Scientists say that the development of a universal vaccine that can simultaneously protect against cold, flu, Covid and allergies is now very close to becoming a reality.
Researchers at Stanford Medicine in the United States have tested a vaccine formula on mice that provides protection against various respiratory viral diseases, bacteria that cause sepsis and even household dust mites.
The vaccine is administered as a nasal spray and maintains broad protective effects in the lungs for several months.
If the same vaccine is successfully developed for humans, it could eliminate the need for multiple shots administered every year to prevent respiratory illnesses during winter, and it may also prove effective against new pandemics that emerge in the future.
According to Dr Bali Pulendran, Director of the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection at Stanford Medicine and the lead author of the research, in his view this is a true universal vaccine against diverse respiratory diseases.
