One of the most progressive and dynamically developing areas of modern human activity is the healthcare industry, which is responsible for providing the population with timely, quality, and affordable clinical services. The fundamental importance of this industry can hardly be overestimated since population well-being and health, i.e., the very existence of a community ultimately depends on how smoothly the health care system functions. Nevertheless, despite all the progress catalyzed by the technological revolution, health care is not an absolute ideal, but like any other industry, it can face challenges and barriers. One such challenge is the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2019.
COVID-19 is not an exotic viral infection that has instant killing power. No, in terms of pathophysiology, this virus is a reasonably common pathogen of the family, causing respiratory problems (Rahman & Islam, 2021). However, the critical feature of COVID-19 was that no cure, much less a vaccine, had yet been found for this infection to build public immunity. As a result, COVID-19 began to spread so rapidly, with no host body response, that it was reclassified as a pandemic. The problem of rapidly developing a cure or vaccine could be solved by sequencing the genomic sequence of the virus. Knowing what it consisted of and how it functioned, laboratories could quickly develop an antidote for it. The obstacle, however, was time — clinical trials require ample supplies of time and volunteers, which was a limiting factor during the rapid spread of the pandemic. In other words, neither a classical vaccine nor a cure could be developed instantaneously, continuing to cause massive patient deaths and severe economic damage.
The solution was intriguing: instead of using classical vaccine development schemes, laboratories had to look toward RNA vaccines. The point of such a product was simple: instead of an active ingredient or DNA antigen, as in conventional vaccines, RNA vaccines, as the name implies, had ribonucleic acid in their composition. This RNA fragment within the vaccine is capable of encoding a protein sequence that is characteristic of the pathogen.
- The RNA vaccine has a number of advantages that have caused laboratories to look in their direction in a crisis situation:
- The clinical efficacy of such vaccines has been proven repeatedly and is above 90% for most COVID-19 preparations (Branswell, 2021).
- RNA vaccines form immunity in the patient without causing a severe disease state. In other words, the patient gets protection but avoids having to get sick.
- The speed of vaccine development is increased because only the pathogen genome needs to be sequenced (Mahalingam, 2020).
- The fast production speed results in a cheaper final cost of the product.
- No risk of genomic integration of RNA into the patient’s genome (Rahman & Islam, 2021).
- Has increased targeting accuracy of action due to the ease of use of the technology.
In addition, such vaccines also have apparent disadvantages, which may have caused public panic and mass conspiracy theories:
- For people with initially weakened immune systems, the effects of this vaccine could be unpredictable and lead to complications.
- Allergies could also be a reason for medical refusal of the vaccine.
- Side effects from the shot can be noticeable, which include dizziness, vomiting, and shortness of breath (CC, 2021).
Thus, RNA vaccines are an excellent tool for today’s healthcare system that can address time and accuracy deficits that will provide the foundation for collective immunity. Indeed, like any clinical drug, such vaccines are not without their weak points and limitations, but the number of advantages that their use creates makes RNA vaccines considered a kind of panacea of preventive sciences.
References
Branswell, H. (2021). ‘Real world’ study by CDC shows Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 90% effective. Stat. Web.
CC. (2021). mRNA vaccines. Cleveland Clinic. Web.
Mahalingam, S. (2020). From adenoviruses to RNA: The pros and cons of different COVID vaccine technologies. The Conversation. Web.
Rahman, M. A., & Islam, M. S. (2021). Early approval of COVID-19 vaccines: Pros and cons. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(10), 3288-3296. Web.