years.
‘We decided to take a look at the long game rather than just only focusing on the original emergence of SARS, and instead understand that viruses mutate, there will be variants that emerge, future viruses that may emerge in terms of new species,’ Modjarrad said. ‘Our platform and approach will equip people to be prepared for that.’
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