What is an mRNA vaccine? Thanks for asking!

The first two COVID-19 vaccines to pass clinical trials have a significant point in common. They are both mRNA vaccines, and in fact, it will be the very first time vaccines of this kind have been made available to the public. Patients in the UK already started being vaccinated a week ago, but some observers are concerned by the unknown characteristics of this technology.

RNA is an abbreviation of ribonucleic acid. Inside our bodies, this substance transports the information contained in DNA, and produces proteins. Scientists have been aware of RNA for decades, but are still far from unravelling all its mysteries. Many studies have sought to find medical uses, like treating cancers or genetic disorders for example. 

There had already been some unsuccessful mRNA vaccine tests in the past. But the Covid-19 pandemic really caused research in this area to accelerate. 

What’s the difference between a traditional vaccine and an mRNA vaccine?

Conventional vaccine procedures see patients injected with either a weakened or destroyed virus. As a result, the organism learns to recognise it and produce its own defences. The difference with an mRNA vaccine is that the person receives genetic material that encodes the viral protein. After this is injected, the person’s own cells are able to produce antigens and generate an immune response.

On average, conventional viruses take between 10 and 15 years to develop. On the other hand, mRNA vaccines can be produced far more quickly, and at less cost, as they are constructed using only the pathogen’s genetic code. Given the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was essential to come up with a new vaccine to deploy on a large scale as soon as possible.

That all sounds great, but aren’t we at risk of becoming genetically modified humans? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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