2024 Anderson

Infectious Disease Vaccines–A Status Quo

According to the World Health Organization, vaccines are estimated to save 2 to 3 million lives each year and prevent an economic burden of 500,000 million USD–what an achievement by modern medical science!

Some of the pioneers of lipid nanoparticles, Daniel G. Anderson and Robert Langer, along with colleagues, wrote an intriguing review about the status quo and the challenges of modern vaccination technology. I highly recommend reading this review if you are in the nanomedicine business.

What are the challenges we still face?

We need to maximize immune response and reduce reactogenicity, e.g., through innovative antigen designs, optimized immunization protocols, and advanced delivery vehicles.

We need to achieve a broad and durable immune response to lower the need for yearly boosters for highly mutating pathogens like influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

We need to optimize the safety, compliance, and production of vaccines. Maybe we should adjust dosage and vaccination strategies depending on the age, health status, and pre-existing immunity of the patient. New routes of administration, such as intranasal and oral vaccination, will definitely help with the compliance of the patients.

Overall, this very well-written review gives a deep and thoughtful insight into a highly active field of research.