Yinon Levy

Graphical Abstract mRNA Vaccine Against Pneumonic Plague In article number 2501286, Dan Peer, Ofer Cohen, Emanuelle Mamroud, and co-workers show the design of an effective mRNA vaccine against pneumonic plague. The cover depicts a 17th-century plague doctor holding a syringe with an mRNA-LNP plague vaccine. Beside him, a patient that is now protected against pneumonic plague.

1 Introduction Plague, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis, has been one of the most devastating diseases throughout human history, responsible for three major pandemics including the catastrophic Black Death in the Middle Ages.[1] Although modern medicine has largely contained plague through antibiotics and stringent public health measures, the threat of antibiotic-resistant strains makes it even more important to develop alternative preventive and therapeutic approaches.

Acquired immunity generated by vaccination is a prolonged process that usually requires weeks to develop.