Researchers: mRNA Vaccines Can Produce Unintended Immune Response
Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit have discovered that some mRNA jabs for COVID can cause an unintended immune response that leads to the production of useless, unrelated proteins....
Facts
- Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit have discovered that some mRNA jabs for COVID can cause an unintended immune response that leads to the production of useless, unrelated proteins.1
- So far it appears this glitch doesn't cause any adverse effects, but the response was present in a little more than one in four patients who received the shot.1
- The mRNA vaccines work because Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the University of Pennsylvania discovered that replacing uridine on one of the mRNA strands with pseudouridine allows it to survive long enough to make the necessary protein.2
- In Cambridge University's research, however, they discovered the form of pseudouridine in mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna can lead to an increase in misreadings of mRNA by ribosomes, compared to readings of natural mRNAs. It is possible that the vaccines could even get a boost from the body's broader immune response to the misreadings.2
- The Council stressed that this research doesn’t indicate that COVID vaccines are unsafe.3
Sources: 1The Telegraph, 2Archive and 3Geneng News.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by BBC News. It's great that even as mRNA vaccines have proven to be highly effective in saving millions of lives, scientists are continuing to study them. While the COVID vaccines aren't producing any ill effects from these unwanted proteins, future vaccines for other viruses could produce harmful proteins. These types of studies will make sure that doesn't happen.
- Narrative B, as provided by Indo & New York. It can’t be stressed enough that there’s no evidence of ill effects — so far. Research will continue, and it’s great that vaccine makers will be working to avoid this issue in future vaccines. But like all jabs, the science is still unfolding and we’ll see what impact there might be on the COVID vaccine. A longer period of record will eventually tell the full story.
