Cell host & microbe
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The viruses causing the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003 and current COVID-19 pandemic are related betacoronaviruses. What insights were learned from SARS that can inform SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development? Focusing on important lessons from SARS vaccine development and two SARS vaccines evaluated in humans may guide SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design, testing, and implementation.
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The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in China and rapidly spread worldwide. To prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination, understanding the in vivo characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 is a high priority. We report a ferret model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission that recapitulates aspects of human disease. ⋯ Furthermore, a few naive indirect contact ferrets were positive for viral RNA, suggesting airborne transmission. Viral antigens were detected in nasal turbinate, trachea, lungs, and intestine with acute bronchiolitis present in infected lungs. Thus, ferrets represent an infection and transmission animal model of COVID-19 that may facilitate development of SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics and vaccines.
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Cell host & microbe · May 2020
The Challenges of Vaccine Development against a New Virus during a Pandemic.
The rapid emergence of a highly pathogenic, readily transmissible coronavirus has resulted in a global pandemic, affecting millions and destabilizing economies. This catastrophe triggered a clarion call for the immediate deployment of a protective vaccine. We describe the unique challenges of developing a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in a pandemic setting.