How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly - Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne

Translator: Emma Gro Helles Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

In the 20th century, most vaccines took well over a decade

I det 20. århundrede tog det over et årti at teste og producere de fleste vacciner

to research, test, and produce.

But the vaccines for COVID-19 cleared the threshold for emergency use

Men COVID-19-vaccinerne blev godkendt til brug i nødstilfælde

in less than 11 months.

på mindre end 11 måneder.

The secret behind this speed is a medical technology

Hemmeligheden bag denne fart er en medicinsk teknologi,

that’s been developing for decades:

som har været under udvikling i årtier:

the mRNA vaccine.

mRNA-vaccinen.

This new treatment uses our body’s existing cellular machinery

Denne nye behandling bruger kroppens egne celler

to trigger an immune response,

til at starte en immunrespons,

protecting us from viruses without ever experiencing an infection.

som beskytter os fra vira uden, at vi nogensinde bliver smittet.

And in the future, this approach might be able to treat new diseases

Og i fremtiden kan denne tilgang være i stand til at behandle nye sygdomme

almost as quickly as they emerge.

næsten ligeså hurtigt som de opstår.

So how do these revolutionary vaccines work?

Så hvordan virker disse revolutionerende vacciner?

The key ingredient is in the name.

Hovedingrediensen ligger i navnet.

mRNA, or messenger ribonucleic acid, is a naturally occurring molecule

mRNA, eller ‘budbringende’ ribonukleinsyre er et naturligt fremkommende molekyle,

that encodes the instructions for producing proteins.

der indkoder instruktionerne til at producere proteiner.

When our cells process mRNA, a part of the cell called the ribosome

Når vores celler behandler mRNA, oversætter en del af cellen, ribosomet,

translates and follows these instructions to build the encoded protein.

disse instruktioner og følger dem for at bygge det indkodede protein.

The mRNA in these vaccines works in exactly the same way,

mRNA’et i vaccinerne virker på præcis samme måde,

but scientists use the molecule to safely introduce our body to a virus.

men videnskabsfolk bruger molekylet

til at introducere vores krop for en virus på en sikker måde.

First, researchers encode trillions of mRNA molecules with the instructions

Først indkoder forskere billioner mRNA-molekyler

med instruktionerne til et specifikt virusprotein

for a specific viral protein.

This part of the virus is harmless by itself,

Denne del af virussen er i sig selv harmløs,

but helpful for training our body’s immune response.

men hjælper med at træne kroppens immunforsvar.

Then, they inject those molecules into a nanoparticle

Så injicerer de disse molekyler ind i en nanopartikel,

roughly 1,000 times smaller than the average cell.

som er ca. 1.000 gange mindre end en gennemsnitlig celle.

This nanoparticle is made of lipids,

Denne nanopartikel er lavet af lipider,

the same type of fatty material that forms the membrane around our cells.

den samme type fedtstof som cellemembranerne består af.

But these lipids have been specially engineered

Men disse lipider er specialdesignede

to protect the mRNA on its journey through the body

til at beskytte mRNA’et på dets rejse gennem kroppen

and assist its entry into the cell.

og hjælpe det med at komme ind i cellen.

Lastly, the final ingredients are added: sugars and salt

Til sidst tilføres de sidste ingredienser: sukre og salt

to help keep the nanoparticles intact until they reach their destination.

for at holde nanopartiklerne intakte indtil de kan nå deres mål.

Before use, the vaccine is kept at a temperature of -20 to -80 degrees Celsius

Før brug holdes vaccinens temperatur på -20 til -80 grader Celsius

to ensure none of the components break down.

for at sikre, at ingen af komponenterne nedbrydes.

Once injected, the nanoparticles disperse and encounter cells.

Når nanopartiklerne er blevet indsprøjtet, spreder de sig og møder celler.

The lipid coating on each nanoparticle fuses with the lipid membrane of a cell

Lipidhinden på hver nanopartikel smelter sammen med en celles lipidhinde

and releases the mRNA to do its work.

og frigiver mRNA’et, så det kan gøre sit.

At this point, we should note that while the vaccine is delivering

På dette tidspunkt bør vi notere, at selvom vaccinen leverer

viral genetic material into our cells,

viralt genetisk materiale til vores celler

it’s impossible for this material to alter our DNA.

er det umuligt for dette materiale at ændre vores DNA.

mRNA is a short-lived molecule

mRNA er et kortlivet molekyle, der behøver flere enzymer og signalstoffer

that would need additional enzymes and chemical signals to even access our DNA,

til overhovedet at få adgang til vores DNA

let alone change it.

for slet ikke at tale om at ændre den.

And none of these DNA altering components are present in mRNA vaccines.

Og ingen af disse DNA-ændrende komponenter findes i mRNA-vacciner.

Once inside the cell, the ribosome translates the mRNA’s instructions

Inde i cellen oversætter ribosomet mRNA’ets instruktioner

and begins assembling the viral protein.

og samler virusproteinet.

In COVID-19 vaccines, that protein is one of the spikes typically found

I COVID-19-vacciner, er dét protein en af de pigge,

on the virus’s surface.

der typisk findes på virussets overflade.

Without the rest of the virus this lone spike is not infectious,

Uden resten af virussen er denne ene pig ikke smittefarlig,

but it does trigger our immune response.

men den udløser stadig vores immunforsvar.

Activating the immune system can be taxing on the body,

Det kan være hårdt for kroppen at aktivere immunforsvaret,

resulting in brief fatigue, fever, and muscle soreness in some people.

hvilket resulterer i kortvarig træthed, feber og muskelømhed hos nogle mennesker.

But this doesn’t mean the recipient is sick—

Men det betyder ikke at modtageren er syg-

it means the vaccine is working.

det betyder, at vaccinen virker.

Kroppen producerer antistoffer, der skal bekæmpe det virusprotein,

The body is producing antibodies to fight that viral protein,

that will then stick around to defend against future COVID-19 infections.

som vil blive hængende og kan forsvare imod fremtidige OCVID-19-infektioner.

And since this particular protein is likely to be found in most COVID variants,

Og da dette specifikke protein kan findes i de fleste COVID varianter,

these antibodies should reduce the threat of catching new strains.

kan antistofferne reducere truslen om at pådrage sig nye stammer.

This approach offers significant advantages over previous vaccines.

Denne tilgang har væsentlige fordele fremfor tidligere vacciner.

Traditional vaccines contain weakened versions of live viruses

Traditionelle vacciner indeholder svækkede udgaver af levende vira

or amputated sections of a virus,

eller amputerede dele af en virus

both of which required time intensive research to prepare

som begge krævede tidskrævende forskning at forberede

and unique chemical treatments to safely inject.

og unikke kemiske behandlinger for at kunne injiceres sikkert.

But mRNA vaccines don’t actually contain any viral particles,

Men mRNA-vacciner indeholder ikke nogen rigtige viruspartikler,

so they don’t have to be built from scratch to safely adjust each virus.

så de behøver ikke bygges helt forfra for sikkert at tilpasses hver virus.

In fact, every mRNA vaccine could have roughly the same list of ingredients.

Faktisk, kunne hver mRNA-vaccine have nogenlunde den samme ingrediensliste.

Imagine a reliable, robustly tested vaccine that can treat any disease

Forestil dig en pålidelig, gennemtestet vaccine,

der kan behandle enhver sygdom ved at udskifte én eneste komponent.

by swapping out a single component.

To treat a new illness, researchers would identify the right viral protein,

For at behandle en ny sygdom,

ville forskere identificere det rigtige virusprotein,

encode it into mRNA,

indkode det i mRNA,

and then swap that mRNA into the existing vaccine platform.

og så indsætte dét mRNA i den eksisterende vaccine.

This could make it possible to develop new vaccines in weeks,

Dette kunne gøre det muligt at udvikle nye vacciner på få uger,

giving humanity a flexible new tool in the never-ending fight against disease.

og give menneskeheden et nyt, fleksibelt værktøj i den endeløse kamp mod sygdom.