Application Research on mRNA Vaccine Technology in Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

Compared with inactivated, subunit, and DNA nucleic-acid approaches, mRNA vaccines do not enter the nucleus and carry no risk of genomic integration; they are translated in the cytoplasm and can jointly induce humoral and cellular immunity. In vitro transcription and cell-free production also markedly shorten the interval from sequence acquisition to vaccine output. This paper summarizes the configurations of non-replicating, self-amplifying, and circular RNA vaccines, as well as the characteristics of PRR-mediated immune activation, and reviews key process technologies including the 5′ cap, UTRs, pseudouridine modification, dsRNA removal, and LNP delivery. At the application level, the discussion centers on the billion-scale administration of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines, booster immunization, and variant-component updating, while also reviewing progress and limitations in pipelines for influenza, rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, HIV, hepatitis B, and other diseases, and analyzing their public health significance in shortening emergency response windows and tracking strain drift. IVT purity, ultracold-chain requirements, and accessibility in resource-limited regions remain the main constraints. Self-amplifying/circular RNA, multivalent combination vaccines, and inhalable mucosal delivery may help move this platform from a “single pandemic response” toward broader infectious disease prevention and control practice.