How Do Viral Evolution and Genetic Diversity Shape Vaccine Development?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Rodney Rohde
In this program:
How do viral evolution and genetic diversity impact vaccine development? Medical laboratory scientist Dr. Rodney Rohde discusses vaccine development, how mRNA vaccines transformed vaccine development, and how vaccine access can vary worldwide.
Transcript
Interviewer:
So what are the implications of viral evolution and genetic diversity on vaccine efficacy and the development of next-generation vaccines against emerging infectious diseases?
Dr. Rodney Rohde:
Yeah, I think professionally and personally, and I know a lot of colleagues would agree with me, I think one of the more exciting things that came out of COVID-19 was mRNA technology and how we really pushed through those vaccines. Because those mRNA vaccines are different than our older school vaccines. And it's become really important because your question gets to the point quickly about viral evolution and genetic diversity. So viruses, again, are diabolical. They do not care what you look like, how much money you make, where you come from. They are going to keep on keeping on, right? Viruses are going to virus. And so in the past, we did the best we could, for example, with flu vaccines, we monitored the seasons, we typed, sequenced and typed those different variants of different H1N1 or H5N1 or whatever strain or variant was circulating at the very tail end of the season, the flu season. And then that's what our next season's components would be in that vaccine. So it was basically a really good, best educated prediction using prior data. Well, with mRNA technology we can almost adapt in real time to virus evolution. Not perfect. I'm not saying they're perfect, but they are the fastest tool we have had in our toolbox in my lifetime.
And it may continue to improve, I hope it does going forward, to where one day that we can adapt and create mRNA vaccines to an immediate threat so that we can get on top of that much quicker. I still think what happened with the vaccine issues that we had with COVID was more about getting through the red tape, and then it became an issue of vaccine...oh, what's the good word I want to use, vaccine access, right? So if you live in certain countries, you got it because the U.S. or different places produce their own vaccines. But if you were in other countries, perhaps Latin America or parts of Asia or Africa or wherever, you were relying on other countries to get them to you, certainly that creates some vaccine inequities. And so I think that's a little off your question there, but I think part of the problem was not just in the development of vaccines and the efficacy, but getting them to people. And so I think that's a real lesson we need to learn with respect to equity of vaccines, getting them around. And we are making improvements, because I know countries now are setting up their own shops for vaccine production so that they have it in-house, and they're not relying on other countries as much.
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