Information adapted from Nature Reviews “mRNA Vaccines – a new era of vaccinology”

Why I wrote this post? and How to get more accurate information?

I posted this article as there was a bit too much fake news being circulated in my community and chatgroups. Be vigilant be well informed and sometimes it is important we review and opinionate information produced.

If you are lazy, talk to friends whom you feel could be more well-read in this specific area, in this situation healthcare professionals, geneticist would be able to explain and inform you better about your information.

This post is by all means a complete literature review. A good summary in lame man language.

Options, Options, Decisions

If you are like me, you are deciding which vaccine you would like your family to take, there is no hard and fast rule or you could just put faith into a regulatory body. Personally, I enjoy gaining the knowledge of new technology therefore this post summarises the questions I had.

The next question you would ask after this post would be which is better? Well that would need to be based on your discussion with your healthcare professional based on your health and accessibility to what vaccine is available. Do look at the clinical data as it becomes available, I personally surely have.

WHO Status update on Covid19 Vaccine candidates

This includes all the different approaches of a vaccine from Non-Replicating Viral Vector, RNA, Protein Subunit (isolated proteins yielding immune response), Replicating Viral Vector and DNA. (Read above the WHO Vaccine Candidate draft list)

The TLDR post starts below.

How does mRNA Vaccine Work?

According to Pfizer theirs works by using our own cells to produce only the selected antigen which will trigger an immune response from the body thereby allowing our body to be prepared for a particular infection.

Simplistically vaccines cause the body to store fighting information for the particular infection mostly via memory T-Cells. So when the infection happens the body is more prepared and knows which tools to use to fight off the infection.

Check out the CDC write up about How Vaccines Work here.

Conventional Vaccine Approach

In-general a deactivated form of the germ is introduced into the body with the below following methods.

The methods are live attenuated (a weakened form of the germ), inactivated pathogens and subunit vaccines (a fragment of the germ is introduced usually the surface which triggers an immune response). This method has faced challenges with germs which have an adaptive immune response.

Nucleic Acid Theraputics

Suggested advantages over conventional vaccines. mRNA is non-infectious, non-integrating platform, no potential risk of infection or insertional mutagenesis (insertion of foreign genetics).

mRNA breakdown by normal cellular processes and its half-life can be further regulated through the use of various modifications and delivery methods.

Delivery of mRNA

mRNA requires assistance to penetrate the lipid membrane in order to reach the cytoplasm to be translated into functional proteins. Approaches include naked mRNA, electroporation, protamine, cationic nano-emulsion, modified dendrimer nanoparticle, protamine liposome, cationic polymer, cationic polymer liposome, polysaccharide particle, cationic liquid nanoparticle, cationic lipid cholesterol nanoparticle and cationic lipid cholesterol PEG nanoparticle. Generally, the use of surfactants and ionic surfactants coating mRNA or in an ionic slurry improve the delivery of mRNA. Similar to how detergents work when you wash your plates or use laundry powder to wash your clothes.

To make your own conclusion or if you just want to be really more informed about mRNA Vaccines read this article, you may require a lot of googling on terminologies the diagrams help a lot.

How to Identify Legitimacy from the Fakes

Obtain information from verified legitimate sources. If you are unsure the website is not from major news or peer-reviewed publication you can skip the information.

Especially in such a time major developments and announcements will be featured and covered by major news outlets.

For scientific reports try https://scholar.google.com (check out the citations) how many people cite the paper. This in general will give a good indication of how relevant and read the findings are.

A good source for further information for all of us is the World Health Organization here.

To note when Reading & Reviewing.

The above article is an mRNA vaccine article therefore there is a heavy emphasis on mRNA technology, this should be something to remember when reading publications featuring specific technologies. At times they will be more pro to the specific technology.