The new COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA technology. According to ACIP, there have previously been no licensed mRNA vaccines in the United States; however, researchers have been studying and working with mRNA technology for the last decade. Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available materials. This means the process can be standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines. Vaccines developed with mRNA technology work by giving our cells instructions for making a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. Our body recognizes that the protein should not be there and builds antibodies to fight the virus.