evidence: Studies of viruses, including other coronaviruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); advances in general vaccine technology; and the breakthrough in using fatty, oil-like particles called lipid nanoparticles to deliver vaccines to cells were just some of the efforts that made the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines possible. For decades, NIH has supported the research that led to these vaccines — and this timeline provides some of the best examples. [...] NIH launches the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks. The flexibility and rapid-response design of these networks acts as a framework for future responses to other viruses and infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2. [...] Chinese scientists share the first genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the NIH database GenBank. Scientists from NIH and Moderna quickly pivot from studies of other viral vaccines to focus on a vaccine candidate for COVID-19, mRNA-1273, to respond to the outbreak. Source 1, Source 2