Celebrate Vaccines

Once again, into the fray. I am so grateful for vaccinations in general and the COVID vaccine in particular. It is so fitting that Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize this year, and so nice that it came on the heels of their world altering contribultions--they literally saved untold millions of lives, and they were able to witness the fruits of their labors. The discoveries by the two were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.