A Bioinformatics Protocol for Rational Design of Peptide Vaccines and the COVID-19 Rampage

Abstract

The currently ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the SARSCOV-2, interchangeably referred to as the COVID-19 infection, has in a short span of time altered the ways and means of almost all of mankind. So strong has been its effect that all human activity ceased in one way or another for a considerable time, led to significant loss of life and economic drain of untold proportions such that there are open debates on whether the world will forever now change from the way we were used to [1]. Just like in the case of the several epidemics that have plagued human society in this 21st century, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) from 2002 to 2003 [2], the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) of 2012 [3], and H1N1 influenza in 2009 [4], there are no drugs or vaccines available at this time for the SARS-CoV-2, but considering its impact efforts are under way in more than 100 labs worldwide to develop a vaccine with great urgency.