The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIH scientists and collaborators at biotechnology company Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts."Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent public health priority," said Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the NIH.
"This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal." Coronaviruses are spherical and have spikes protruding from their surface, giving them a crown-like appearance. The spike binds to human cells, allowing the virus to gain entry. The Moderna candidate vaccine carries the genetic information of this spike in a substance called"messenger RNA."
Injecting human tissue with the spike's messenger RNA makes it grow inside the body, thereby eliciting an immune response without having actually infected a person with the full-blown virus.
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