When you think of vaccines, you may think about traditional vaccines with weak or inactive parts of a virus to trigger an immune response. 

Well, get rid of that old way of thinking. Today companies are taking a new approach by using a protein production substance for COVID-19 vaccines. That substance is known as MessengerRNA or mRNA. 

Upon injection, mRNA are molecules responsible for delivering instructions within your body to release antibodies to prevent and protect you from getting sick with coronavirus. 

“It will trigger an immune response inside of our bodies to create those antibodies,” Texas Department of Health Services, Dr. Emilie Prot said. 

The difference between the old and new approach of creating vaccines is simple. Unlike the traditional virus, the mRNA base vaccine does not require injections of small weak amounts of coronavirus. Instead, the mRNA based vaccine would require an injection with synthetic cells that mocks the virus. 

“The mRNA is actually teaching ourselves how to make a protein,”  Dr. Prot explained. 

Thousands of people valley wide have died from COVID and health experts are predicting more deaths to follow before the new year. Pharmaceutical companies, Moderna and Pfizer, are using the mRNA approach to quickly develop and distribute vaccines. 

However, people are wondering, once the FDA approves it for general use, what effects will the mRNA based vaccine have on the human body? 

“That particular part of the vaccine stays in the body for a very short period of time, days only. Then it is expelled by the body,” Dr. Antonio Falcon, Starr County Health Authority said. 

Several doctors in the Rio Grande Valley describe the mRNA approach as revolutionary. “If you have a rattle but not the snake, that rattle cannot hurt you and even more so we’re not introducing the rattle. We’re introducing the recipe for the body to make the rattle. This is an extremely safe vaccine,” Dr. Ivan Melendez, Hidalgo County Health Authority said.

The CDC released a statement explaining, ”Within the next month...mRNA vaccines—are likely to be some of the first covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States.”

Looking ahead, doctors say if you were diagnosed with COVID-19 you should still get vaccinated. “I believe that after the higher risk people received the vaccines, including myself who had the disease should certainly get vaccinated,” Dr. Melendez explained. 

Medical experts say the only thing that is unclear, is whether or not people currently diagnosed with COVID-19 should get vaccinated. 

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