Buzz
The remarkable success of the coronavirus vaccines, which provide up to a 95 percent chance of avoiding severe illness, has significantly altered the course of the U.S. pandemic.
You might be asking why we can’t create a similar vaccine for the common cold. Could the facial tissue industry be holding us back?
While a vaccine for the common cold is theoretically possible, the reason it hasn’t been developed after decades of effort is clear: With over 200 viruses responsible for colds, targeting all of them with a single vaccine is incredibly challenging. The rhinovirus, which accounts for 50 to 75 percent of all colds, has over a hundred different strains.
As immunologist Peter Barlow explained to Scientific American in 2018, the challenge of developing a single vaccine for such a diverse array of strains is a significant obstacle. “It’s incredibly difficult to create a vaccine or drug that will target all of those 160 [strains],” he remarked.
Although cold vaccine research began in earnest in the 1950s, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the numerous strains of the rhinovirus were identified as the main cause of colds, which may have actually slowed research—due to the perceived complexity of tackling such a widespread issue.
From a practical standpoint, there’s also the question of how worthwhile a vaccine would really be. While colds are annoying, they are usually short-lived, with most people recovering within a week without lasting effects. However, those with lung conditions may experience slower recovery or complications. Scientists often focus on vaccines for diseases that pose a serious threat to health or life, such as measles, influenza, polio, and pneumonia.
For a cold vaccine to be effective, it would need to target several virus strains to offer at least some protection against the most common ones. This is certainly achievable: The pneumonia vaccine covers 23 different bacterial strains. Alternatively, scientists might one day pinpoint parts of the viral structure that are shared across many cold-causing viruses and develop a vaccine targeting those components.
In the meantime, the best methods to prevent colds are ones we’ve become familiar with over the past year. Washing hands, avoiding those showing symptoms, and covering our mouths when coughing or sneezing can all help reduce transmission.
