Stability of Coronavirus Supports Success of a Possible Vaccination

While scientists note that the creation of a viable vaccine for the novel coronavirus is 12 to 18 months away, those studying its genetic code have found the virus to be relatively stable, meaning it does not change significantly when passing through different populations. This bodes well for the creation of a successful vaccination that would offer long-term protection, similar to the vaccines for chickenpox and measles, and unlike the flu immunization, which requires new versions each year to adapt to the changing influenza virus. With the novel coronavirus appearing similarly across the globe, different strains with varying levels of morbidity/mortality do not seem to be present. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory have investigated more than 1,000 samples of the virus, according to the Washington Post. Read more here.