The billions of dollars invested in COVID vaccines and COVID-19 research so far are expected to yield medical and scientific dividends for decades, helping doctors battle influenza, cancer, cystic fibrosis and far more diseases.
“This is just the start,” said Dr. Judith James, vice president of clinical affairs for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. “We won’t see these dividends in their full glory for years.”
Building on the success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, scientists hope to create mRNA-based vaccines against a host of pathogens, including influenza, Zika, rabies, HIV and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which hospitalizes 3 million children under age 5 each year worldwide.
