This week’s expert: Prof Ian Frazer, Clinical Immunologist; Researcher for Vaccine Development, Faculty of Medicine, The University of QLD.

Drawn from an interview with Clinical Immunologist Prof Ian Frazer by Dr Harry Nespolon on the Healthed podcast Going Viral.

• Based on our knowledge about immunisation against other coronaviruses both in animals and humans, if we do get a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, it is unlikely to be highly immunogenic or confer long-term immunity.

• The major challenge exists because SARS-CoV-2 affects the respiratory tract, where the immune system is distinct from the rest of the body. Currently the problem is that we are trying to get a vaccine that is delivered systemically to specifically and significantly affect the immune system in the respiratory tract.