I heard today that it may not be possible to create a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 ever. Is this because it has been mutating so quickly? I also heard that the virus currently in the United States is not the same as it was in Wuhan. What are your thoughts on the mutation of the virus and the possibility of not having a vaccine?
Vaccines are being developed to target an area of the virus that is essential for the virus to remain infectious. Therefore, a mutation in this area would result in a non-infectious virus. Remember that most mutation are detrimental to the infectivity or replication of the virus. So, it probably does not matter that the viral subtype in the US is different than the subtype in Wuhan.
We probably will have a vaccine but how well it works is undetermined.