How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly - Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 10, 2026 · 7 MIN

How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly - Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Discover how mRNA vaccines help your immune system fight viral infections and how this decades-old technology was used to create COVID-19 vaccines.--In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the vaccines for COVID-19 were cleared for emergency use in less than 11 months. The secret behind this speed is a medical technology that’s been developing for decades: the mRNA vaccine. So how do these revolutionary vaccines work? Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne dig into the science of mRNA technology.Lesson by Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-the-covid-19-vaccines-were-created-so-quickly-kaitlyn-sadtler-and-elizabeth-wayneDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-the-covid-19-vaccines-were-created-so-quickly-kaitlyn-sadtler-and-elizabeth-wayne#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Srikote Naewchampa, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Kris Siverhus, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Renhe Ji, Maya Toll, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, Boytsov Ilya, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Noa Shore, sarim haq, Kyle Nguyen, Jason A Saslow, MJ Tan Mingjie, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Siamak H, Manav parmar, David Lucsanyi, Anthony Kudolo, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Eduardo Briceño and Christophe Dessalles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover how mRNA vaccines help your immune system fight viral infections and how this decades-old technology was used to create COVID-19 vaccines.--In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the vaccines for COVID-19 were cleared for emergency use in less than 11 months. The secret behind this speed is a medical technology that’s been developing for decades: the mRNA vaccine. So how do these revolutionary vaccines work? Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne dig into the science of mRNA technology.Lesson by Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-the-covid-19-vaccines-were-created-so-quickly-kaitlyn-sadtler-and-elizabeth-wayneDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-the-covid-19-vaccines-were-created-so-quickly-kaitlyn-sadtler-and-elizabeth-wayne#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Srikote Naewchampa, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Kris Siverhus, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Renhe Ji, Maya Toll, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, Boytsov Ilya, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Noa Shore, sarim haq, Kyle Nguyen, Jason A Saslow, MJ Tan Mingjie, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Siamak H, Manav parmar, David Lucsanyi, Anthony Kudolo, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Eduardo Briceño and Christophe Dessalles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly - Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne

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This episode was published on June 10, 2026.

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Discover how mRNA vaccines help your immune system fight viral infections and how this decades-old technology was used to create COVID-19 vaccines.--In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the...

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