The Future of Vaccinology

ABSTRACT

No aspect of pediatric medicine has been as impactful on the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities as the vaccines that now routinely prevent 16 diseases that were once commonplace.1 Current vaccines include those based on live attenuated viruses (eg, varicella, rotovirus), killed whole organism (eg, rabies, hepatitis A), polysaccharide or native proteins (eg, pneumococcal, meningococcal), and recombinant or whole molecular modification (eg, hepatitis B, herpes zoster). Many of these are directed at infectious diseases, but many novel vaccines are being developed to treat or prevent allergies, autoimmune disorders, cancers, and even Alzheimer's disease.1 Following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012, both deadly coronavirus infections, investigators spent subsequent years developing and perfecting innovative vaccines including adenovirus vector vaccines and messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. [...]Altimmune has developed an adenovirus-vectored intranasal vaccine, now in phase I clinical trials, that generates a broad IgG, mucosal IgA, and Tcell response to SARS-CoV-2 and is stable at room temperature.5 Altimmune is also in clinical trials for intranasal vaccines for anthrax and influenza.