What is the COVID-VACCINES-2019. does to your body?

 What is the COVID-VACCINES-2019. does to your body?
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   Presenter There's a lot of excitement right now

around the record speed vaccines for COVID-19,

some of which are already starting distribution

in parts of the world.

But given that these are mRNA vaccines

are relatively new technology

that has not been widely used before.

We wanted to explain how they work and what happens

to your body from the moment that needle touches your skin.

- Like vaccines, we're used to seeing these vaccines

will be injected into the upper muscle of your arm

but unlike typical vaccines

which introduce inactive or weakened forms of a virus,

these will release genetic material called messenger RNA.

So what exactly does this mRNA do?

Well in a regular cell of your body,

you have DNA inside of the nucleus and this DNA stores

all the information and instructions important

to the functioning of your cells your body

and ultimately makes you you.

Inside your cell is machinery that reads through your DNA

and transcribes it into mRNA

which then leaves the nucleus and goes into your cytoplasm.

And it's here that the ribosomes

and yourselves read the RNA and depending

on the specific code to build a series of amino acids

which fold in on themselves to make proteins

which keep you alive and functioning.

This process is known as translation.

In fact, it's this process that viruses take advantage

of in the first place.

They insert their own genetic information into you

and then your cell machinery unwittingly starts taking

that information and building proteins

to help create more viruses.

- So back to the needle,

the mRNA that is being injected into you

from the vaccine also carries genetic instructions

but in this case, it's only coding

for one small part of the virus

instead of the whole thing.

You've probably seen SARS CoV2 represented like this

with the spikes on it.

And it's this spike protein which on its own is harmless

that the vaccines mRNA codes for.

The mRNA makes its way into the cytoplasm of your cells

where the ribosomes read the information

and start to create the spikeD proteins.

Once the protein is made,

it goes to the cell membrane and then your cell breaks down

and destroys the injected mRNA instructions.

- So what good does having a tiny fragment of viral spike

in your body do?

Well, it gives your body and more importantly,

your immune system, a preview of what the virus looks like

without causing disease.

Suddenly your antibodies will notice it and go,

well, this doesn't belong here

which triggers an immune response to recognize

and prepare your body for the real thing

without ever having to come in contact

with the actual virus itself.

Your immune system essentially gets a headstart

by creating powerful antibodies that can neutralize

and kill the real virus.

And this antibody memory is stored in your B cells

so that if you're ever infected in the future

with the SARS CoV 2 virus, your body now has the upper hand.

This is known as an adaptive immune response.

Your body has already seen these spike proteins before

and therefore it already knows what to do.

Essentially, these mRNA vaccines allow your body

to protect itself from a future infection

without ever having to risk the consequences

of getting the COVID-19.

- So why haven't mRNA vaccines been used before?

While they are relatively new researchers

have actually been experimenting with them for decades

but in the past they've been very unstable.

Enzymes in your body would break down the mRNA quickly

so they needed to be packaged well.

The ones being released now have the mRNA encased

in lipid nanoparticles which essentially protect

the mRNA from being degraded.

Since there are more unstable than other types of vaccines,

they have to be kept cold.

For example, the Pfizer vaccine

it has to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius

and at normal refrigerated temperatures

can only last five days.

Of course, a global pandemic has certainly increased

the funding and resources going towards

these types of vaccines which has helped

to accelerate their development.

- What makes these vaccines so appealing

is that unlike other vaccines,

they can be made in a lab with readily available materials

and actually made much quicker than other types of vaccines.

Instead of fully developing non-infectious viruses

and then injecting them, these mRNA vaccines

can sort of pass many hurdles by using your own body

in an ingenious way.

It's also far more cost-effective to create mRNA molecules

rather than the proteins themselves

and also a lot more scalable

which is helpful when we are in a global pandemic waiting

for a vaccine.

- So is it safe?

And given that it's a relatively new technology,

should you be concerned at all?

Well, that's what these initial trial stages have been for.

Not only to test whether or not they work

and cause immunity but to make sure

they have minimal side effects.

As of now around 70,000 people

have been given these vaccines

with no serious concerns,

a caveat being that the full research

hasn't been published yet as of recording this video.

But it's important to remember that just

because it's safe doesn't mean

there won't be any soreness or pain.

Some recipients did report aches and pains

and as of now you'll need to receive two shots

to ensure efficacy.

I saw a really great analogy by the professor Shane Crotty

who works in vaccine research and he said,

"It's not unlike going to the gym and getting exercise

"and really sore muscles.

"A bit of pain can be a positive sign

"that good things are happening.

"Sometimes you have to earn your immunity,

"just like you have to earn those biceps you wanted so bad."

- We know you've been asking about these vaccines a lot,

we've also had our questions.

So we hope that all this information was useful

and concise and educational for you

'cause it does sort of help make things

seem less unknown and scary in a very strange time.

- Thank you all so much for watching.

If you want to hear more about vaccines,

our podcast is on YouTube.

You can check that out, we have a few episodes on vaccine.

- We gossip about vaccines to be honest.

- You would love to see gossip about vaccines.