mRNA vaccines - the technology used by Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines - could be used to combat the Epstein-Barr virus, which is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the Mail on Sunday.
Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus can be asymptomatic in young children or it can cause glandular fever, which normally clears up on its own. However, in some people it can cause longer-lasting problems.
Moderna already has a vaccine for Epstein-Barr in clinical trials to prevent people from catching it in the first place, but is also trying to see if it can help MS patients.
'The link between Epstein-Barr and MS is beyond question now,' said Professor Lawrence Young, from the University of Warwick who will lead a trial of Moderna's vaccine in patients with MS. 'If we could neutralise levels of the virus in the blood with a vaccine, we believe it would be possible to reverse some of the worst symptoms of this awful disease.'