This is Part 1 of our discussion of the COVID-19 vaccines. With frontline providers across the country (and world) asking themselves "Am I comfortable getting this vaccine?" we thought it important to review some of the basic science (Part 1) and data (Part 2) behind these mRNA vaccines. 

In this podcast we ask

What exactly is an RNA vaccine?

How do they work?

Is the COVID-19 vaccine the first of these types of vaccines?

among many others

Disclaimer: I am not an infectious disease physician, immunologist, or population health specialist. These perspectives are those of an Emergency Medicine physician. In order to expedite the delivery of this material to you, the frontline provider, this content did not undergo our typical peer review process. 

References:

Rabies vaccine phase 1 study [pubmed]

Pfizer Phase 3 study results [NEJM]

Check out the DownEast EM site for show notes.

Author: Jason Hine MD