How does the coronavirus vaccine work?

What are the risks ?

On Europe 1, Doctor Jimmy Mohamed answers three questions that have been frequently asked to him since the start of the vaccination campaign. 

DECRYPTION

It is a vaccine that has given rise to much controversy: one week before the official launch of the coronavirus vaccination campaign, and while certain priority audiences have already benefited from injections, especially in nursing homes, many French people are wondering again.

What is the coronavirus vaccine made of?

Does it present any risks?

Doctor Jimmy Mohamed, health consultant from Europe 1, answers the questions that are often asked. 

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What is an RNA vaccine? 

The coronavirus is a family of airborne viruses - this is how it works.

It has an envelope and a small protein called S protein, the Spike protein, which is used to attach to the cell to make you sick.

The goal of vaccination is to be able to simply recreate this S protein, thanks to the messenger RNA (Ribonucleic Acid), which only serves as a blueprint to manufacture it.

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When you are vaccinated, you get a small dose of this messenger RNA in your muscle.

This will instruct your body to create this S protein on its own. Therefore, your immune system will think it's sick.

It will encounter this protein and naturally create antibodies to protect you against the coronavirus.

Note: at no time will you have the genetic material of the coronavirus, but simply the codes, the instructions for use to be able to create immunity yourself.

Can this vaccine change our genetic code? 

It is a recurring fear, but it is unfounded.

What you need to know is that messenger RNA is extremely fragile.

So fragile that if you injected it directly into the muscle without protecting it, it would be destroyed after a few seconds or minutes.

So, we need to protect it, by surrounding it with a small layer of fat called lipid, so that it can do its job.

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It will then disappear, without, at any time, coming into contact with your genetic material - DNA.

As for its composition, you can once again be reassured: no cells, no blood products and no adjuvants in this vaccine.

A decline of more than 20 years is possible since the vaccination against SARS, the coronavirus in Asia.

In cancerology, we have also tried many times to target RNA.

It didn't work, but the side effects were almost zero.

The vaccine is therefore very well tolerated. 

Can we get vaccinated if we have already had the Covid? 

Yes !

You just have to know that the current recommendations - this may change - provide to wait three months after a positive PCR.

No need to go for a serology, it can be falsely negative.

So you wait three months and when it is your turn, no problem getting vaccinated.