WSU’s Foley Institute hosted a virtual meeting Tuesday to discuss the technology and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.
There are three major types of vaccines, said Dr. Bob Lutz, member of the Washington State Department of Health. There is a protein-based vaccine, an mRNA vaccine and a viral vector.
The mRNA vaccine technology has been around for a very long time, but this is the first vaccine of its kind to be produced, he said. It is also the main COVID-19 vaccine, which is produced by Moderna and Pfizer.
Lutz said this type of vaccine allows the body’s own mRNA in the cell to create proteins against the virus.