By: Eris Lowdermilk
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine operates with new technology. What we know so far is that the uses an mRNA vaccine that works together with RNA to notify cells. Through this process, a small fraction of the COVID-19 virus inside the body, giving the immune system advantage in fighting it.
Chief Medical Officer at Moderna Tal Zaks recently told Forbes, “We’ve actually taught a human body to make its own medicine.” Moderna, before the COVID-19 pandemic, were working with mRNA to fight viruses such as the recent Zika virus.
Other companies teaming up to create the vaccine to fight COVID-19 include Pfizer who is currently collaborating with BioNTech, as well as Translate Bio partnering with Sanofi. Both are working with mRNA as well.
The issue with mRNA technology is that it is so up to date, that it is not yet approved by the FDA. So far, Moderna has claimed that their vaccine is 95% effective with their trial of 30,000 people in the United States.
Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored under freezing temperatures, meanwhile, Moderna’s are also at barely below freezing but must be stored for a long period of time. Nonetheless, other vaccines must conclude their trials in order to determine which vaccines serve the population of America the best.
The race for the vaccine awaits approval, but are promising.
Knapp, Alex & Rosenbaum, Leah. (2020, November 16). What You Need to Know About Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2020/11/16/what-you-need-to-know-about-modernas-covid-19-vaccine/?sh=2f8929ef1a53
