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Where does the spike protein used in the vaccine come from and what is it attached to in order to enter the body?
B boris already answered this but just to elaborate a couple points -- a virus is typically DNA (or sometimes RNA) that is coated in protein that allows it to invade cells. Once inside, the DNA can hijack your cell's machinery to make a ton of copies of the virus (DNA + protein capsid). Our immune systems try to recognize specific sequences in the protein capsid. Once they've learned a specific sequence, immune cells are very efficient at eliminating virus before it can infect cells and spread in your body.The question about the ingredients/chemicals is still there though. Have they been used in other vaccines in the past?
The vaccine delivers mRNA wrapped in a fatty capsule to your cells. The fatty capsule is just to protect the mRNA so that it can be successfully delivered to your cells. Once the mRNA is inside your cells, it provides the instructions for your cells to make the spike protein.
Thanks for the replies. I'm trying not to blank out when I explain these things to people. I don't want to not have an answer for anything they are worried about.B boris already answered this but just to elaborate a couple points -- a virus is typically DNA (or sometimes RNA) that is coated in protein that allows it to invade cells. Once inside, the DNA can hijack your cell's machinery to make a ton of copies of the virus (DNA + protein capsid). Our immune systems try to recognize specific sequences in the protein capsid. Once they've learned a specific sequence, immune cells are very efficient at eliminating virus before it can infect cells and spread in your body.
Protein synthesis normally goes from DNA -> RNA -> protein. With the mRNA vaccine, we are jumping the line and giving just the RNA, but not all the RNA, just a specific piece that is the spike protein. This has the nice advantage that the RNA can't replicate itself, so it's one-and-done. It'll produce some protein in your body, just enough that your immune system can learn some specific sequence that'll let it eliminate the entire virus should you encounter it.
Normally if you inject RNA in your body, it will never make it into a cell. It isn't stable enough and won't cross the cell barrier. Instead, as Boris said, pharmaceutical companies and scientists have figured out a way to package the mRNA in a fatty capsule that is stable and efficiently carries the mRNA into cells.
As for your other question -- yes. There have been dozens (and now over a hundred) trials using mRNA vaccines. Moderna has been working on their fatty capsule for a long time and done lots of clinical trials to choose the optimal formulation. So this has been tested for years already, under very close FDA supervision.
Any specific genetic sequence you want can be made (for the mRNA) by just sending a sequence off to a lab. More likely, they probably purified the desired segment of the mRNA from the virus itself and then amplified just that portion. This can be done with incredibly high fidelity.Thanks for the replies. I'm trying not to blank out when I explain these things to people. I don't want to not have an answer for anything they are worried about.
So I know how to explain the process of Mrna but how do I explain in a quick 1,2 punch where the fatty capsule, mrna and protein that are in the vaccine come from? Are they just made in a lab from scratch? They have to come from something.
I'm about to copy and paste that summary into a text message. Hopefully they understand that.Any specific genetic sequence you want can be made (for the mRNA) by just sending a sequence off to a lab. More likely, they probably purified the desired segment of the mRNA from the virus itself and then amplified just that portion. This can be done with incredibly high fidelity.
The fatty capsule (lipid nanoparticle) is made through a series of chemical reactions and purification steps. The exact process is beyond my level of understanding but these are technologies that have been around for decades and are produced with strict standards of purity.
The vaccine doesn't have any protein in it. It just induces your body to make some of the protein itself.
This article has a longer discussion and explains how lipid nanoparticles have been around for years. One study screened 300 different lipids to come up with the optimal one.
Let’s talk about lipid nanoparticles - Nature Reviews Materials
Lipid nanoparticles have been developed as vehicles for small molecule delivery by the nanomedicine and materials communities and are now a key component of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.www.nature.com
So my 1-2 punch would be: we can isolate and copy the mRNA very effectively using genetic technology and then scientists have optimized a way to mix this mRNA with lipids to produce small packages that can get the mRNA to your cells cleanly. All of this is established technology that has been carefully tested for a long time before covid-19 to find just the right mix. And at each step there are very strict checks for purity that go well beyond typical manufacturing standards. The only new thing they did was covid-19 was choosing which portion of the virus protein to use for the mRNA.
About to schedule my first 5g shot next week. Wanted to make sure I'm off after since I had covid in Feb and I know I might feel crappy after it. Just gotta decide on Pfizer or Moderna.
lol nice, I hope it goes over well. If they have more questions, I (or others in here, I'm sure) am happy to answer them and/or point them to resources that would explain it better.I'm about to copy and paste that summary into a text message. Hopefully they understand that.
this was awesome. thanks for sharing. also, making sure Canadian Destroyer sees this.This NY Times article talks about how the vaccine is made. Very interesting read.
How the Pfizer vaccine is made
Took my son to the orthodontist this morning for a consultation (was previously scheduled for last March, but cancelled when the world shut down) and scheduled the first appointment when they opened at 8am thinking it would be empty. It’s the first time I’ve been to any medical office for a while and other than a note on the door saying masks were required it was almost as if there was no pandemic. Waiting room was full-ish and all 6 procedure chairs (in one big open room) were full. Staff were masked, but obviously patients were all unmasked with mouths wide open. They tried having my son take his mask off and leave it off but I told them he would only take it off when necessary for pics and x-rays. We were both uncomfortable with the situation. Dude needs braces, but how long do we put it off, considering kids probably won't be vaccinated until the end of 2021 or early 2022...I traveled this past weekend and it looks like it's all back to pre-pandemic levels, or even more. At least people are wearing masks in public (usually) but I'm sure many of these crowds are hanging out in private too.
If we don't see a surge this month, then I'd say the vaccine is working well to limit spread. But I doubt it'll be enough to stamp this out. This virus will linger and circulate for a while.
Got my 2nd shot of Moderna last Thursday and was expecting for the symptoms a lot of people experienced, but luckily, I just felt really tired and napped.
My allergies were a bigger issue the past two days.