These are basically the same as the 'subunit' type of vaccine, with the difference being that your body produces the subunits directly through instructions in the mRNA that is in the vaccine. In this case the mRNA in the vaccine instructs your cells to create copies of the 'spike protein' portion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. After being created by your own cells, these proteins enter the blood stream, trigger an immune response and ultimately immunity to viruses having that spike protein.
This is extremely targeted immunity vs. natural immunity generated by an infection, in which your body will create antibodies for all sorts of proteins in the virus. The broader resistance from natural immunity sounds good, and does have some benefit, but it also increases the risk of making your body react to its own tissues, creating an autoimmune condition. On the other hand, one potential downside of the mRNA vaccination is that if the virus mutates the spike protein sufficiently to resist the antibodies generated by the vaccine, you're back to square one.
> From what I know, the COVID-19 vaccine is only effective in reducing symptoms for those who get inoculated. Is it accurate to say this vaccine does not prevent infection or help develop an immunity?
As others have mentioned immunity does not mean 'zero infection', it simply means that your immune system is primed to stop the infection quickly by having antibodies for the spike protein.
There are a variety of COVID-19 vaccines either already approved or in the pipeline in various countries. Only some of them are mRNA vaccines, notably the one from Moderna. Others are based on older technology.
Cool, so the spike protein "factory" creates facsimiles of the actual SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which then becomes a trigger to the immune system to create antibodies for that specific virus/spike protein combo.
The mRNA approach to vaccines seems to be a leaner, meaner, 2.0 version wherein instead of injecting a virus ut totum the vaccine-development-wizards have developed it to use just enough of the original virus code to trigger the immunological response, bolstering our defenses, and thereby increasing resistance to the thing "in the wild."
Would this apply to other coronaviruses, such as "common cold" type vaccinations? Were there specific discoveries in 2020 that will open the floodgates to better influenza protection? </rhetorical>
These types of responses are really helpful, and help me to get back into a rational framing of the subject - rather than fielding psychological noise from headlines and sub-informational news pieces.
It’s broader than that actually, this is a generalized protein factory.
This is how mRNA is created by the cells in your body to create the proteins needed to keep you alive (aka transcription): https://youtu.be/SMtWvDbfHLo
This is how mRNA is then used to create proteins, either from strands manufactured by your own cells, those coming from viruses that have infected your body, or from mRNA vaccines (aka translation): https://youtu.be/TfYf_rPWUdY
Not directly related, but here is an amazing video showing how HIV infection works, including parts you will now recognize from the above: https://vimeo.com/260291607
>Can someone help me understand the difference between this and other vaccines?
Here are the traditional vaccine types: https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/types
COVID-19 vaccines are all (to my knowledge) a new type called an 'mRNA vaccine' - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different...
These are basically the same as the 'subunit' type of vaccine, with the difference being that your body produces the subunits directly through instructions in the mRNA that is in the vaccine. In this case the mRNA in the vaccine instructs your cells to create copies of the 'spike protein' portion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. After being created by your own cells, these proteins enter the blood stream, trigger an immune response and ultimately immunity to viruses having that spike protein.
This is extremely targeted immunity vs. natural immunity generated by an infection, in which your body will create antibodies for all sorts of proteins in the virus. The broader resistance from natural immunity sounds good, and does have some benefit, but it also increases the risk of making your body react to its own tissues, creating an autoimmune condition. On the other hand, one potential downside of the mRNA vaccination is that if the virus mutates the spike protein sufficiently to resist the antibodies generated by the vaccine, you're back to square one.
> From what I know, the COVID-19 vaccine is only effective in reducing symptoms for those who get inoculated. Is it accurate to say this vaccine does not prevent infection or help develop an immunity?
As others have mentioned immunity does not mean 'zero infection', it simply means that your immune system is primed to stop the infection quickly by having antibodies for the spike protein.