How Do mRNA Vaccines Work?

Two of the vaccines we have for COVID-19 have the distinction of being the first mRNA vaccines to see widespread use in humans. But how do they work, and how are they different from the litany of immunizations you probably got as a kid? Go to http://Brilliant.org/SciShow to try their Complex Numbers course. Sign up now and get 20% off an annual Premium subscription. Hosted by: Rose Bear Don t Walk SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It s called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at http://www.scishowtangents.org ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Silas Emrys, Drew Hart, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Adam Brainard, Nazara Growing Violet, Ash, Laura Sanborn, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, Katie Marie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer, Alisa Sherbow ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/frequently-asked-questions-about-covid-19-vaccines/ https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/microbes-and-the-human-body/immune-system.html https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(10)00368-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.243 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7361221/ https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Nucleotide https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/the-information-in-dna-determines-cellular-function-6523228/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18319-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-0159-8 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1690918/ https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.243#ref-CR7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18797453/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16111635/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449617/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439223/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388441/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213219820314112 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety.html https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/statement-nih-barda-fda-emergency-use-authorization-moderna-covid-19-vaccine Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pfizer-BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine_(2020)_E.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoplasmic_reticulum#/media/File:Animal_Cell.svg