In their work, published in the journal EBioMedicine, the scientists said they had used the experience of fighting SARS and MERS viruses to study this vaccine.

"Both of these pathogens are close relatives of SARS-CoV-2, and when studying they found that one of their cell membrane proteins, S-protein, is important for the formation of an immune response. It can be said that we already knew in advance how to fight the new strain of virus, "said as‌sociate Professor Andrea Gambotto, University of Pittsburgh, one of the authors of the study.

In laboratory experiments with mice, scientists have determined that a potential vaccine, when introduced into the body, is capable of forming antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2, enough to disable the virus.

The researchers also used a new method to deliver the drug, called the microneedle array, to increase its effectiveness. This array is a fingertip-sized patch of 400 needles that provides spike protein fragments into the skin where the immune response is strongest.

When tested in mice, this potential vaccine produced a surge of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 within two weeks of the microneedle injection.

Compared to the candidate candidate for a clinical trial of mRNA vaccine, the vaccine described in this article - which the authors are calling PittCoVacc, short for Pittsburgh Coronavirus Vaccine - follows the approach. more established, using the laboratory-made proteins for immunity. It is similar to the way current flu shots work.

Scientists are now hoping to get permission to conduct clinical trials of vaccines on volunteers. 

The World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of coronavirus spread from China as a pandemic. According to the latest data, more than 1 million cases have been reported worldwide, more than 50,000 people have di‌ed.