Having originated from China in late 2019, coronavirus, more commonly referred to as COVID 19, has made a significant place in history, affecting billions across the globe. Closing down schools and restaurants, putting small businesses out of work, and isolating many of us for more than a year, the virus has clearly had a substantial effect in nearly all of our daily lives. Fortunately, the remarkable effort and research of our scientists and doctors have led to the development of the first few COVID vaccines, consisting of Pfizer, Moderna, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. As of July 17, 2021, more than 185 million citizens in the United States have received at least one dose, and well over 2 billion people worldwide have received at least one dose as well. As one of the first of its kind, the uniquely developed COVID vaccine has raised a plethora of questions regarding concerns about safety, effectiveness, and more. Let’s take a deeper look into the mRNA vaccine’s background and how it actually works.
What are the 3 vaccines and how are they different from each other?
In the USA, there are currently 3 FDA approved vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen.
Pfizer-BioNTech
- The Pfizer vaccine is an mRNA vaccine available to those 12 and over, and is 95% effective against COVID 19.
Moderna
- The Moderna vaccine is an mRNA vaccine as well, available to those 18 and over, and is 94.1% effective against COVID 19.
Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen
- The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a virus vector vaccine, differing from Moderna and Pfizer. It is available to those 18 and over, and is 66.3% effective against COVID 19. It is the only vaccine currently available that only has one shot.
Common side effects for each vaccine include pain, redness, swelling, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea.
What is an mRNA vaccine?
Unlike typical vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA based vaccines. Contrary to the common misconception, these vaccines are not live; they do not contain the virus and therefore cannot give a person COVID. Being a very new concept to most people, these vaccines have raised a large number of questions regarding their efficiency and effectiveness, and how they actually work. It can be broken down into a few simple steps
mRNA, also known as Messenger RNA, serves as a set of instructions used to develop proteins. The mRNA in the vaccine is used to develop copies of the spike protein that are on the surface of coronavirus itself. After the mRNA delivers the “instructions” on making the proteins, it is broken down by the cells and gotten rid of by the body. The proteins, on the surface of cells, are recognized by the body as foreign. Similar to what would happen when the actual virus would enter the body, the body starts developing an immune system and antibodies. By making copies of these spike proteins, the body will identify the virus if it ever enters your body and is able to fight it off, due to the antibodies and immune system that were developed as a result of the vaccine.
mRNA vaccines’ exceptionally high efficiency and interesting development have opened up a gateway of opportunities for virus control. Beyond just protecting our bodies against one disease, mRNA has the potential to help our bodies develop antibodies against multiple viruses by using just one vaccine. The concept of designing mRNA, or instructions for protein development, has the potential to evolve not just vaccines but so much more. With further development and experimentation, we can except to see mRNA help revolutionize the development a plethora of things in the future.
