With rising expectations for the end of the pandemic, some are preparing for a never-ending COVID.

Governments and private investors who once avoided vaccines as a backwater for unprofitable pharmaceuticals are spending billions of dollars on venerable pharmaceutical giants and emerging biotechnology. We aim to develop a longer-lasting vaccine in Massachusetts.

Manufacturers of three US-approved vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson) are testing COVID-19 booster shots to protect them from more contagious ones. The first subspecies detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

And hundreds of potential treatments and diagnostics are underway as public health leaders prepare to test and track regimens in the distant future.

“we believe [COVID-19] Tillman Gerngross, CEO of Waltham’s biotechnology startup Adagio Therapeutics, said: Last week, he said he had raised $ 336 million to develop an antibody drug for coronavirus infections. “It may not be so deadly, but it will be around.”

Increasing confidence that scientists are waging a permanent war against viruses, their variants, and similar pathogens could allow bats and other animals to infect humans and spread rapidly throughout the globe. It is partly due to the perception that it carries a virus. COVID-19 is widely believed to be such a “zoonoses” and there is no reason to think that the pattern will not repeat.

Meanwhile, the glacial pace of COVID-19 vaccination in many parts of the world, the potential for weakened immunity over time, and the rise of more resistant mutants can make millions vulnerable. .. Three vaccine makers deployed in the United States want to protect against previously emerging mutants, but other mutations to the transforming virus can create more threatening forms. ..

“Did I expect [variants] Will it be a problem right away? Andrea Carfi, head of infectious disease research at Moderna, based in Cambridge, said. “Maybe not.” But he said, “We are in a very good position” with a breakthrough messenger RNA molecule that can be easily reprogrammed to disarmament new strains.

Moderna pursues three options to enhance COVID protection: a third dose of the current vaccine, a vaccine tailored to the B.1.351 variant first seen in South Africa, and a combination of the two. I am. South African variants have reduced the effectiveness of antibodies that neutralize the virus by a factor of six, but even at that reduced level, the vaccine is still widely considered defensive.

Some epidemiologists have commented on the post-pandemic situation in which the COVID-19-causing coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 is “endemic” and continues to circulate in the world’s pockets but does not cause death. I’m starting to talk. The illness, and the blockade, lasted for over a year. Think about measles, the flu, and HIV. In that scenario, massachusetts and national vaccinated people coexist with the outbreak, but may be able to return to a relatively normal life.

If the US vaccine campaign proceeds at its current rate (most recently about 3 million doses daily), the country will achieve a “normal element” this summer, according to the Virology and Vaccine Research Center in Beth Israel. The person in charge, Dr. Danbaruch, suggested. The Deacones Medical Center has approved the one-shot J & J vaccine technology.

But he warned that the pandemic wouldn’t end as most countries lag behind the United States. Only about 10 prosperous countries, such as Israel, United Arab Emirates and Chile, have vaccinated a significant portion of their population against COVID-19. And the emergence of variants emphasizes that wildfires in parts of the globe are a threat to the whole world.

As Baruch knows everything, there is also the risk that something may go wrong with the US vaccination program. Good. Health officials have reported very rarely in a small number of recipients, as the deployment of J & J’s vaccine, which provided strong protection against serious illness and death in clinical trials, was temporarily suspended in the United States this month. We were able to investigate a potentially deadly blood clot. U.S. health officials lifted suspension on Friday shortly after an expert committee reopened vaccinations for all adults and warned on the label to see a doctor if any symptoms of concern appeared. Did.

Pfizer, Moderna, J & J over 218 million doses Vaccines have been given in the United States to date, creating a sort of split screen America between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Allows more communicative variants to gain traction. Because the variants move quickly, the virus continues to pose a risk of reinfection and new outbreaks if the vaccine’s immunity is weakened.

“It will continue to some extent,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician at the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. He was on the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory board and recommended clearing Pfizer, Modana, and J & J vaccines for emergency use. “I can’t imagine that this virus hasn’t been with us for decades.”

That outlook keeps scientists busy In the lab from Kendall Square in Kendall to the San Francisco Bay Area, from Zurich to Jerusalem. Researchers are working on more than 850 treatments and vaccines targeting COVID-19, according to a data tracker from the Washington, DC-based Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

According to a survey by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council last summer, about 100 companies and hospitals operating in Massachusetts were developing vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests. Some of those efforts probably failed while the new ones were starting, said a trading group planning to update the list soon.

Many companies are still developing the COVID-19 vaccine, even though the leading candidates are already on the market. Lexington’s TranslateBio is partnering with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine arm of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, to work on vaccines based on the same messenger RNA technology as Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Chief Executive Officer Ron Renault said: “Currently, these variants pop up quite often.”

Renault said it expects a coronavirus vaccine or booster to be given annually, like the flu vaccine. That potential health need can also create a healthy business.

Companies are also experimenting with new vaccine approaches. California biotechnology Gritstone is working on a vaccine that uses “broadly neutralizing antibodies” to defeat multiple mutants.About 60 researchers based in Cambridge Try another strategy and develop a model for deploying T cells to stop the virus.

Andrew Allen, co-founder and president of Gritstone, calls COVID “an enemy that must fight for a foreseeable future.”

Manufacturers of three US-approved vaccines are making similar progress. Barouch said J & J is testing whether a second dose of the vaccine boosts immunity at subspecies-widespread clinical trial sites in South Africa, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are also testing a third dose of the first market-launched vaccine for B.1.351 and other strains.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently told CNBC that boosters are likely to be needed 6-12 months after COVID-19 vaccination.

In addition to the “preemptive” strategy pursued by pharmaceutical companies, system engineers quickly provide pathogen testing, store testing equipment in bunker near densely populated areas, and efficiently deliver vaccines and treatments globally. We are envisioning a new infrastructure that can be distributed.

“These systems need to be as usable as they are for missiles and aircraft carriers,” said Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, using blood samples worldwide. We are developing a new immunological observatory. Track pathogens.

With relatively few people being vaccinated in South America, Africa, and even in Europe and Asia, the potential for producing toxic variants that can spread rapidly around the world is of interest. I will.

Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Public Health at Brown University, said: “There may be variants that can defeat the vaccine.”

A huge amount of resources are devoted to the field to prevent that from happening. Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced that it would allocate $ 1.7 billion from the COVID-19 bailout package to track “new and potentially dangerous strains” of coronavirus. The United Nations of governments, businesses and charities has raised $ 8 billion to expedite new treatments, vaccines and diagnoses and make them available worldwide.

Biotechnology investors are making billions more, some of which are aimed at creating what Cambridge’s flagship pioneer founder, Nouveau Afeyan, calls the “Global Pathogen Shield.” And.

Afeyan, the company created a high-flying flight and bankrolled Modana said the campaign for the new COVID-19 stock could be the first test site for the strategy. “Chasing variants is something we have to be better at,” he said.

Not everyone agrees that a permanent war against COVID-19 is inevitable. Some scientists say it depends on some unanswered questions. How long does it take to adequately vaccinate about 8 billion people around the world to control the spread of the virus? How well does the vaccine protect fully vaccinated people? And can we complete the competition to vaccinate the world before the emergence of even more annoying variants?

Dr. Peter Hotez, director of national tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said most of the globe could be vaccinated by the end of next year.

His optimism stems from the fact that mutations in the virus that have occurred so far remain within the limits of where vaccination is still effective, he said. “That means you can design booster shots that cover these variations,” he said. “So we can vaccinate how to get out of this.”

But against that optimism, most countries are now fighting widespread hesitation that threatens to leave their population pockets unvaccinated. Even with large-scale vaccinations, scientists fear that protection can diminish over time.

Needless to say, some have suggested that vaccination of 70-90% of the population can lead to “herd immunity.” COVID-19 disappears because the virus can hardly find the host. It’s currently far from forecast.

“Let’s vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible, rather than focusing on elusive numbers,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of infectious disease specialists in the United States, at a recent Whitehouse Coronavirus briefing. Said.

Robert Wiseman can be reached at [email protected].. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeRobW..Jonathan Salzmann can be reached at [email protected]..