A golden age of vaccines is here. What it means for you

Roll up your sleeves. Effective new vaccines have hit the market for everything from pneumonia to shingles to RSV to, of course, Covid-19. And that’s just the beginning. There were 258 vaccines in development as of 2020, according to a report from trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA. It found that $406 billion in direct medical costs were saved due to routine childhood vaccination of U.S. children born from 1994 to 2018. Pharmaceutical companies are currently developing everything from personalized cancer vaccines that could cost tens of thousands per patient to vaccines that prevent developing-world diseases like malaria or tuberculosis. Improved flu, pneumonia, and meningitis vaccines will also be available in your neighborhood pharmacy. Scientists are testing vaccines to prevent a virus believed to cause multiple sclerosis in some people. Someday, vaccines could routinely treat acne, protect against peanut allergies, and even prevent heart disease or help treat Alzheimer’s...