The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are different than traditional vaccines that have been used in the past. These vaccines use Messenger RNA (mRNA) to deliver instructions to the immune cells in your arm. Once delivered, your immune cells make a protein piece. Your body then recognizes that a protein is present that should not be and begins to make antibodies to destroy the unwanted protein. The new antibodies can recognize if the actual COVID-19 virus enters your body and tell the immune system to destroy them before they can spread and replicate. The mRNA vaccine makes it possible to vaccinate someone without having to introduce a live or dead virus into the body.
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