When a person thinks of vaccines, they often imagine the long needle of a syringe before a slight pinch on their arm, followed by a day of soreness as they recover.
That could soon change if researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), are successful in their attempt to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology via edible plants.
They are hoping that they can grow vegetables that can deliver vaccines with the same technology used to develop the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
Plants could be more easily digested than a vaccine shot, and transportation and storage will be easier as well because the vaccine shots need to be kept in very cold temperatures to avoid spoiling.
If successful, these plants could be a boon to lower income nations as they are easier to store and transport than doses of the Covid vaccines.
Researchers at UC Riverside are developing a way to insert mRNA into a plant's chloroplasts in order to deliver vaccines orally via edible vegetables (file photo)
The mRNA technology used in the Pfizer and Moderna shots - and potentially in the plants, has long existed but was rarely used in medicine until recently.
It works by delivering instructions to the body on how to form spike proteins that fuel Covid infection.
Once a person's immune system detects the protein, it will fight it, and form immunity to the proteins if they appear again in a person's body via exposure from the virus.
Companies are now working to apply this technology to other vaccines, including the yearly flu shot.
Juan Pablo Giraldo (pictured) is leading the research, and says he believes it could 'have a huge impact on people's lives'
'Ideally,
