The Past, Present and Future of mRNA Vaccines

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2021

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are the first authorized vaccines in history to use mRNA technology. The pandemic might've set the stage for their debut, but mRNA vaccines have been in the works for more than 30 years. Host Maddie Sofia chats with Dr. Margaret Liu, a physician and board chair of the International Society for Vaccines, about the history and science behind these groundbreaking vaccines. We'll also ask, what we can expect from mRNA vaccines in the future?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:07.0	The Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna vaccines are truly historic, and not just because they're
0:13.0	saving lives during this pandemic, they're also the first authorized vaccines to use mRNA
0:19.3	technology.
0:20.4	In a sense, it wasn't surprising that it worked.
0:23.7	That's Dr. Margaret Leo, a physician and board chair of the International Society for Vaccines.
0:29.7	I think what was surprising to everyone was that they worked so well.
0:35.4	We're talking around 94, 95% efficacy in clinical trials.
0:40.8	Incredible.
0:41.8	And here's another thing that might surprise you about mRNA vaccines.
0:46.4	This pandemic might be their big debut, but...
0:49.0	The technology really goes back over 30 years.
0:52.3	So this isn't something that is just so brand new and scary.
0:57.0	All have been working for a really long time to turn these technologies into useful vaccines
1:03.6	and drugs.
1:08.6	So today on the show, we look at a bit of the history and science behind mRNA vaccines
1:14.8	and ask about their future, what diseases they could eventually be used to treat, and
1:20.0	their limitations.
1:21.0	I'm Maddie Safiya, and you're listening to shortwave, the Daily Science Podcast from
1:26.0	NPR.
1:34.5	When I called up Margaret, I had a lot of questions for her about mRNA vaccines.
1:39.7	So we started at the beginning.
	...

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