RNA vaccine 101: This is what happens when the COVID-19 shot goes in your arm – The Philadelphia Inquirer

3. The RNA molecules are fed through roundish, machinelike structures called ribosomes, a type of cellular assembly line where proteins are made. In an infected person, viruses hijack this machinery to make copies of themselves. But in the vaccines, the RNA contains the recipe only for the exterior spikes of a virus particle, not an entire virus. They cannot cause an infection.

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RNA vaccine 101: This is what happens when the COVID-19 shot goes in your arm - The Philadelphia Inquirer