Blunt Impact

• Medical researchers are warning that misinformation and vaccine hesitancy could limit the effectiveness of upcoming personalized cancer vaccines. • These vaccines are designed to prevent cancer from returning by training the immune system to recognize specific proteins on a patient's tumor. • Widespread distrust in vaccines may prevent high-risk patients from receiving preventative treatments that could stop a cancer recurrence.

• Moderna and Merck are developing an mRNA cancer vaccine to treat patients with late-stage skin cancer. • The vaccine showed success in clinical trials when used in combination with an immunotherapy drug. • Public distrust and disinformation regarding vaccines could limit the adoption and effectiveness of these new medical treatments.