The Story of Viruses and Vaccines

 

This is a virus particle. It’s a blob of fat with genetic code inside. It randomly flits about until one of two things happens: 

1. The fat dissolves and the code disintegrates.

2. It bumps into something it can attach to.

It can attach to lung cells. If someone inhales it, option 2 might happen. Otherwise, option 1 will happen.

This is a lung cell. It hangs out in your lung enabling you to breathe and making more lung cells.

This virus particle bumped into a lung cell and attached to it.

The virus particle transferred its genetic code into the lung cell. It’s no longer a lung cell. It no longer enables you to breathe. It’s now a repurposed factory making virus particles.

When the former lung cell fills up with virus particles, it bursts and releases the virus particles to go and try to randomly bump into cells they can attach to. They don’t have far to go. They’re already in your lung.

Your lymphatic system will sweep some of these virus particles up along with all sorts of other debris and a while later (the flow is slow) all the stuff will reach a lymph node. Your immune system will detect the virus particles, realize they don’t belong, and start to fight.

This attack takes two forms:

1. General things like raising your body temperature and causing inflammation to slow the multiplication of the virus and dispatching killer cells that race to the infection site and destroy everything they encounter. Lung cells, virus particles, whatever. This is when you start to feel like crap. This will continue until your lymph node is no longer detecting invaders.

2. Lots of potential antibody molecules are produced randomly. When a match is found, your immune system remembers how to make it, makes lots of them, and sends them to the site of infection. These attach to virus particles, blocking them from attaching to lung cells. The particles dissolve and disintegrate and are no longer present to be swept into the lymph node. Your fever breaks. You start to recover.

This is an mRNA Vaccine particle. It’s a blob of fat with genetic code inside. It randomly flits about until one of two things happens:

1. The fat dissolves and the code disintegrates.

2. It bumps into something it can attach to.

It can attach to shoulder cells. It’s already in your shoulder and option 2 will very likely happen.

This is a shoulder cell. It hangs out in your shoulder enabling you to lift objects and making more shoulder cells.

This vaccine particle bumped into a shoulder cell and attached to it.

The vaccine particle transferred its genetic code into the shoulder cell. It’s no longer a shoulder cell. It no longer enables you to lift objects. It’s now a repurposed factory making Spike Protein Molecules.

When the former shoulder cell fills up with Spike Protein Molecules, it bursts and releases the molecules. They have no genetic material and cannot play a role in making more Spike Protein Molecules.

Your lymphatic system will sweep some of these molecules up along with all sorts of other debris and a while later (the flow is slow) all the stuff will reach a lymph node. Your immune system will detect the molecules, realize they don’t belong, and start to fight.

This attack takes two forms:

1. General things like raising your body temperature and causing inflammation to slow the multiplication of the molecules and dispatching killer cells that race to the infection site and destroy everything they encounter. Shoulder cells, Spike Protein Molecules, whatever. This is when you start to feel symptoms. This will continue until your lymph node is no longer detecting invaders. Since the molecules can’t multiply, this happens quickly.

2. Lots of potential antibody molecules are produced randomly. When a match is found, your immune system remembers how to make it, makes lots of them, and sends them to the site of infection. These, well, don’t have much to do and will gradually be destroyed by your body. The memory of how to make them persists, though, and the next time an invader that can be blocked by it appears—Virus particles or Spike Protein Molecules—no random trial and error needs to take place. They are mass produced and dispatched immediately. (Plus, any antibodies that haven’t been destroyed by your body are already on scene.)

This picture shows the trial-and-error process: