Covid-19 Vaccines and mRNA Technology: Not as New as Many Believe

When the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were announced in December 2020 the world was excited that a vaccine was available to combat the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most frequent comments was a desire to wait because the vaccine technology was “so new.” This article will concentrate on the mRNA vaccines not familiar to the public and is intended to explain the developmental timeline before and after the genome of COVID-19 was announced. We discuss Operation Warp Speed and SARS-CoV-2 and specifically the development of Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and concurrent other types of vaccines. Other topics of discussion include COVID-19 variants; effectiveness of mRNA vaccines; and late news about the Pfizer-BioNTech® COVID-19 vaccine. The article conclusion discusses implications for nurses as they continue to follow future developments, become competent in communicating viral epidemiology, and educate patients and families about vaccine options.