Poxvirus vaccines: the evolution of an 18th-century vaccine to the 21st century.

The unprecedented global spread of monkeypox (mpox) has reinvigorated the pursuit of next-generation poxvirus vaccines. Given the success of the mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccine platform to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2, candidate poxvirus mRNA vaccines, as recently reported by Zuiani et al. and Mucker et al., demonstrate success in nonhuman primate (NHP) models and provide insights into the basis of the protective immune response.