Elasomeran
SpikevaxRCSB PDB 5X5B · 3D model
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Delivers lab-made instructions (mRNA) wrapped in a tiny fat bubble that teach your cells to briefly build a harmless piece of the COVID-19 virus's spike, training your immune system to recognize the real thing.
How it works
The vaccine is made of mRNA, a molecular instruction sheet, packaged inside a tiny fatty bubble that helps it get into your cells. Once inside, your own cells briefly follow those instructions to make a harmless copy of the virus's spike protein, the part it normally uses to invade cells. Your immune system spots this foreign protein, mounts a response, and remembers what the real virus looks like. The instructions themselves break down naturally within days.
What it’s used for
A preventive vaccine, not a treatment, given to people before they get sick to lower their chances of severe COVID-19. Approved for anyone 65 or older, and for younger people from 6 months to 64 years who have a health condition that puts them at higher risk.
- Mechanism
- Lipid nanoparticle-delivered mRNA encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein
- Drug class
- mRNA vaccine
- Therapeutic area
- Vaccine (COVID-19)