Voice for Science and Solidarity: Q&A #24 – Should new vaccines be developed to address the potential threat of other bat coronaviruses to human health?

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill, with millions of people infected and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The virus responsible for the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, is a member of the coronavirus family, which includes other viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past, such as SARS and MERS. However, there are many other coronaviruses that infect animals, including bats, which are thought to be the natural reservoir for many of these viruses. In this Q&A, we explore whether other bat coronaviruses pose a threat to human health and whether new vaccines ought to be developed.

Are other bat coronaviruses a threat to human health?

There are many different types of coronaviruses that infect bats, and some of these have been shown to be closely related to the viruses that cause SARS and COVID-19. However, it is important to note that just because a virus is related to a human pathogen does not mean that it poses a threat to human health. In fact, most bat coronaviruses are not known to cause disease in humans.

That being said, there is always a risk that a new virus could emerge from bats or other animals and cause a pandemic. This is because viruses can mutate and evolve rapidly, and they can also jump from one species to another. In order to reduce this risk, it is important to monitor bat populations and to study the viruses that they carry. This can help us to identify new viruses before they become a threat to human health.

Should new vaccines be developed for bat coronaviruses?

Currently, there are no vaccines available for any of the bat coronaviruses that have been identified. However, it is not clear whether developing vaccines for these viruses would be a useful strategy for preventing future pandemics. This is because there are so many different types of coronaviruses that infect bats, and it would be difficult to develop a vaccine that would be effective against all of them.

Furthermore, it is not clear how much of a threat these viruses pose to human health. While it is important to monitor bat populations and study the viruses that they carry, it may not be necessary to develop vaccines for all of these viruses. Instead, it may be more useful to focus on developing vaccines for the viruses that are most closely related to SARS and COVID-19, as these are the viruses that are most likely to cause future pandemics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while there are many different types of coronaviruses that infect bats, most of these viruses are not known to cause disease in humans. However, there is always a risk that a new virus could emerge from bats or other animals and cause a pandemic. Therefore, it is important to monitor bat populations and study the viruses that they carry in order to identify new viruses before they become a threat to human health.

While there are currently no vaccines available for any of the bat coronaviruses that have been identified, it is not clear whether developing vaccines for these viruses would be a useful strategy for preventing future pandemics. Instead, it may be more useful to focus on developing vaccines for the viruses that are most closely related to SARS and COVID-19, as these are the viruses that are most likely to cause future pandemics

Original article Teaser

Q&A #24 : Are other bat coronaviruses posing a threat to human health, even to the extent that new vaccines ought to be developed? | Voice for Science and Solidarity

Question:Are other bat coronaviruses posing a threat to human health, even to the extent that new vaccines ought to be developed as recently suggested in: https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1010828?Answer:This is yet another example of great scientists drawing the wrong conclusions. It is completely distracting us from the real issue, which is the increasing resistance of the ever-evolving circulating Omicron subvariants to all potentially neutralizing antibodies (Abs) in vaccinees no longer showing overt symptoms of C-19 disease. This unprecedented phenomenon will soon put tremendous pressure on the virulence-inhibiting activity of the infection-enhancing antibodies. Unless I am stupid, this is now rapidly paving the way for a global health disaster as always predicted. What is the conclusion of these authors and why are they so

Details to Q&A #24 : Are other bat coronaviruses posing a threat to human health, even to the extent that new vaccines ought to be developed? | Voice for Science and Solidarity