COVID-19 Vaccine Explained

As we reflect back on the history and evolution of vaccinations there is one inevitability, both then and now… Vaccinations must be safe. That’s the only way vaccines will continue to be successful in the United States. Vaccines have a long history of advancement and have saved many lives. In the past, so many people have experienced and endured devastating effects of preventable diseases and viruses such as measles, mumps and whooping cough. However, vaccines have successfully eliminated outbreaks like smallpox and polio virus.

Our best defense against sudden and uncontainable diseases and viruses are vaccines. The truth is everyone’s body reacts differently to vaccines, so no vaccine is 100% safe or effective. Still, the benefit of vaccines outweighs the risks.

Vaccines are tested extensively in laboratories and with human subjects to ensure their safety. After such researches test vaccines on animals. The FDA requires that before vaccines can be licensed for us in the general public they must undergo three phases of clinical trials with human subjects. This year Coronavirus (COVID-19) took the world by storm inflicting paranoia, pain and loss on many. As schools, businesses, and travel around the country shut down due to COVID-19 we were left with so many questions: Will there be a vaccine? Is it safe? How did it come out so fast? – COVID-19 vaccines are currently authorized and recommended for use in the United States. The most important part is understanding each vaccine and it the process it took to create it so quickly. The government financially aided pharmaceutical companies so developers could solely focus on the COVID-19 virus. Vaccines aim to expose the body to antigen that won’t cause the disease, but will provoke an immune response that can kill the virus if the body become infected.

mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies. DNA and RNA can be thought of as cousins. The way the vaccine works is our cells are made up from messenger RNA. The vaccines make a spike in proteins in our bodies. Large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials are in progress or being planned for three COVID-19 vaccines, one of which is Moderna’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine.

Getting vaccinated is one of many steps you can take to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.  Protection from COVID-19 is critically important because for some people, it can cause severe illness or death. Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools available.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit: cdc.gov

This information was originally posted on cdc.gov.