To further explicate this great Pfizer news, one of the most important features of the vaccine is that it is based on mRNA rather than DNA. This article gives a thorough overview of the differences, but I will break down a few of the highlights:
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/five-things-you-need-know-about-mrna-vaccines.html
1. mRNA vaccines are built on the concept of tricking the body into creating viral proteins using messenger RNA, rather than merely sending out antibodies based on a code that it is familiar with once it comes into contact with a virus. Think of it as getting a jump on the opposition.
2. mRNA vaccines have never been licensed, but mRNA tech has been used to fight cancer in the past. There are many unknowns; these human trials that are currently being conducted are enormously important for vaccine development going forward.
3. mRNA vaccines may be easier to develop and produce than traditional DNA vaccines. In this way, the timeline we have been given for distributing the vaccine may be a little more pessimistic than what is possible, as there is no precedent for producing an mRNA vaccine to scale.
"And by getting the human body to produce the viral proteins itself, mRNA vaccines cut out some of the manufacturing process and should be easier and quicker to produce than traditional vaccines. ‘In this situation, the major benefit is that it's easy to produce (and) it will also probably be relatively easy to do an upscaling of production, which of course, is very important if you think about deployment throughout Europe and the world,’ said Prof. Bekeredjian-Ding."
A successful mRNA vaccine, or several, would be a turning point in vaccine production that could impact the way we treat any number of common illnesses. Science just needed the opportunity to break status quo.