Childhood Vaccines Have Prevented:
What You Need to Know About:
Disease Specific Expertise
Bacterial infections: Alfredo Torres, Ph.D., describes how his lab is developing vaccines against pathogenic E. coli and how the method can be applied to Burkholderia infections.
COVID-19: Kizzmekia Corbett, Ph.D., of the NIH's COVID-19 Response Team discusses her role in the development and testing of a spike-encoding mRNA vaccine for coronavirus.
Dengue: Stephen Thomas, M.D., explores the latest research on the mosquito-borne illness dengue and dengue vaccine development.
Fungal disease: The rise of antifungal resistance has made treatment of fungal diseases increasingly difficult. Scientists are exploring tactics for generating vaccines against common fungal pathogens.
Human immunodeficiency virus: Dan Barouch, M.D., Ph.D., lays out the unique challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and discusses the ongoing clinical trial with an adenovirus-based vaccine developed in his lab.
Human papillomavirus: Doug Lowy, M.D., explains how research of bovine papillomavirus led to the development of an HPV vaccine.
Influenza: There are now several "universal" flu vaccine candidates in clinical trials that aim to provide broader and longer-lasting influenza protection.
Malaria: Malaria is one of humanity’s oldest foes. What will it take to defeat it? New vaccines, coupled with other preventive tactics, will be key.
Measles: Measles and similar epidemics can arise in populations even where most people have been vaccinated, in part, due to a false sense the disease has been eliminated. Addressing misconceptions is the first step to amending this.
Mpox: Reeti Khare, Ph.D., answers questions about the mpox (formerly called monkeypox) outbreak and how the smallpox vaccine can offer partial protection against the virus.
Pertussis: Unlike other childhood vaccine preventable diseases, the number of cases of pertussis has increased since the 1980s. The reasons for this increase are complex.
Plague: A new mRNA vaccine protects mice from the infection by Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague. What do the findings mean for the development of antibacterial mRNA vaccines?
Polio: The quest to eradicate polio has demonstrated the life-saving power of vaccines and global collaboration.
Tick-borne disease: TWiM discusses an mRNA vaccine that induces antibodies against tick proteins and prevents transmission of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi.
Yellow Fever: Derick Kimathi, Ph.D., is investigating the safety and efficacy of using smaller doses of yellow fever vaccine to induce similar immunologic protection as standard dose.
Why Don't We Have a Vaccine For...: Despite years of effort, we still don’t have vaccines against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Why not? And how can researchers move past the hurdles?
How Vaccines Are Made
Ever since Edward Jenner first formalized the vaccination process in the late 18th century, scientists have been experimenting with different approaches for developing effective vaccines. In 2025, existing vaccine technologies utilize a wide variety of related, sometimes overlapping, methods, each of which comes with benefits and costs, and ongoing research into needleless delivery methods are gaining traction.
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| Whole-Pathogen Vaccines | Viral Vectors | Subunit Vaccine | Nucleic Acids | |||||||
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| ATTENUATED | INACTIVATED | REPLICATING | NON-REPLICATING | PROTEIN SUBUNIT | POLYSACCHARIDE / CONJUGATE | TOXOID | VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES | RNA | DNA | |
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Description |
Living pathogen that has been weakened (but not killed) in the laboratory | Whole pathogen killed by heat, chemicals or radiation | A carrier virus that is able to infect human cells (such as an adenovirus) is introduced carrying genetic material that codes for the specific viral antigen in order to elicit the immune response. | A carrier virus (such as an adenovirus) that is able to infect human cells but cannot replicate is introduced carrying genetic material that codes for the specific viral antigen in order to elicit the immune response. | Purified viral antigens | Surface polysaccharide antigens, primarily from bacterial pathogens | Chemically inactivated toxins from pathogen | Particles that contain virus surface proteins that can elicit an immune response, but lack viral genetic material (so cannot replicate) | mRNA injected directly into muscle tissue and translated into specific pathogen protein antigens by host cellular machinery. | Plasmid containing pathogen DNA that encodes for specific antigens, injected directly into cellular tissue. |
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Examples |
MMR vaccine | Polio vaccine, Rabies vaccine, Typhoid vaccine | Animal vaccines such as for Rift Valley fever virus, avian influenza | Animal vaccines such as for Rift Valley fever virus, avian influenza | Candidate Zika vaccine | Candidate vaccines for SARS, Bird flu (H5N1, H1N1), Zika | Diphtheria vaccine, Tetanus vaccine | Human papillomavirus vaccine | Candidate Zika vaccine | Candidate vaccines for SARS, Bird flu (H5N1, H1N1), Zika |
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Pros |
Elicits strong immune response | Contains actual pathogen so will direct proper immune response | Efficient delivery of genetic material into host cells and tissues | Efficient delivery of genetic material into host cells and tissues | No chance of infection by pathogen | No chance of infection by pathogen | Raise direct immune response to pathogenic component | Easy access into cells | Directs the expression of viral antigens without threat of viral infection or need for integration into host DNA | Directs the expression of viral antigens without threat of viral infection |
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Cons |
Slight potential for microbe reactivation | May require an adjuvant to stimulate complete immune response | May be suppressed by existing host immune response | May be suppressed by existing host immune response | Requires efficient delivery mechanism that protects against degradation | May require an adjuvant to stimulate complete immune response | May require an adjuvant to stimulate complete immune response | May be suppressed by existing host immune response | Difficult delivery into cells | Difficult delivery into cells |
Can Vaccines Be Delivered Without Needles?
Scientists developed a printer that generates dissolvable microneedle vaccine patches. What are the implications for vaccine distribution and administration?
No one likes getting a shot. Dissolvable microneedle vaccine patches consist of tiny structures (known as microneedles) that dissolve when they enter the skin, releasing an antigen that then triggers an immune response.These skin patches are effective, safe and virtually painless. Why aren’t they a reality yet?
Infection Prevention Beyond Vaccines
Effective infection prevention strategies involve many layers and depend on multidisciplinary research and expertise. This includes vaccines, pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical interventions, understanding transmission dynamics and managing built environments. Read on to learn more about comprehensive strategies to keep yourself and your communities safe.