mRNA VACCINES - IAS Gyan

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Context

India’s first homegrown mRNA vaccine against coronavirus are aiming to roll out before April.

Understanding mRNA Vaccines

Traditional Vaccines

Vaccines help prepare the body to fight foreign invaders (pathogens such as bacteria or viruses), to prevent infection.
All vaccines introduce into the body a harmless piece of a particular bacteria or virus, triggering an immune response.
Most vaccines contain a weakened or dead bacteria or virus.

mRNA Vaccines

Scientists have developed a new type of vaccine that uses a molecule called messenger RNA (or mRNA for short) rather than part of an actual bacteria or virus.
Messenger RNA is a type of RNA that is necessary for protein production in our body. In cells, mRNA uses the information in genes to create a blueprint for making proteins. Once cells finish making a protein, they quickly break down the mRNA.
mRNA from vaccines does not enter the nucleus and does not alter DNA.
mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein, usually a small piece of a protein found on the virus’s outer membrane. (Individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected by the vaccine.)
Using this mRNA blueprint, cells produce the viral protein.
As part of a normal immune response, the immune system recognizes that the protein is foreign and produces specialized proteins called antibodies.
Antibodies help protect the body against infection by recognizing individual viruses or other pathogens, attaching to them, and marking the pathogens for destruction.
Once produced, antibodies remain in the body, even after the body has rid itself of the pathogen, so that the immune system can quickly respond if exposed again.
If a person is exposed to a virus after receiving mRNA vaccination for it, antibodies can quickly recognize it, attach to it, and mark it for destruction before it can cause serious illness.