These are unprecedented times while the world weathers the highly infectious respiratory pandemic caused by coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Humanity has experienced other cataclysmic events, but something as novel as this pandemic cannot be easily described. A safe COVID-19 vaccine is often hailed as the only effective public health method to prevent the further spread of this virus. New vaccines’ cost has increased even as policymakers struggle with limited resources and budget constraints. Thus, more decision-support tools are needed to facilitate the selection of vaccine manufacturers as part of a global immunization strategy against COVID-19 or other epidemics and pandemics. This study sought to address this issue by combining three well-established operational research methods (i.e., cognitive mapping, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory, and the Choquet integral). Based on the insights provided by a panel of experts on vaccination and infectious diseases, a vaccine manufacturer selection mechanism was developed that incorporates the World Health Organization’s guidelines. This approach facilitated the identification of multiple selection criteria regarding vaccine manufacturers, their allocation into six major clusters (i.e., soundness of scientific approach and technology used; speed of delivery; cost; liability and risk sharing; ability to supply sufficient quantities through production capacity development; and global solidarity), and subsequent analysis of the respective cause-and-effect relationships. The results of a real-life application of the proposed selection system were further consolidated by a member of Saint Francisco Xavier Hospital Infectious Diseases Unit in Lisbon, Portugal. The mechanism’s advantages and limitations are also discussed.

Melanoma remains one of the deadliest cutaneous malignancies worldwide, and despite advances in systemic therapy, recurrence and treatment resistance remain frequent challenges. Following the success of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, mRNA-based cancer vaccines targeting melanoma antigens have emerged as a promising therapeutic direction. This review summarizes current evidence on mRNA melanoma vaccines, focusing on two leading delivery platforms: lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and dendritic cell (DC) vaccines. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus from 2015 to 2025 identified clinical trials, preclinical studies, and review articles evaluating mRNA vaccine constructs and delivery strategies. Completed clinical studies demonstrate that personalized LNP-formulated mRNA vaccines can enhance neoantigen-specific T-cell responses and improve recurrencefree survival, particularly when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors. DC-based mRNA vaccines also show potent immunogenicity, with stronger responses observed when DC maturation is optimized. Ongoing trials continue to investigate next-generation LNP formulations, DC priming strategies, and personalized neoantigen approaches. Overall, current evidence indicates that both LNP and DC platforms can augment antitumor immunity by broadening T-cell responses and enhancing checkpoint inhibition. Continued refinement of delivery vehicles, neoantigen selection, and scalable manufacturing processes will be essential to realizing the full clinical potential of mRNA vaccines in melanoma.

Objective: The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) makes recommendations to the government on the listing of vaccines on the National Immunisation Program. This health technology assessment body considers evidence on comparative effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, financial implications, and other factors such as equity. This study aimed to identify which aspects of equity have been considered and how they are incorporated in PBAC recommendations. Methods: We reviewed vaccine public summary documents published by PBAC from 2005 to 2024. We extracted and summarized information from the submissions including variables reflecting equity-specific dimensions mentioned or considered in the evaluation and quantitative equity-informative methods used. Results: Equity-related dimensions mentioned were presence of special healthcare needs and past health loss (55% of reviewed public summary documents); race, denoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (47%); gender (14%); pregnancy (6%); parental status (4%); geographic location (6%); socioeconomic status (3%); culturally and linguistically diverse groups (1%); sexual orientation (1%); and refugee status (1%). Subgroup analysis, in 21% of the vaccine submissions, was the only quantitative method used to address distributional concerns. Equity dimensions and subgroup analysis appeared more frequently in resubmissions and from 2021 to 2024. Conclusions: Despite increasing mentions of many equity-relevant dimensions, limited equity-informative economic evaluation methods are being used in vaccine submissions. This review provides a pivotal opportunity to advocate for (1) a better understanding of decision makers’ needs and preferences around the integration of equity-informative methods, (2) greater transparency and more detailed documentation of deliberations, and (3) clearer guidance on presenting equity-relevant evidence in submissions.

The diagnosis, management and potential eradication of cancer depend on tumour type, stage, extent and anatomical location. While surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy remain central, advances in molecular oncology have shifted treatment toward personalised approaches. Identification of tumour-specific molecular abnormalities and biomarkers has enabled targeted therapies that eliminate malignant cells while limiting damage to normal tissues. Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising, non-invasive strategy that activates the immune system to recognise and attack tumour-specific antigens. Preventive vaccines based on weakened or inactivated viruses have achieved notable success in reducing virus-associated cancers. Therapeutic vaccines targeting tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) and patient-specific neoantigens aim to elicit strong cytotoxic and helper T-cell responses against established tumours. Advances in genomic sequencing, bioinformatics-driven neoantigen prediction and single-cell profiling now enable accurate identification of tumour-specific targets. This review highlights progress in cancer vaccine research, focusing on strategies targeting TAAs, neoantigens and delivery platforms such as dendritic cell–based systems, nucleic acid vaccines (DNA and mRNA), synthetic long peptides and viral or bacterial vectors. Clinical evidence shows that neoantigen vaccines induce potent tumour-specific T-cell responses with minimal autoimmunity and gain enhanced efficacy when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors or adoptive T-cell transfer (ACT) using tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). By reinvigorating anti-tumour T cells within the tumour microenvironment, these combination approaches support durable tumour regression and improved outcomes. Despite unresolved challenges, advances in AI-guided target discovery, nanotechnology-based delivery systems and scalable manufacturing offer promising solutions for achieving precise and durable cancer treatment.

Aging reshapes immunity through immunosenescence and inflammaging, increasing susceptibility to infection, exacerbating chronic conditions, and blunting vaccine responses. This review frames “immunofitness” as a practical goal of healthy aging and examines how adult vaccination builds immune resilience. Vaccination strengthens adaptive memory, leverages adjuvants to optimize antigen presentation, and can reprogramme innate cells (trained immunity), yielding heterologous benefits beyond target pathogens. We integrate evidence in older adults for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, pneumococcal, COVID-19, and recombinant zoster vaccines, including reductions in respiratory events, cardiovascular outcomes, hospitalization, and mortality. We highlight emerging platforms and precision vaccinology to tailor schedules by immune age, comorbidity, and frailty. Integrating routine, age-appropriate vaccination with lifestyle measures is a feasible, high-impact strategy to promote immunofitness.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the convergence of vaccine and gene therapy research, demonstrating the potential for gene-encoded platforms to be rapidly reconfigured for both preventive and therapeutic applications. This real-world evaluation validated the principle of adaptable, platform-based molecular medicines. Convergence is facilitated by three key components: Chemically modified nucleotides that reduce innate-immune sensing while maintaining high translation efficiency, lipid nanoparticles refined for targeted and low-toxicity delivery, and viral vectors with adjustable immunogenicity. Emerging technologies, including self-amplifying RNA, selectively targeted lipid nanoparticles, and advanced adenoviruses, have expanded the therapeutic toolkit to include in vivo genome editing and personalized neoantigen vaccines. The rapid scale-up of production during the pandemic has had a lasting impact, establishing cGMP manufacturing lines, emergency-use regulatory frameworks, and extensive safety data. However, the field still faces challenges such as context-dependent immunogenicity, the need for thermostable products to improve global distribution, and widening disparities in technology access between high- and low-income regions. Gene-encoded platforms have evolved from a proof-of-concept to a multifaceted therapeutic framework capable of addressing infectious, genetic, and malignant diseases. Their full public health potential will depend on coordinated investment in distributed manufacturing, adaptive regulation, and ethical governance that prioritizes equity alongside technical advancements.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) causes substantial economic losses to the global livestock industry annually. Current vaccines inadequately prevent infection and transmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), highlighting the urgent need for FMDV mRNA vaccines with enhanced immunogenicity and safety. The immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines is largely determined by sequence design, particularly the optimization of untranslated regions (UTRs), which significantly enhance mRNA stability and promote efficient antigen expression. In this study, eight UTR sequences were designed and evaluated using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter gene. Results showed that EGFP-UTR3 and EGFP-UTR8 performed best in protein expression. Subsequent integration of UTR3 and UTR8 into FMDV P12A3C mRNA revealed that P12A3C-UTR8 consistently achieved higher antigen expression across multiple cell models, elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses in mice, and provided protection comparable to conventional inactivated vaccines in guinea pigs, indicating that UTR8 is a highly promising regulatory element for vaccine applications. Sequence analysis revealed that beyond the previously reported influence of the 5′ UTR secondary structure, the GC content of the 3′ UTR is strongly associated with mRNA translation efficiency. These findings elucidate the intrinsic link between UTR structure and function and provide critical theoretical support for optimizing FMDV mRNA vaccine and advancing novel vaccine development.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the effect of digital intervention on improving routine vaccination in the elderly and to conduct a comparative analysis of different intervention modalities using network meta-analysis (NMA). Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, and WanFang Data were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using digital interventions to promote vaccination in older populations from inception to 15 June 2024. We performed a final update of the literature search in May 2025; no additional eligible studies were identified. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies, and an NMA was performed using RevMan 5.4 and R Studio, PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42024527483. Results: Eleven RCTs were included. The traditional meta-analysis demonstrated a small but statistically significant increase in influenza vaccination rates (RR=1.01, 95% CI [1.01, 1.01], P < 0.00001), accompanied by substantial heterogeneity (I 2=86%). Pneumococcal vaccine uptake was significantly enhanced (RR=1.11, 95% CI [1.03, 1.18], P < 0.01), with moderate heterogeneity (I 2=46%). The single study on the herpes zoster vaccine reported a statistically significant effect, whereas COVID-19 vaccine reminder interventions showed no significant efficacy. In the NMA, video-based interventions ranked first based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve, but all pairwise comparisons between different intervention modes crossed the null value. Conclusion: Digital interventions show a significant, yet highly heterogeneous, positive impact on vaccination rates in older adults. While video-based education showed the highest ranking probability, the current evidence is insufficient to conclude that any specific digital modality is statistically superior to others. Due to the limited included studies, the findings need to be supplemented by more high-quality studies. Future research should focus on newer digital technologies to help the older population keep up with the “digital intelligence era.”

The number of clinical trials involving mRNA vaccines has increased considerably over the past few years, increasing the demand for analysis and quantification of their biological activity in vitro. This present challenges due to mRNA vaccines' complex mechanism of action. As the mRNA platform requires minimal adaptations between projects, analytical methods should be quickly adaptable to maximize the technology's benefits. In the literature, mRNA vaccines biological activity is assessed using antibody-based methods that compare percentages of positive cells. However, these methods do not allow quantification of different antigen expression levels between samples, and require using specific antibodies, limiting platform applicability. This study aimed to identify the most relevant read-out using an antibody-based method, and to compare it with an antibody-independent quantifiable method (liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry; LCMS). Both approaches were used to analyze multivalent mRNA samples in stability studies. Results showed that reporting transfection efficiency by percentage of positive cells does not capture differences in protein expression between samples. Integrated median fluorescence intensity (iMFI) highlights these differences and shows trends consistent with antigens quantification by LCMS, confirming the relevance of the latter. However, the LCMS method does not allow relative potency analyses, as the parallelism between samples' dose-responses can be lost due to sample degradation. In summary, iMFI can provide a more comprehensive view of mRNA vaccine's in vitro functionality than the percentage of positive cells. Additionally, this work demonstrates that LCMS is indeed a viable antibodyfree alternative to quantify mRNA vaccine functionality. However, neither method allows for calculating relative potencies as prescribed in the US pharmacopeias guidelines.

The advent of mucosal vaccines that target the primary entry points of many pathogens has revolutionized the feld of immunology. Genetically modifed lactic acid bacteria (gmLAB), which include genera such as Lactobacillus and Bifdobacterium, have emerged as promising vectors for delivering antigens to mucosal surfaces. These gram-positive, non-pathogenic microorganisms exhibit inherent probiotic properties, can survive through the gastrointestinal tract, and efciently interact with the host immune system. Advances in genetic engineering have enabled the expression of a wide range of antigens in gmLAB that promote systemic and mucosal immunity. Studies have demonstrated that gmLAB-based mucosal vaccines can elicit both mucosal and systemic immune responses, providing protective immunity against specifc pathogenic infections. In addition, gmLAB vectors ofer good safety profles, stability, and cost-efective production compared to traditional vaccine platforms. Recent studies demonstrated the potential of LAB vaccines in preventing infections caused by viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens and in immunotherapy for treating allergies and cancers. This review highlights the mechanisms underlying gmLAB-based mucosal vaccine delivery, current advancements, challenges, and prospects in recombinant mucosal vaccines.

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis, a systemic infection occurring in infants within their first 28 days of life, is a leading cause of mortality globally. The burden is especially severe in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where incidence and mortality rates are higher than in high-resource settings. Antimicrobial resistance, driven by multidrug-resistant pathogens prevalent in LMICs, further complicates its effective management. Vaccination offers a promising strategy to prevent infections caused by common neonatal sepsis pathogens, potentially reducing sepsis incidence and mitigating resistance. Area covered: This review examines the burden of bacterial pathogens, specifically Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, responsible for neonatal sepsis, drawing from a comprehensive literature search focusing on the last ten years across major databases. It provides an overview of vaccine candidates in clinical development, highlights innovative approaches in preclinical research, and discusses the key challenges associated with vaccine strategies preventing neonatal sepsis. Expert opinion: Given the multivalency of vaccines for neonatal sepsis, innovative technologies are under investigation. Defining correlate of protections has been critical for GBS vaccine development, and may pave the way for vaccines against K. pneumoniae and E. coli. Novel regulatory and clinical strategies, including disease-based rather than pathogen-specific approaches, should be explored.

Background: Infectious disease control has historically functioned as a critical intersectionof biological survival and social organization. For centuries, humanity relied on empirical defenses such as quarantine and environmental sanitation. However, the theoretical foundation of prevention has shifted significantly toward biomedical sciences, includingmicrobiology, immunology, and molecular biology. Methods: Using a public healthhistoryframework, this review synthesizes data from academic archives, monographs, andpolicydocuments. We examined key case studies – Plague, Cholera, Influenza, HIV/AIDS, andCOVID-19 – to map the technological and institutional evolution of disease management. Results: We locate the primary historical turning point in the 19th century. It was herethat control strategies evolved from crude population mandates into precise biomedical interventions. The synthesis of sanitary reform and germ theory catalyzed this eraof scientific progress. Following the standardization of vaccines and antibiotics, the focusshifted to chronic management during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Contemporary tools like mRNAplatforms and genomic surveillance continue this lineage, yet their practical applicationremains uneven globally. Conclusion: We conclude that biomedical breakthroughs arenecessary but insufficient for security. Effective defense requires coupling scientific toolswith resilient infrastructure and global health coordination to resolve systemic inequities.

The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of vaccines in controlling outbreaks and in preparing for emerging viruses. Platform technologies are highly relevant as they reduce the time taken for vaccine development, market authorisation and production. Here, we present a novel platform based on modified, membrane-permeable hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsids that can flexibly carry various antigens via an adapter. The SARS-CoV2 spike-derived receptor binding domain serves as the antigen. This study aims to identify the most robust system for producing stable carrier/cargo complexes by comparing various platforms. The thereby identified system was used for detailed characterization of the immune response including its capacity for enabling needle free immunization by oral/nasal application. A comparison of various adapter systems (StrepTag, AviTag, SpyTag and DogTag) for coupling the cargo antigen to the cell-permeable capsid as the carrier revealed that the DogCatcher/DogTag system outperforms the others with regard to the yield, assembly and stability of the particles, as well as antigen loading onto the carrier surface. Immunization of mice showed that antigens coupled to the carrier induce a much stronger immune response than free, uncoupled antigens. Loading the capsid interior with CpG as an adjuvant further increased the immune response. Notably, the antigen carrier’s cell permeability enables oral/nasal immunization, resulting in significant titres of neutralizing IgG and IgA antibodies. Taken together, this novel platform can be used as a flexible base for quickly adapting vaccines against emerging viruses. Most interestingly, the platform’s cell permeability allows for needle-free immunization via the oral/nasal route.

Ebola virus is a highly lethal virus belonging to the Filoviridae family. The virus is mainly transmitted through the patient's body fluids and may cause Ebola hemorrhagic fever, with a mortality rate of up to 25% to 90%. The early manifestations of Ebola hemorrhagic fever commonly involve fever and muscle pain, followed by severe symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, internal and external bleeding, which may eventually lead to organ failure and death. Live vector vaccines created an innovative class of immunization. It employs attenuated viruses or bacteria as delivery vehicles. These carriers transport specific pathogen antigens into host cells, thereby stimulating the body's immune system to generate a protective response. With the advancement of genetic engineering, this vaccine has been widely used in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Among them, the Ebola vaccine (Ervebo) has been widely used in many African countries. This article reviews the current status and progress of Ebola live vector vaccines by combing and analyzing relevant domestic and foreign literature. Focuses on the therapeutic mechanism of the Ebola vaccine and the drug production process. By comparing drugs currently on the market or in the clinical stage, this article found that there are some difficulties in the current Ebola vaccine research field, mainly in terms of vaccine specificity and storage technology. In the end, this paper comprehensively reviews the existing research, points out the shortcomings of current research, and predicts future development trends, aiming to provide a reference for researchers for further exploration in the field of Ebola live vector vaccines and provide some ideas and suggestions for subsequent research.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has emerged as a major pathogen responsible for porcine diarrheal diseases, causing outbreaks of severe diarrhea and high mortality in neonatal piglets, thereby inflicting severe economic losses on the global swine industry. Current commercial PED vaccines, comprising conventional inactivated and live attenuated formulations, have exhibited progressively diminished efficacy in the face of emerging PEDV variants. The development of high-efficiency vaccine platforms is therefore critical for PED control. This study engineered a cellular membrane nanovesicle (CMN)-based vaccine, which differs from existing inactivated or subunit vaccines by presenting the PEDV spike (S) protein on the cell membranes to mimic the bilayer phospholipid structure of the viral envelope. The full-length S protein (FS, aa 19-1309) or a truncated S protein fragment (TS, aa 19-726) was expressed in Expi293F cells, followed by extraction of cell membranes to assemble antigen-displaying CMN vaccines. Compared with commercial live attenuated vaccine, administration of the CMN vaccine elicited high-titer neutralizing antibodies and elevated IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells in murine studies. Safety assessments revealed no adverse effects on body weight, hepatic/renal function indices, or histopathological parameters in vaccinated mice. Furthermore, immunization of piglets elicited notable humoral and CD8+ T cell immune responses. Collectively, the strategy of CMN-based vaccine described herein delivers a potential PEDV vaccine platform, thereby offering a novel avenue for next-generation veterinary vaccine development.

Intracellular delivery of antigen-encoding mRNA-based vaccine has shown great potential in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. We previously developed a minimalist cancer nanovaccine using C1 lipidoid nanoparticle with selfadjuvant activity, which markedly improves mRNA delivery and antigen presentation through TLR4 signaling activation. Although the C1-mRNA nanovaccine induced strong antitumor efficiency in prophylactic and therapeutic settings, it could not eliminate tumors with low immunogenicity. To further improve the therapeutic efficacy of the mRNA vaccine, we screened several innate immune receptor agonists and identified the STING agonist as an effective adjuvant for C1- mRNA vaccine, which could effectively promote the production of type I interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-12 and TNF-α in dendritic cells. Such a C1- mRNA cancer vaccine adjuvanted with STING agonist effectively promoted antigen presentation in dendritic cells and enhanced T cell activation and exhibited strong antitumor activity on tumor models. Mechanistically, this mRNA vaccine showed improved antitumor efficacy largely depending on STING protein expression in dendritic cells and TNF-α induction in vivo, while type I interferon or IL-12 induction seemed dispensable. Together, by optimizing the antitumor efficacy of C1-mRNA cancer vaccine with STING agonist, this work provides a potential mRNA cancer vaccine platform for treating a wide range of tumor types.

By enabling the planning, construction, and modification of biological systems with a degree of precision never seen before, synthetic biology an exciting interdisciplinary field has had a major impact on the development of vaccines. Inspired by engineering, biology, computer science, and other fields, this approach combines concepts to create new synthetic life forms or systems that may be trained to do certain tasks. Synthetic biology uses altered bacteria, cells, and genetic elements to provide more successful, safer, and reasonably priced vaccinations. Synthetic biology is used most importantly in the development of vaccines in the synthesis of novel proteins and enhancement of their expression. Knowing and altering the genetic coding lets scientists create antibodies resembling disease-causing germs without running the danger of infection. Vaccines using these antigens help the immune system function better without introducing live viruses into the body. Additionally made feasible by synthetic biology are RNA and DNA vaccines with autonomous multiplication capability. Using less of the active component, these vaccinations stay longer and perform better. Furthermore, synthetic biology has made it simpler to create vaccines utilizing non-traditional systems instead of the conventional egg-based approaches like plants, yeast, and bacteria. This fresh concept enables rapid vaccination during pandemics or new disease outbreaks by considerably improving scalability and reducing manufacturing costs. Vaccines should also be more specialized and effective by means of systems aiming at certain immune pathways and lowering of adverse effects. Making vaccines via synthetic biology also advances adjuvant design, improves vaccine delivery technologies, and generates tailored vaccinations grounded on individual genes. This field has also shown fast adaptation to newly emerging infectious illnesses. For instance, synthetic biology-based methods enabled extremely rapid synthesis of COVID-19 vaccines. These developments demonstrate how synthetic biology may entirely alter our approach to combat fatal illnesses. Synthetic biology raises significant societal, legal, and safety concerns even if it is making enormous advancement in the manufacture of vaccines. It is rather crucial to ensure that these fresh innovations are used in a method that preserves public health and lowers hazards as much as feasible as the area advances. Finally, synthetic biology is about to change the way vaccines are made, giving us new tools and ways to deal with present and future health problems around the world.

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with curative options still limited for patients with advanced disease. As an emerging modality of cancer immunotherapy, tumor vaccines represent a promising approach that activates the host immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells. Multiple vaccine platforms, including peptide vaccines, dendritic-cell vaccines, nucleic-acid vaccines, and viral-vector vaccines, have been explored for HCC. Among these, peptideand dendritic-cell-based vaccines are supported by the most extensive clinical data, demonstrating favorable safety and immunogenicity profiles. The advent of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines based on tumor-specific antigens has further refined the precision of vaccine design. Nevertheless, several major challenges persist, including immune suppression within the tumor immune microenvironment, marked tumor heterogeneity, immune-escape mechanisms, and limited vaccine immunogenicity, all of which hinder clinical efficacy. In addition, issues related to standardization, large-scale production, and regulatory oversight remain unresolved. Recent advances in sequencing technology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence have opened new avenues for optimizing vaccine platforms and delivery strategies. Combination therapies that integrate cancer vaccines with immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, or locoregional treatments are also being actively investigated to improve patient outcomes. In summary, although vaccine-based immunotherapy for HCC is still at an early stage, its integration with personalized medicine and multimodal therapeutic strategies holds great potential for improving the long-term prognosis of patients with HCC. Therefore, this review aims to systematically summarize current advances in tumor vaccine–based immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, with a particular focus on vaccine platforms, target antigens, clinical trial outcomes, and future challenges for clinical translation.