The US Army has developed a vaccine to fight all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron and Delta — as well as all prior coronaviruses and strains not yet identified.
Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce the one-stop shot in just weeks after nearly two years of research that began with the DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020, Defense One reported late Tuesday.
Infectious disease specialists at the Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research facility completed animal trials earlier this year with its spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine, or SpFN, with positive results, according to the report.
Phase 1 of its human trials are now under final review after testing against Omicron and other variants was completed earlier this month — again with promising results, the director of Walter Reed’s infectious disease branch told Defense One.
“It’s very exciting to get to this point for our entire team and I think for the entire Army as well,” Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad told the outlet.
“With Omicron, there’s no way really to escape this virus,” Modjarrad flatly told Defense One. “You’re not going to be able to avoid it. So I think pretty soon either the whole world will be vaccinated or have been infected.”