I’ve excerpted sections from Christina Frangou’s essay in Maclean’s magazine. Her complete investigative essay is in the March 2021 issue of Maclean’s magazine. Frangou explores the development of mRNA vaccines. It convinced me that YES I will get the jab as soon as I can. It’s time to blow up the anti vax arguments and any other opposition to this miracle discovery mRNA. This holds incredible promise for the future of mankind, and is not just a vaccine to combat SARS-CoV-2.
The mRNA slips into our cells, carrying instructions to make antibodies that target SARS-CoV-2. The vaccines function almost like a wanted poster: if you see these guys, get ’em. Then, the mRNA degrades, leaving no trace. .…..But these fastest vaccines in history have been decades in the making. They’re the product of generations of scientists who built on one idea after another, and kept at it despite failed experiments, rejections, threats of deportation, a lack of funding and skepticism from contemporaries. They were inspired by the discovery of DNA: in 1951, a young English physical chemist named Rosalind Franklin took X-ray photographs that captured DNA’s helical shape; two years later, James Watson and Francis Crick of Cambridge University published the first report describing DNA’s double helix, for which they received the Nobel Prize. ………“These weren’t people who wanted to solve little problems,” says Meselson. “These were people who wanted to solve a great big problem.”…….Their work became the central tenet of molecular biology: DNA makes RNA makes protein makes life. It took another generation of scientists to find a way to harness RNA to treat and prevent illness. …….Karikó remembers a mentor talking to her about the discovery and being thrilled by the possibilities. He suggested to her that if they could make a synthetic version of a 2-5A molecule, they might be able to treat cancer or viral disease. “I immediately thought that what I was doing was tremendously important,” she says. It was the start of a 40-year quest to make synthetic RNA that could cure illness. ……..Over the next decade, Karikó and Weissman discovered that cells in the lab were dying because synthetic mRNA provoked an inflammatory reaction. But if they modified one of the four building blocks of RNA, known as nucleosides, the cell no longer flagged synthetic RNA as a foreign invader. It could be delivered into a cell without causing inflammation. “This was a game-changer for the field,” says Dr. Norbert Pardi, a research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania who works with the duo. …….Weissman and Karikó immediately recognized that their discovery had huge potential. Usually, when someone invents a new drug, that drug works for one disease, says Weissman. “But RNA had the potential to act on many different diseases,” he says. They believed it could work as a vaccine, a therapy or a gene editing system. “It could treat hundreds, if not thousands, of different diseases.” .…….Rossi co-founded Moderna in 2010. A charismatic storyteller with a talent for explaining complex scientific concepts in easy-to-understand terms, he persuaded giants in America’s biotech industry to invest. In 2013, after two years of functioning under the radar, Moderna announced that it was on the verge of introducing an entirely new drug category to the pharmaceutical arsenal in the fight against diseases. Within two years, Moderna Therapeutics brought in more than $950 million from investors and corporate partners—a figure the New York Times called “somewhat remarkable” for a company that did not yet have an experimental drug in clinical trials……..Every person has hundreds of millions of copies of mRNA in their body, sending the instructions for vital activities of life in our cells. The mRNA in vaccines differs in two ways from our regular mRNA: one, it’s made by machines rather than in the nucleus of our cells; and two, it’s introduced from outside of the cell. Once inside, it does what mRNA does. Ribosomes read the mRNA and get to work, building the corresponding protein……..In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, cells build the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Our bodies learn to recognize the spike protein as an invader, putting our immune system on alert. As we go about the world, walking into grocery stores and churches and schools, many of us will unknowingly encounter the virus for the first time. If we are vaccinated, our immune system is already primed to respond to it………The advantages of mRNA vaccines are remarkable: there is no risk of infection from the virus or permanent changes to the genome, and the mRNA rapidly degrades by normal cellular processes so nothing remains. The vaccine can be designed on a computer and rapidly scaled up for manufacturing. Over the last four years, there’s been an explosion of interest in mRNA vaccines, with work under way on vaccines for cancer, influenza, Ebola and Zika. There are questions, too. How long will protection last? Can it eliminate transmission risk? Exactly who is at risk for side effects, and do we know all the side effects? ……….When the hunt for a COVID vaccine began, years of research came to fruition within months, accelerated by infrastructure and financial support from governments around the world. And by November, both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech reported results from phase 3 trials, showing the vaccines were more than 90 per cent effective in protecting against severe illness from SARS-CoV-2. ………The pandemic has been “a coming of age” for mRNA vaccines, says Madden. The fact that the first vaccines approved are mRNA vaccines indicates that this technology could be used to respond quickly and effectively to future threats, he says. He adds that he is hopeful the stringent storage criteria for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will change in the next two months, facilitating easier administration……..The pair received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Philadelphia on Dec. 18. Rossi is waiting for his shot and says he will happily take either of the approved vaccines. In Vancouver, Madden expects to be vaccinated as part of the rollout to the general population. He, too, will gladly accept either, though he has a soft spot for one using his company’s lipid delivery system… ……The famed scientist believes vaccines are a vital part of the response to the pandemic, but cannot be the only one. Proper ventilation and air filtration of enclosed spaces will be essential for preventing future pandemics, he says. “That’s what we need to do,” he says. In the meantime, he eagerly waits for his vaccination date. (Christina Frangou; Maclean’s)
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