First off - I’m not taking the vaccine. Everyone had their own right/decision to make, but me and my family won’t until there are longer studies, at scale, on long term effects.
Secondly, and my main question if anyone can explain it in a “simple manner” how do these mRNa vaccines work? My understanding is unlike other vaccines where you get a dead or live version of the disease, so your body recognizes it and responds appropriately, the mRNA basically sends a message, via proteins/genetic material to tell our body how to build up an immunity to fight the particular strain of virus?
So instead of “typical” vaccine where we learn via experience, mRNA is telling us when we encounter it how to fight it?
I’m genuinely curious as I’ve heard some people saying mRNA alters DNA, has less approval, isn’t as safe, etc.
I’m a tad suspicious because it is my understanding that we’ve never had a widely used mRNA vaccine until now.
To be fair, I am wary too. But every new medical process that saves lives today, which we take for granted, was used for the first time once. To our advantage, the entire world is working on this, and it's well funded. So hopefully it will succeed with minimal side effects.
Personally, I’m waiting for a version 1.1 of the vaccine, where they’ve worked out the initial bugs or the most severe of the adverse side effects.
It’d also be nice if they could figure out a way to vaccinate us in one sitting rather than have it be in two doses taken two weeks apart.
Correct, there has never been an mRNA vaccine used in humans and Moderna, one of the makers has never created a drug or vaccine before. Ever.