[LatteLazy]

Thanks!

Any idea if thoseipid vesicles are "standard"?

In case you care, I have no objections to the vaccine. I'm too young (36 and not working in care) to get it any time soon. But I'd take it tomorrow if it were available for me.

[fabian2k]

As far as I understand, the delivery systems were a large part of the research necessary to make RNA-based drugs possible. What the RNA does inside the cell we know reasonably well (I'm simplifying a lot here ), but getting the RNA into the cells efficiently was the original problem to be solved.

So I don't think those are really standard components, there are a lot of ways to create different systems here with different properties.

As a more general comment on this concern about additives, this is typically targeted at vaccines with adjuvants. Adjuvants are designed to create a stronger immune response, the lipids here are not adjuvants and as far as I understand the mRNA vaccines don't contain any adjuvants. I don't agree with the general concerns about adjuvants (though of course each vaccine has to prove safety in the studies on their own), but they are an additive with an inherently higher risk than something more inert. The immune system is extremely complex and highly dangerous.

[zebrafish]

No, the major difference in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are in the makeup of the lipid nanoparticle. Here's an article from Moderna last year on biodegradability of the LNPs they've developed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6383180/

[drjet]

Thanks for this article. I can see both vaccines consider the use of PEG to be important. Still looking for the other lipid ingredients in the Moderna vaccine.