Even in countries that took the Coronavirus seriously from the start, the virus has been devastating, in the countries that were not so quick on the start line it has been catastrophic but if there has been a silver lining, it is how quick the science has been to pick up the gauntlet of a vaccine and while looking, they have discovered some promising additional developments for other vaccines.
One is the role of mRNA, the copies our cells make of the DNA and how viruses which infect human cells by injecting their DNA into the cells and forcing the body to make viral proteins using this DNA.
Where today's vaccines involve taking inactivated viruses and injecting them to teach our bodies how to make antibodies against the virus, a new vaccine being tested eliminates the need for viruses in the vaccine by injecting mRNA that teaches our cells how to make a spike protein found on the outside of the virus so when our immune system attacks it by producing antibodies, it gives us the same type of protection we would get from exposure to the virus.
This brings the vaccine development process from 10 years to a few months.
Another advance is the problem with virus's mutating, such as the flu virus, which means flu shots every year to provide immunity against the latest version but scientists have discovered a vaccine for the part of the virus that does not change meaning a single vaccine would make us immune to most strains of the flu for a much longer time.
This pandemic has been horrific but it could have led to some very important silver linings for the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment