Kovacs 2026 summarizes CEPI's identification of a list of 26 priority coronaviruses to serve as a foundation for building a knowledge base to support future vaccine efforts as part of the CEPI CoV Vaccine Library initiative.
Milestone
1.2.c
Breadth-of-protection panel
In progress
High priority
Prioritize and select coronaviruses that would constitute a panel to be used in vaccine R&D for assessing breadth of protection. Selection criteria should initially focus on coronaviruses that: (1) bind to human host receptors, (2) grow in primary human cells, (3) are phylogenetically diverse, (4) have emerged in multiple species, and (5) have been antigenically characterized.
Progress Highlights
Gordon 2025 describes a NIAID- and CEPI-established panel of select betacoronaviruses to facilitate vaccine R&D:
- Sarbecoviruses: Wuhan-1, Delta, Omicron BA.4/BA.5, Omicron XBB.1.5, GX-Pangolin, SARS-CoV-1, RsSHC014, BtKY72
- Merbecoviruses: MERS-CoV, HKU4r-CoV, Neo-CoV
- Embecoviruses: OC43, HKU1