The global pandemic of Covid-19 has raged on for months
infecting millions worldwide and killing more than 250,000 in the USA alone. Our
lives have changed dramatically and many wonder if life will ever be the same
again. Luckily, hope is on the horizon. Scientists have worked tirelessly for
months and now a possible coronavirus vaccine may be ready very soon.
The 2019 novel coronavirus is one of a various single-stranded
RNA based respiratory viruses. Researchers have closely studied the structure and
metabolic pathways of the virus to compute possible vaccine candidates for the Covid-19
(Anand et al., 2020). The virus is composed of a spike, envelope, membrane, nucleocapsid,
and accessory proteins (Prajapat et al., 2020). Unlike most vaccines which contain
weak or dead versions of the virus, the new coronavirus vaccine is composed of
mRNA (Jackson et al., 2020). The injected mRNA is turned into coronavirus proteins
which are then attacked by T-cells that stay in the body and produce antibodies
for Covid-19. The new vaccine specifically targets the spike protein which is
believed to help the virus attach to cells and spread.
The vaccine is currently undergoing the final stages of
testing showing a 95% effectiveness rate. Many have high hopes for the new vaccine, however, the next challenge will be mass production and distribution of the
vaccine. There is also the question of mutations in the circulating strands of Sars-Cov-2
which could dramatically lower the efficacy of the vaccine similar to flu
vaccines which are only 30 % effective. Ultimately, science has made
significant progress in fighting the global pandemic. The only question is how
our government and its citizens will choose to act moving forward.
Anand, R., Biswal, S.,
Bhatt, R., & Tiwary, B. N. (2020). Computational perspectives revealed
prospective vaccine candidates from five structural proteins of novel SARS
corona virus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2). PeerJ, doi:http://dx.doi.org.dml.regis.edu/10.7717/peerj.9855
Jackson, L. A., Anderson, E.
J., Rouphael, N. G., Roberts, P. C., Makhene, M., Coler, R. N., McCullough, M.
P., Chappell, J. D., Denison, M. R., Stevens, L. J., Pruijssers, A. J.,
McDermott, A., Flach, B., Doria-Rose, N. A., Corbett, K. S., Morabito, K. M.,
O'Dell, S., Schmidt, S. D., Swanson, P. A., 2nd, Padilla, M., … mRNA-1273 Study
Group (2020). An mRNA Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 - Preliminary Report. The New England journal of
medicine, 383(20), 1920–1931. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2022483
Manisha Prajapat#, Phulen
Sarma#, Nishant Shekhar#, Avti, P., Sinha, S., Kaur, H., . . . Medhi, B.
(2020). Drug targets for corona virus: A systematic review. Indian Journal of
Pharmacology, 52(1), 56-65.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.dml.regis.edu/10.4103/ijp.IJP_115_20
Hi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great summary that really helped me understand how the vaccine works. I think it is so interesting that mRNA vaccines seem to be effective for COVID-19, when they haven't really show efficacy for other infectious diseases until this month (Garde 2020). I wonder if the reason for that was just that other technologies tended to be more effective or if we needed huge demand in order to be able to pay for the development of the new technology. Either way, I think it is important, as scientists, to consider some of the fears of the anti-vaccine movement. Because this is a new technology that was developed extremely quickly, I understand some of their concerns. I could understand how human cells making the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sounds intimidating, but a BBC article I've linked below debunks the concern that the vaccine alters your DNA. As we move forward, I think it is extremely important to spread valid information about the vaccine as we attempt to end the pandemic.
The story of mRNA: From a loose idea to a tool that may help curb Covid. (2020, November 10). STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-once-dismissed-idea-became-a-leading-technology-in-the-covid-vaccine-race/
Vaccine rumours debunked: Microchips, “altered DNA” and more. (2020, November 15). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/54893437