Read on Twitter
The difference between the Covid-19 vaccines and ones we’ve received in the past is that instead of being injected with a weak/inactive version of whatever virus or bacteria is causing the illnesss, they are injecting patients with messenger RNA (mRNA) which is used by cells to
code proteins from genes. The injected mRNA gives the instructions for our cells to produce the spike protein (the spiky protein you can see covering the covid-19 virus in pictures.) This allows our immune system to recognize the protein as foreign and attack it
(which is what may result in swelling, oreness, stiffness, fever and/or chills) for a few days. The immune system is then prepped to recognize and attack the virus if it enters the body at any future time because it has created antibodies against the spike protein!!
The spike protein created by mRNA cannot get us sick with covid-19 because it’s not a virus at all! Just a protein. Most other vaccines actually contain inactivated versions of the entire pathogen. This is really innovative science!!
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html here’s an article for anyone who wants to read also!!
Here’s another really informative article about the history of synthetic mRNA’s applications to the health field https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-once-dismissed-idea-became-a-leading-technology-in-the-covid-vaccine-race/
The scientist who began researching the ways that synthetic mRNA could be used for health applications struggled to receive government funding and grants for many years, which is part of the reason it hasn’t been applied sooner.
And lastly I’m gonna include a snippet of the above article (which is pretty long LMAO) which shows that Pfizer (the company that is manufacturing the vaccine) opted out of receiving upfront money from the government to decrease politicization of the vaccine.
