Vaccines

Millions of microbes are present in and on a human body. The surface of the skin, the oral cavity, the gut – are all inhabited by millions of bacteria, which are collectively referred to as the ‘human microbial flora’. All countries have militaries to combat enemy invasions. Similarly, human bodies are equipped with immune cells to identify and attack foreign invaders, distinct from the members of the normal human microbial flora. Our immune system is a super-efficient, and a highly complex system. However, sometimes in order to prevent certain infections we need help in the form of vaccines. Young infants, for example, are routinely vaccinated to protect them from certain infections as their immune systems are still not developed enough. They can get very sick if they catch certain infections. Vaccines are made from weakened microbes, or their components. When they are injected (more common) or administered orally (less common), they do not cause an infection, however, they trigger our immune systems to make antibodies (proteins that identify and tag foreign particles to be destroyed by specialized cells of the immune system). The immune system also has memory. It stores all the information in its cells such that, if one encounters that particular microorganism after vaccination, the immune system can quickly prepare cells to fight the infection without losing any time. We are living in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Recently two companies were in the news for the development of mRNA vaccines that have been found to be 90 to 95% effective against the SARS-CoV-2. What are mRNA vaccines? How are they different from conventional vaccines? Stay tuned for more information on that.