An updated review of Zika virus vaccine development

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection as a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome gained international attention during the 2015–2016 ZIKV epidemic in the Americas. However, over ten years later, there are still no approved ZIKV vaccines, leaving people worldwide defenseless against continued disease spread and potential outbreaks. Prospects for the assessment, licensing, and commercial viability of ZIKV vaccines are complicated by the low incidence of the virus infection at the moment and the uncertainty of future outbreaks. Here, we highlight recent advances in various vaccine platforms that have been developed against ZIKV, including inactivated vaccines, live-attenuated vaccines, DNA vaccines, mRNA vaccines, viral vector vaccines, and recombinant subunit vaccines, with several candidates progressing into clinical trials. This review provides an overview of the current status of ZIKV vaccine development and emphasize how these multiple vaccine platforms can be a powerful tool to react quickly to future pandemics.