The covid-19 vaccines were quickly developed because they were based on decades of research. Vaccines are kind of like seeing a photo of someone before a blind date so you know who you’re supposed to meet at the coffee shop. A vaccine mimics the virus so your body can build antibodies to fight it. If the real virus infects you, your antibodies go ‘hey, we know what that is!’ and get to work fighting it.

The covid-19 vaccines were also created faster than normal because governments spent extra money on them. Normally, making vaccines is slowed down by paperwork and long processes. Because of how serious covid-19 is, lots of governments and companies invested more money and time in getting things done quickly.

Are vaccines made this quickly actually safe? Yes! There are important safety rules in vaccine making that were ALL followed for the covid vaccines. All the safety procedures used for any other vaccine you might have had, like rotavirus vaccine when you were a baby, or the MMR vaccine or HPV vaccine, were also used for the coronavirus vaccines.

Medicines are not 100% risk free however, because we are all unique and sometimes react to things differently. The risks from approved medicines are very low.

This section has been fact checked with:

• British Society for Immunology whose mission is to promote excellence in immunological research, scholarship and clinical practice in order to improve human and animal health