Human health timeline: 2020s
COVID-19 RNA vaccines
Unlike previous vaccines, RNA vaccines don’t contain whole microbes or even fragments. They are made of a genetic sequence, a messenger RNA (mRNA), with the information to produce a protein, in this case, of the coronavirus. The mRNA is wrapped up in a fatty layer, a lipid capsule, to protect the mRNA. When injected, the mRNA enters the host’s cells where its message is ‘read’, making the cells produce proteins based on the information on the mRNA. In this case they make a coronavirus protein. The coronavirus protein floating around the body acts just like every other vaccine and stimulates the immune system.
