A peek into mRNA Vaccines
Vaccines are essential substances used to stimulate the production of antibodies in order to fight of infections and support the immune system. Vaccines have been around since quite a long time providing protections against many diseases such as Smallpox, Measles, Polio etc. Traditional vaccines are made of weakened or dead viruses that are injected into the human body to invoke immune response that creates antibodies required to fight off the disease. However, scientists have developed mRNA vaccines that can be injected into the body without any vector (virus) and can successfully trigger an immune response. Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades but due to recent advancements in medical science, implementation of these vaccines is thereby possible.
mRNA vaccines work by a rather simple mechanism. Firstly the mRNA vaccines are given in the upper arm muscle or upper thigh, depending on the age of who is getting vaccinated. After the injection, the process kickstarts wherein mRNA templates ,which corresponds to a viral protein, enters muscle cells. After entering, the mRNA template will attach to small and large ribosomal subunits which will combine to form a ribosome. The ribosome will initiate the process of translation which would create amino acids from the mRNA template which would in turn create harmless specific spike protein that will attach to the membrane of these muscle cell as a receptor point of for defense cells. When the immune defense cells attaches to the muscle cells due to the spike protein, it will start creating antibodies for that particular virus. After a while mRNA will disintegrate and so will the spike proteins after sufficient antibodies are created.
These vaccines are beneficial in many ways. To begin with, individuals who get mRNA vaccines are not exposed to any form of virus which acts as a carrier medium for vaccinations, instead they are exposed to a completely safe non-virus substance. Similarly, mRNA vaccines do not enter our nucleus, thus it is unable to cause any changes or influence in our genetic code. In terms of cost, these vaccines are not as expensive as traditional vaccines, making it available for wider audience. Also, no long term side effects of the mRNA vaccine are known. An example of the usage of mRNA vaccine can be the recent Coronavirus vaccines, which were the first of these kind. Covid vaccines showed an effective result against the infection and were proven safe, reliable as well as affordable. Like all vaccines in the United States, mRNA vaccines require authorization or approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be used, currently Covid vaccines are the only mRNA vaccines to be approved and we are optimistic that further mRNA vaccines which are developed also get their approval.
In conclusion, mRNA vaccines seem to have a bright future and its usage would be able to replace the traditional vaccines. Further research and experimentation into this field can result in more enhanced form of these mRNA vaccines which can be more efficient than their current counterpart, with reduced side effects. If these vaccines were to implemented then we would be able to expect an efficient and cost effective method of protection against various diseases.
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