Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit have discovered that some mRNA jabs for COVID can cause an unintended immune response that leads to the production of useless, unrelated proteins.
So far it appears this glitch doesn't cause any adverse effects, but the response was present in a little more than one in four patients who received the shot.
It's great that even as mRNA vaccines have proven to be highly effective in saving millions of lives, scientists are continuing to study them. While the COVID vaccines aren't producing any ill effects from these unwanted proteins, future vaccines for other viruses could produce harmful proteins. These types of studies will make sure that doesn't happen.
It can’t be stressed enough that there’s no evidence of ill effects — so far. Research will continue, and it’s great that vaccine makers will be working to avoid this issue in future vaccines. But like all jabs, the science is still unfolding and we’ll see what impact there might be on the COVID vaccine. A longer period of record will eventually tell the full story.