Blood samples from volunteers participating in testing of the Covid-19 vaccine by Moderna and the National Institutes. Photo / AP fileHow could scientists race out Covid-19 vaccines so fast without cutting corners? Should a coronavirus vaccine be mandatory? Both shots - one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, the other by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health - are so-called messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines, a brand-new technology. Last January, shortly after the new coronavirus was reported in China, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin switched gears and used the same method to create a Covid-19 vaccine.

Source: New Zealand Herald December 07, 2020 19:30 UTC