Rather than tinkering with the virus or its parts, this platform harnesses the “beauty of our biology” to deliver protection, said RNA virologist Paul Duprex, who directs the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research.
For others, including the HPV and shingles vaccines, it’s a piece of that pathogen, like the specific protein it uses to infect cells in the first place.īut mRNA vaccines take a different approach. There are lots of different ways to make a vaccine, but the ultimate goal of any shot is to introduce the body to the biological equivalent of a “most wanted” poster so that if the real enemy ever shows up, our immune systems know how to fight it off.įor some vaccines, that poster is a version of a pathogen that’s been weakened - like the chickenpox shot - or inactivated - like most flu shots - so that it can’t actually cause infection.