How Do mRNA Vaccines Work?

Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines. These vaccines use a piece of genetic code from the virus that, when injected, stimulates your body to produce a certain protein that’s found on the coronavirus. Your body then creates antibodies in response to that protein. Those antibodies will attack the virus, should you be exposed to COVID-19. These vaccines do not alter your DNA and do not contain the actual live virus, so they cannot give you COVID-19. Dr. Mark Thomas explains more about how mRNA vaccines work in the video.