The unprecedented success of the COVID-19 vaccines has elevated the mRNA platform and raised expectations the technology could soon be wielded against other infectious diseases.
The big picture: COVID is still the only disease for which any mRNA vaccines are approved, but dozens more are being developed and tested against the flu, RSV, HIV and even cancer.
Between the lines: Scientists had been working on mRNA vaccines for decades, but the technology, which essentially provides instructions to the immune system, got a significant boost when Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID vaccines were developed and brought to market at a record pace.