Progress at Walter Reed on New, All-Purpose COVID-19 Vaccine

Walter Reed Army Institute’s Director of Infectious Diseases Branch Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad announced on Dec. 21 a major step forward in their two-year project for a vaccine with wide-scale immunity from a broad array of human coronaviruses, including future mutations. In an interview with “Defense One,” Modjarrad described their strategy of using nano-fabrication applications to engineer artificial spikes on the 24 faces of soccer ball-shaped proteins called ferritins. (The ferritins are natural proteins that are normally used to store iron.) The artificial spikes will train the immune system, creating antibodies prepared ahead of time to fight the real viruses. Up to 24 different coronavirus strains can be accomodated in the single-shot vaccine.