SARS-COV-2 is a novel coronavirus that is responsible for the COVID-19 infection. The virus works by entering the healthy human cells through the crown-shaped protein spikes on its surface.

A promising candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 is a messenger RNA based vaccine from Moderna medical. Messenger RNA or mRNA are strands of genetic material similar to DNA that ribosomes in the cell use to synthesize proteins.

Moderna’s mRNA vaccine contains the instructions to synthesize the crown-shaped protein spikes on the surface of the SARS-COV-2 virus.

The vaccine is encapsulated into a lipid layer that allows it to enter the cell. Once inside the cell, the mRNA is released and ribosomes in the cell read them to synthesize the virus’s spike proteins, which are then released from the cell. The spikes themselves are not harmful, but the human immune system perceives them as though the body has been infected with COVID-19. In response, the immune system produces antibodies against the SARS-COV-2 virus.

In the presence of actual COVID-19 infection, these antibodies prevent the virus from entering a healthy cell by attaching themselves onto the spike proteins, thereby blocking their entry into the healthy cell and thus creating immunity.