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Scientists studying COVID-19 say a single vaccine could wipe out virus

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A scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) isolated from a patient in the United States, emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Reuters)

The coronavirus is not mutating quickly as it circulates through the human population, according to scientists who are closely studying the novel pathogen’s genetic code. That relative stability suggests the virus is less likely to become more or less dangerous as it spreads, and represents encouraging news for researchers hoping to create a long-lasting vaccine.

The sudden arrival of the coronavirus had scientists scrambling to study and understand the virus as quickly as possible. The good news is their research tells us that when a vaccine for the virus does arrive, it will likely be wiped out for good.

All viruses evolve over time, accumulating mutations as they replicate imperfectly inside a host’s cells in tremendous numbers and then spread through a population, with some of those mutations persisting through natural selection. The new coronavirus has proofreading machinery, however, and that reduces the “error rate” and the pace of mutation. It looks pretty much the same everywhere it has appeared, the scientists say, and there is no evidence that some strains are deadlier than others.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease covid-19, is similar to coronaviruses that circulate naturally in bats. It jumped into the human species last year in Wuhan, China, probably through an intermediate species — possibly a pangolin, an endangered anteater whose scales are trafficked for traditional medicine.

source : The Washington Post

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