mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines: a new age

The development of vaccines based on mRNA technology involves more than a decade of hard work and important advances. Many clinical trials are underway to test these vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infections and diseases, such as cancer, cytomegalovirus, Ebola, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, influenza, malaria, rabies, and Zika. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it played a leading role in an important race to develop therapeutic strategies, mainly a vaccine, against the disease. mRNA technology allows the quick and safe creation of vaccines and large scale production. There are currently mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 (Pfizer-BioNtech® and Moderna®) that have received the emergency use authorization of regulatory entities, including the FDA in the USA, the EMA in Europe, and many others, in the process of obtaining clinical data so that they are available in a short time. On the other hand, phase 3 clinical trials continue their course. In preliminary analyses, remarkably high levels of efficacy have been reported, reaching around 95% effectiveness against mild-moderate disease and up to 100% against severe disease and death. The various clinical trials show a robust safety profile, equal to or better than that of many commonly used vaccines, although they are not free of adverse events. Despite this, there are still significant technical challenges and doubts due to the lack of long-term information. mRNA vaccines represent a new era in vaccination and one of the most important advances in health, science, and technology in recent times. In this review, we will show the basic principles of mRNA vaccines and focus on the vaccines used against COVID-19. Scientific evidence shows that mRNA vaccines are one of the best options not only as a defense against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic but also as a novel technology against various diseases.