‘We’ve been instrumental’: How Seattle became a hub for COVID-19 vaccine research

Several Seattle-area vaccine scientists shifted their studies to focus on COVID-19 research in the past 18 months. This field of study continues to build on the area’s background in vaccine research for HIV and other troubling viruses.

Some of the developments in COVID-19 vaccines in the area included an early clinical trial for the Moderna vaccine at Kaiser Permanente, a clinical trial for a protein-based vaccine by Icosavax and clinical trials for an RNA-based vaccine developed by HDT Bio.

“Virology and immunology are two big areas of research intensiveness in the state of Washington, and particularly in the greater Puget Sound,” said Dr. Leslie Alexandre, CEO of the industry group Life Science Washington. “There’s been this entire pipeline.”

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(Photo by Ian Haydon/UW Institute for Protein Design)