A trial in 1996 made history by physicians put new genes for HIV or influenza into healthy people. Traditional vs. Modern Traditionally, vaccines were weakened versions or subunits of the agents. This is because in order to kill these viruses , the killer T lymphocytes , cytotoxic T lymphocytes, have to be activated and this cannot be done with the traditional vaccines. Another problem with traditional vaccines is that the protection usually wears off after sometime and the patient would need frequent booster shots for it to work. The structures of the two vaccines are also quite different.
Genetic vaccines consist of plasmids , small rings of double-stranded DNA .
The plasmids used have been altered to carry specific genes and also they would ostracize genes that would cause infection or disease. The genes are inserted into he cells by either injection or by a gene gun. The injection puts the genes into the muscles, while the gene gun puts the genes onto cells near the surface of the skin, like skin membranes. How DNA vaccines work DNA vaccines have to do two things in order to activate the killer T lymphocytes. First, the lymphocytes have to be switched on.