Statement of Purpose Problem: One of the main problems with the common cold is that there are over 200 viruses that can cause the cold virus, and trying to put all the proteins of those viruses into one vaccine has lately been impossible. Also each anti-viral vaccine has it’s own side effects. It isn't a single disease and therefore each case can be different and would require different treatments. Also, viruses use their own cells to replicate making it hard for vaccines to intervene in those cells, unlike some of the other diseases. On top of that, many scientists don’t want to put in the time or energy to cure a such a low impact and low risk disease. The cold is also always evolving into different forms due to varying environments and exposed circumstances. The strains that circulate in a population also change from year-to-year, and unlike influenza, the strains of colds that are circulating aren't really kept track of, as they're less of a public health threat.
Previous Attempted Solutions: Because the Common Cold is seemingly impossible to create a vaccine for, attempts to create a vaccine have been short lived. “Cures” for the Common have come in the form of symptom suppressants and alternative medicines. These methods do help in the short term, but are not entirely effective and carry many side effects that worry the general public. Cold medicines like Nyquil and Dayquil are the most popular form of cold management, but don't do much past “numbing” the symptoms. They work through constricting blood vessels in affected areas to reduce swelling, and numb the cough reflex and pain caused by the pressure. Other notable previous “solutions” include bleeding, leeches, zinc, and vitamin C. Vitamin C doesntdoesn't do much to prevent an infection, but will help the infection pass.
Current Limitations/Present Need: The limitation/problem is that there are so many different types of cold viruses that it is difficult to create a vaccine that defends from all the types of colds. There are vaccines for many types of viruses but there are so many that it is hard to make a vaccine that will effectively eradicate all the viruses. There are many medicines to help reduce the effects of the common cold such as Nyquil or Tylenol but there is no cure for the common cold. Once a person gets a cold, there is no cure for it.