The technology was viewed with scepticism before the pandemic but there is now growing confidence about its use
It is one of the most remarkable success stories of the pandemic: the unproven technology that delivered the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in record time, helping to turn the tide on Covid-19. The vaccines are based on mRNA, the molecule that instructs our cells to make specific proteins. By injecting synthetic mRNA, our cells are turned into on-demand vaccine factories, pumping out any protein we want our immune system to learn to recognise and destroy.
Pre-pandemic, the technology was viewed with scepticism – a clever concept, but not guaranteed to deliver. Now there is growing confidence that mRNA vaccines could have far-reaching applications in tackling diseases from flu to malaria.
