Designing a Coronavirus Vaccine

Researchers prepare for next year and beyond As the number of novel coronavirus infections rises daily across the globe, strategies for developing a safe and effective vaccine are rapidly moving forward. In response to this public health crisis, researchers in the Precision Vaccines Program (PVP) at Boston Children’s Hospital are on the frontlines of developing a vaccine specially targeted toward older populations—those who are at greatest risk of developing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). According to the World Health Organization, older people and people with preexisting medical conditions appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with COVID-19. “Elderly individuals have a different immune system than healthy middle-aged adults and often do not respond as robustly to immunization, so a one-size vaccine does not fit all,” said Ofer Levy, professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of the PVP. Focusing on adjuvants The current antigen used...