Harvard Health December 10, 2020
The very first vaccines for COVID-19 to complete Phase 3 testing are an entirely new type: mRNA vaccines. Vaccines of this type have never before been approved for use in any disease. How do they differ from traditional vaccines, and what makes them so exciting?
How traditional vaccines work
The main goal of a vaccine for a particular infectious agent, such as the virus that causes COVID-19, is to teach the immune system what that virus looks like. Once educated, the immune system will vigorously attack the actual virus, if it ever enters the body.
Viruses contain a core of genes made of DNA or RNA wrapped in a coat of proteins. To make the coat of protein, the DNA...
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