Experts: Virus could mutate

Could force vaccine changes, like the flu

COVID-19 could mutate and prompt a need for changes to a vaccine, such as what happens yearly with influenza, experts say, but the rate of change is likely to be much less than the flu.

“If a vaccine makes an antibody and the virus mutates, then the vaccine could lose potency over time,” said Jared Silverman, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute during a Thursday MilliporeSigma webcast hosted in part with MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.

But, if a coronavirus vaccine triggers a broad range of antibody responses, that process is less likely, Silverman said.

David Onions, an independent biotechnology safety consultant, said, “It’s possible this might turn out like the flu, that we are occasionally changing the vaccines.”

He said the rate of change in the flu virus is much greater than that of COVID-19 though.

“It’s going to be more stable than say a flu virus, but perhaps not as stable as, say measles virus, which we know has been incredibly stable,” Onions said during the Thursday panel.

Several COVID-19 vaccine candidates using different technologies are currently being developed and tested, and it isn’t known yet which will be the most effective.

Onions said that is an advantage, as the varying technologies allow for rapid scaling and there could be synergy between two candidates.

“It is not yet known how many immunizations will be needed and the length of time the immunity might last,” Onions said.

He added, “There is intensive surveillance for variant viruses and, using the new vaccine technologies, it will be relatively straightforward to incorporate the variant genetic sequences into a vaccine.”

Audrey Chang of the Life Science business of Merck said unlike other viruses, COVID-19 has impacted everyone, which has brought on a lot of change.

“It’s totally changed the way that we think, the way that we talk about being vulnerable to these type of biological and scientific agents,” Chang said.

She said one of the challenges of the pandemic is promoting trust and knowledge with the public to highlight what is science-driven and what is “hype.”

“I do know that’s going to become part of our DNA as we move forward,” Chang said.

‘(A coronavirus vaccine is) going to be more stable than say a flu virus, but perhaps not as stable as, say measles virus, which we know has been incredibly stable.’

DAVID ONIONS an independent biotechnology safety consultant