What is mRNA Covid vaccine?  Should we be afraid of it or embrace it?

March 11, 2021

The last blogs have looked at the effectiveness of mRNA as a vaccine for Covid-19, its distribution in the world, and its effect on herd immunity.  But what is an mRNA vaccine?  How does it work? Is it really a vaccine? Does it induce autoimmune disease? Does it genetically modify us making us into GMOs?  What are the long term effects?

Basic mRNA Science 101:  From Chromosomes to Proteins

  • Chromosomes are made of genes.
  • Genes are made of double strands of DNA.
  • DNA contains our genetic codes and through the help of RNA makes our proteins.
  • DNA and RNA are made up of nucleotides.
    • A nucleotide is a phosphate, a sugar, and one of 4 nitrogen bases A, G, C and either T or U
  • DNA has 2 strands of bases, A, G, C, T, strung together in specific sequences making up our genetic coding.
  • RNA has 1 strand and the same bases as DNA, except T is replaced with a U.
  • Pre-mRNA is synthesized from DNA as it copies or ‘transcribes’ a single DNA strand in the nucleus of the cell.
  • mRNA then copies a part of the pre-mRNA strand.
  • Once copied, mRNA is exported from the nucleus to the cell cytoplasm to make a protein. mRNA can, therefore, be found in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of the cell

 

mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine or Shot?

  • Part of the Covid-19 mRNA genetic material for Covid-19 protein spikes, is taken from the Covid-19 virus **
  • This material is inserted into a weakened live virus which is used as a carrier, called a viral vector.**
  • When injected into your body, the weakened virus gets into your cells and delivers the genetic coding of Covid-19 mRNA to your cells, instructing your cells to make spike proteins. This becomes an antigen to the body.
  • An antigen is a foreign substance that induces an immune response producing antibodies.
  • “A typical vaccine directly stimulates the immune response by injection of weakened or inactivated versions or components of the disease-causing pathogen to stimulate the body’s immune response to create antibodies”***
  • “The same eventually happens with a mRNA vaccine, but there’s a crucially different first step:
    • The mRNA must be taken up by your body cells, and then your own cells produce the protein that stimulates an immune response.”***
    • It is this step that can be perceived as an autoimmune response rather than a direct immune response since the body is fighting against cells it made itself. Hence the question, ‘Is it a vaccine or is it a shot that eventually mounts an immune response?’

 

Can mRNA Vaccine affect our Genome?  Can it be Transmitted? 

mRNA vaccine is a genetic engineering of our cells.  No one knows how many cells will ultimately be affected.  However, these genetically engineered cells, like all cells, are naturally programed to die off after the body has mounted its immune response against them. What effect it ultimately has on the body is not known.  It is too early to tell and one reason why the vaccine is still experimental, meaning the FDA has not approved the vaccine for use to treat Covid- 19 disease to date.  The FDA has only authorized the vaccine’s emergency use.  We do not know the long term side effects.

Since the process of the mRNA vaccine happens in the cytoplasm of the cell and not the nucleus, the genetics of the human cell, the DNA, are not altered, therefore, not all cells have been genetically engineered.  Our genetic codes from our own DNA should not be altered.

 

Are you a genetically modified person if you get the mRNA vaccine?  Can it Cause Cancer?

Technically, partially, yes if you get the vaccine you are a GMO for a short period of time!  For how long?  No one knows yet.  It is too early to tell.

However, a new study was posted March 2, 2021, by the National Cancer Institute showing a “chemical modification” from the mRNA vaccine causing an increased production of protein that is similar to proteins found in cancer cells.****  The effects of this increased protein production are not known.  Some speculate it may cause more severe disease when a person is re-introduced to another Covid virus.   This is speculation of a possibility.  In humans, currently there is no proof this is true or not true.  Only time will tell.

My colleague Duncan Ross, PhD in Immunology and co-founder of exosome company Kimera Labs, gave his explanation of how mRNA vaccines work during lunch break at Dr Seeds Science retreat on peptides and cellular function.   I am happy to share it with you.  Listen closely to what he has to say.   See video below.

People ask me if I am going to get the vaccine.  To me, getting the vaccine is a personal decision everyone has to make, and everyone will have a different reason to get it or not get it.  Covid-19 has been deadly to a certain sector of people.  mRNA vaccine, as Duncan pointed out, carries a low probability of killing some people, not by intent, but by mechanics and chance.  Each of us has to weigh the risk-benefit ratio of getting or not getting the vaccine.  We are blessed we have the ability to make our own decisions.

Please text me your questions and I will answer them next week.

Have an amazingly awesome day!  Dr D

  1. Understanding and Explaining mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines | CDC
  2. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/mrna-vaccine-basics.html
  3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-vaccine/art-20484859
  4. https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/10/21/how-pfizers-rna-vaccine-works-15104
  5. https://ccr.cancer.gov/news/article/a-novel-mrna-modification-may-impact-gene-expression
Posted in Covid19, Vaccine