mRNA solves – pandemic spurred a vaccine revolution

[Nicole Lurie, served as Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration; Jakob P. Cramer, Head of Clinical Development at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; and Richard J. Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, “The Vaccine Revolution: How mRNA Can Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2021, accessed 6-23-21]

A new era in vaccinology has arrived. The year 2020 will be remembered not only for the pandemic but also for the fact that it witnessed the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of technological breakthroughs in a mere 12 months. The world will emerge from the pandemic with a new arsenal of vaccine technologies at its disposal, with mRNA at the forefront. These successes in dark times provide much-needed grounds for optimism that in the future, societies will be able to respond much more rapidly, effectively, and equitably to emerging pandemic threats.