Recombinant Vaccines: The Revolution Ahead

The post-vaccination era has boosted constant innovations in the field of medicine and public health and has been instrumental in greatly augmenting the quality of life of human civilization. Ground-breaking scientific innovations in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have enabled coherent vaccine design and the creation of novel vaccines for a variety of debilitating diseases. In addition, the in-depth knowledge of the human immune system has enabled researchers to decipher and curate vaccine-specific immune responses. Several types of vaccines have been designed and developed that cater to different pathogenic microorganisms and associated diseases. The exponential growth of recombinant DNA and genetic engineering has further propelled scientists to create well-defined vaccines that have an excellent safety profile, can trigger appropriate immune responses, and provide optimal protection. Reverse and structural vaccinology have enabled detailed characterization and identification of novel antigens that have significantly increased the speed of vaccine development. This chapter focuses on most important aspects of vaccines including but not limited to vaccine immunology, types of vaccines, vaccine development, vaccines of twenty-first century with a particular focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and finally the clinical trials evaluating the vaccines before they are deployed in the market for human use. The modern-day scientific tools combined with the advancement in computer science represent the stepping stones for the development of next-generation vaccines.