The problem with all vaccines is that they have not only to present an antigen (virus protein), but also to trick the immune system to fight against it. Different vaccines do it different ways: Some use living viruses, that really enter the cells. They don't replicate, but contain some RNA that is used as a blueprint to produce the antigen. When a cell detects these alien proteins, it presents them on its surface to the immune system cells. Some vaccines use dead viruses, but get scratched into the skin with a needle to alarm the immune system. Some vaccines use dead stuff plus some poison (adjuvants), so the immune system detects damage. Some vaccines use living viruses that don't replicate and that don't contain the antigen, but force the cells to produce the antigen. The AstraZeneca vaccine does that, virus DNA enters the nucleus where the mRNA copies are created. The mRNA vaccines are more simple, they do not enter the nucleus because they are the mRNA, no need to produce it.
The problem with all vaccines is that they have not only to present an antigen (virus protein), but also to trick the immune system to fight against it. Different vaccines do it different ways: Some use living viruses, that really enter the cells. They don't replicate, but contain some RNA that is used as a blueprint to produce the antigen. When a cell detects these alien proteins, it presents them on its surface to the immune system cells. Some vaccines use dead viruses, but get scratched into the skin with a needle to alarm the immune system. Some vaccines use dead stuff plus some poison (adjuvants), so the immune system detects damage. Some vaccines use living viruses that don't replicate and that don't contain the antigen, but force the cells to produce the antigen. The AstraZeneca vaccine does that, virus DNA enters the nucleus where the mRNA copies are created. The mRNA vaccines are more simple, they do not enter the nucleus because they are the mRNA, no need to produce it.
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