Want to Know More About mRNA Before Your COVID Jab?

Clinicians will start rolling up their sleeves in just a few weeks to get their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, both of which use mRNA technology to induce an immune response. For those who want more information on the history and science of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics before getting their jab, here’s a primer. How It Works Biologically, messenger RNA is transcribed from DNA and travels into a cell’s cytoplasm where it’s translated by ribosomes into proteins. For the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the synthesized mRNA is cloaked in a lipid nanoparticle in order to evade the immune system when it’s injected. Once it’s inside a cell, the ribosomes will get to work pumping out the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. The immune system then mounts a response to that protein, conferring immunity to the virus without ever having been infected