WITH THE new Moderna vaccine being rolled out in the UK for the first time last week, many people have questions.
What is it, what's the difference between this and the other vaccines, and what are the side effects? For those wondering, here is a break-down of the new vaccine and what it means for you.
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What is it?
The COVID-19 vaccine Moderna is a vaccine used to prevent coronavirus, given to adults aged 18 and older.
How does it work?
According to Gov.UK, the vaccine does not contain the COVID-19 virus itself to produce immunity, and therefore cannot give you COVID-19.
Instead, the vaccine uses an active substance, mRNA, which encodes the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, embedded in lipid nanoparticles.
In more simple terms, the vaccine gives instructions to our cells to create a 'Spike Protein', which is harmless.
Once the vaccine's 'instructions' are administered, i.e. you are injected with the vaccine, your immune cells use them to make the protein piece, which out immune systems then recognise as something wrong, and learns to get rid of them.
The end result is that your body learns how to protect against future infection of the virus without ever having been infected with COVID-19 in the first place.
What are the side-effects?
According to Gov.uk, the vaccine may produce side effects, however not everyone will get them and most side effects go away within a few days.
The most common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people) side effects include swelling of the underarm glands on the same side as the injection site, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches and stiffness, pain at the injection site, tiredness, chills, and/or fever.
From there, common side effects (may affect 1 in 10 people) include a rash, redness or hives at the injection site.
Other far rarer side effects include itchiness at the injection site, and 1 in 1,000 people may be affected by facial swelling, or temporary one-sided facial drooping known as Bell's Palsy.
If you feel that you have any side-effects not mentioned on this list, the government is asking people to report it to the Coronavirus Yellow Card reporting site, and include the vaccine brand and batch/lot number if possible.
What's in the vaccine?
As listed on the government website, one dose of the Moderna vaccine contains 100mcg of mRNA, embedded in SM-102 lipid nanoparticles, single-stranded, 5’-capped mRNA produced using a cell-free in vitro transcription from the corresponding DNA templates, lipid SM-102, cholesterol, 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC), 1,2-Dimyristoyl-rac-glycero-3-methoxypolyethylene glycol-2000 (PEG2000-DMG), trometamol, trometamol hydrochloride (tris HCl), acetic acid, sodium acetate trihydrate, sucrose, and water for injections.
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Is it better than other vaccines?
In terms of effectiveness, the Moderna vaccine scored 94.1 per cent effectiveness in clinical trials, according to The Telegraph.
This is only a fraction less effective than the Pfizer vaccine, scoring 95 per cent in the same clinical trials.
Where can I get a Moderna vaccine?
Currently, Government restrictions mean that citizens cannot choose which vaccine they receive, as according to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has not advised a preference between the vaccines.
The organisation has stated that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine "both give very high protection against severe disease... and both vaccines have good safety profiles".
As the coronavirus vaccine rollout currently stands, those aged 50 or over, clinically extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable, have a learning disability, or receive a carer's allowance are able to book a vaccination online.
For those who do not meet this criteria, the NHS is asking citizens to wait until they have been contacted, and not to contact them regarding a vaccination booking before then.
For more information on the Moderna Vaccine, visit gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-approval-of-covid-19-vaccine-moderna/.
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