Scientists say the eventual coronavirus vaccine could provide years of protection

Scientists around the world are currently racing to find an effective vaccine against coronavirus - and they may have made a breakthrough.

Those studying the genetic code of the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus have said that it doesn't appear to be mutating very quickly, meaning that any vaccine developed against the virus may remain effective in the long term.

Speaking to the Washington Post, molecular geneticist Peter Thielen of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory said that the strains currently affecting people in the USA only have around four to 10 genetic variations between the original strain that emerged in Wuhan, China.

"That's a relatively small number of mutations for having passed through a large number of people," he explained.

"At this point the mutation rate of the virus would suggest that the vaccine developed for SARS-CoV-2 would be a single vaccine, rather than a new vaccine every year like the flu vaccine."

Vaccine will take around 18 months

Thielen compared the eventual vaccine to ones used to immunise patients long-term, such as measles.

Flu vaccines, on the other hand, have to be administered more regularly. Stanley Perlman, of the University of Iowa, told the Post that coronavirus does not have the same advantages as flu does when it comes to mutating.

"Flu does have one trick up its sleeve that coronaviruses do not have - the flu virus genome is broken up into several segments, each of which codes for a gene," he said.

"When two flu viruses are in the same cell, they can swap some segments, potentially creating a new combination instantly - this is how the H1N1 'swine' flu originated."

While experts have said that small viral mutations can lead to outsized effects in clinical outcomes, they have pointed out that there's as yet been no indication of this happening with the coronavirus.

Death rates in places like Italy have been the effect of situational factors rather than mutations of the virus. Experts still estimate, however, that an effective coronavirus vaccine could take around 18 months to reach the public.

Coronavirus: the facts

What is coronavirus?

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can affect lungs and airways. It is caused by a virus called coronavirus.

What caused coronavirus?

The outbreak started in Wuhan in China in December 2019 and it is thought that the virus, like others of its kind, has come from animals.

How is it spread?

As this is such a new illness, experts still aren’t sure how it is spread. But, similar viruses are spread in cough droplets. Therefore, covering your nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing, and disposing of used tissues straight away is advised. Viruses like coronavirus cannot live outside the body for very long.

What are the symptoms?