The Pfizer/Moderna COVID19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines.

What is mRNA?

All cells have DNA (in chromosomes). Think of DNA as a cookbook with the directions for your cell to make what it needs to function. In order for a chef to make a dish, the chef needs to see the recipe.(1/5)

mRNA is a copy of the single recipe you need to make the specific dish. "Copying" the recipe happens in a process called transcription that uses a portion of DNA (a gene) as a template to create mRNA. Next, mRNA is turned into protein in a process called translation. (2/5)

Translation is like the chef looking at the specific, copied recipe and actually preparing a real dish that one can consume. mRNA from one gene (DNA) gets translated into a functional protein that it can perform a job in the cell. So we have DNA -> mRNA -> protein. (3/5)

mRNA vaccines utilize this natural process to generate an immune response against SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID19. In these vaccines, mRNA will be delivered to your cells that shows cells the “recipe” for a protein specific to the virus that causes COVID. (4/5)

Our cells will receive the SARS-CoV2 mRNA and then translate it into protein (like the chef cooking from a recipe copy). Immune cells will recognize this protein as foreign and generate an immune response. Therefore, if we are later exposed to SARS-CoV2, our body is ready! (5/5)