Many people have questions about the science behind COVID vaccines. We’re going to break it down as simply as we can by focusing on 4 key players:
your immune system, your memory cells, the COVID-19 virus, and the vaccine.
Your immune system works by finding intruders (things like bacteria, viruses, etc.) and actively fighting them off.
When an intruder triggers your immune system, your immune system’s memory cells begin to study the intruder. The production of these memory cells takes a few days to weeks, but when/if you encounter that virus again, your immune system will know exactly how to act to keep your body healthy.
Now, when developing the vaccine, scientists looked at the genetic code of the DNA for COVID-19. Rather than use a live version of the virus, scientists used mRNA (or messenger RNA), which just is a messenger to give instructions to the RNA on how to make the DNA of the proteins.
This means that after you get the vaccine, your body reads the mRNA in the vaccine and will begin making new memory cells against the COVID-19 virus without ever having to have a live version of the virus enter your body.
This means that the vaccine does not contain any actual part of the virus. It contains instructions to help your body build immunity if you are ever exposed/infected with the coronavirus. If you are exposed to COVID-19 or the virus enters your body, you have antibodies that will trigger your immune system to break down the virus and keep those virus cells from attaching to your cells and infect you.
It takes a while for your body to build antibodies, so we commonly say for those that have a normal functioning immune system, you will develop antibodies within 2 weeks after you complete your vaccine series.
Vaccines can be confusing to understand, but we hope you take this information into consideration as you decide if you are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. As always, our Sona team is here to answer any and all of your questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and we will keep you updated with information as we receive it.
