Want Things Return To Normal, Get Vaccinated

Vaccines are the key to normalcy

For Canadians, being vaccinated is a regular occurrence that has been happening for centuries, but yet there is still an uphill battle against mass vaccinations. Vaccines have been fundamental to the survival of modern civilization and without them, where would we be? The global pandemic has been without a doubt the deadliest virus in the last century and has forever changed the world. COVID-19 has also united the world in the fight against its spread which has resulted in multiple vaccines within record time. That being said, there still continues to be many myths about vaccination, so we are sharing an important fact about vaccines each day provided by the Manitoba Government.

What are the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and how do they work?

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are used to prevent COVID-19. mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make
a protein that will trigger an immune response without using the live virus that causes COVID-19. Once
triggered, our body then makes antibodies. Antibodies protect us from being infected if the real virus
does enter our body in the future.

RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, which is a molecule that gives cells instructions for making proteins.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines contain the genetic instructions for making the SARS-CoV-2 spike
protein. This protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.

mRNA vaccines cannot change a person’s DNA. When a person is given the vaccine, their cells will read
the genetic instructions like a recipe and produce the spike protein. After the protein piece is made, the cell
breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them.

The cell then displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune system recognizes that the protein doesn’t
belong there and begins to build an immune response by making antibodies. You cannot get COVID-19 from
the vaccine and it cannot offer protection against the flu or other viruses or bacteria.

Early results from clinical trial data suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine have
been demonstrated to be 95 per cent and 94 per cent effective, in the short-term in preventing people from
getting lab-confirmed COVID-19.

For more information on vaccines click here.

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