--- title: MERS Virus: Why Isn't There A Vaccine? description: A cure for MERS just isn't profitable. canonical: https://time.com/3926436/mers-vaccine/ author: Salima Koroma article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-18T18:56:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:20:00.625Z article:section: Health og:title: Why Isn't There a Vaccine for the MERS Virus? og:description: Here are three key reasons og:url: https://time.com/3926436/mers-vaccine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9d56a459f281a34/6988552de20a870e9ca8be75/gettyimages-4758130902.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4020 og:image:height: 2261 og:image:alt: Alarm Spreads For MERS In South Korea og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Isn't There a Vaccine for the MERS Virus? twitter:description: Here are three key reasons twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9d56a459f281a34/6988552de20a870e9ca8be75/gettyimages-4758130902.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # #theBrief: Why Isn't There a Vaccine for the MERS Virus? > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Jun 18, 2015 6:56 PM UTC  SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JUNE 04: A young girl wears mask as a precaution against the MERS virus at the Gyeongbok palace on June 4, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Two deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been confirmed on June 2, 2015, and the number of confirmed local patients have risen to 35 as of June 4, 2015\. More than 700 schools from kindergartens to colleges have been closed. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JUNE 04: A young girl wears mask as a precaution against the MERS virus at the Gyeongbok palace on June 4, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Two deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been confirmed on June 2, 2015, and the number of confirmed local patients have risen to 35 as of June 4, 2015\. More than 700 schools from kindergartens to colleges have been closed. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) Chung Sung-Jun—Getty Images by [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Jun 18, 2015 6:56 PM UTC The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome—MERS—has infected at least 165 people and has killed at least 23 in South Korea, but there still isn’t a vaccine to prevent or treat it. And there might not be for a very long time. MERS is a virus similar to SARS, and easily confused with the flu or common cold. It’s also highly contagious.The disease was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and since then, has shown up in 25 different countries. But a vaccine could be a long way off. 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