How the Vaccine Was Developed So Quickly First and foremost, mRNA is not a new technology. According to Dr. Bewtra, who is also an IBD patient, this is a technology that has been researched and evaluated by infectious disease doctors and virologists over the last 30 years. Bewtra described mRNA as a “Post-it note” with instructions that get sent to the body’s cells to teach them how to make a protein, or a piece of a protein, that triggers an immune response. The immune response produces antibodies that protect us if the virus does enter our body. So when SARS-CoV-2 began decimating parts of Europe and Asia early in 2020, scientists from around the world came together to work on developing a vaccine. In the United States specifically, Operation Warp Speed pulled together the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and pharmaceutical companies to pivot their strategy and focus on vaccine development. This brought production to scale.