Can the triumph of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 be extended to other viral infections of humans and domesticated animals?

Abstract

The unprecedented success of mRNA vaccines in managing the COVID-19 pandemic raises the prospect of applying the mRNA platform to other viral diseases of humans and domesticated animals, which may lead to more efficacious vaccines for some agents. We briefly discuss reasons why mRNA vaccines achieved such success against COVID-19 and indicate what other virus infections and disease conditions might also be ripe for control using mRNA vaccines. We also evaluate situations where mRNA could prove valuable to rebalance the status of immune responsiveness and achieve success as a therapeutic vaccine approach against infections that induce immunoinflammatory lesions.