Covid-19 Vaccines in a Nutshell
As we all know, we are surrounded by a pandemic. The whole world does what it takes to get rid of this pandemic and return to the “normal” that we are used to.
The most important phase of a pandemic is the vaccination of the population.
So here we are going to share some key information about the COVID-19 vaccines. We hope you will be well informed after reading this.
First of all, there are 15 different vaccines that is being used around the world.
A brief list of actual COVID-19 Vaccines:
Oxford–AstraZeneca
Pfizer–BioNTech
Johnson & Johnson
BBIBP-CorV
Moderna
Sputnik V
CoronaVac
Covaxin
Sputnik Light
Convidecia
WIBP-CorV
Novavax
CureVac
Soberana 02
Abdala
How COVID-19 Vaccines Work?
Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection. But with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future.
It typically takes a few weeks after vaccination for the body to produce T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes. Therefore, it is possible that a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and then gets sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.
Sometimes after vaccination, the process of building immunity can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are signs that the body is building immunity.
Types of Vaccines
- mRNA vaccines contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. After our cells make copies of the protein, they destroy the genetic material from the vaccine. Our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 if we are infected in the future.
Here are the mRNA Vaccines and some detailed information about them.- Pfizer-BioNTech
Who Should Get Vaccinated
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is recommended for people 12 years and older.
Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated
If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction, even if it was not severe, to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (such as polyethylene glycol), you should not get either of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
If you had a severe or immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get a second dose of either of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
An immediate allergic reaction means a reaction within 4 hours of exposure, including symptoms such as hives, swelling, or wheezing (respiratory distress).
Possible side effects are;
Pain, redness, swelling in the arm where you got the shot.
Tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, nausea throughout the rest of the body.
These side effects happen within a day or two of getting the vaccine. They are normal signs that your body is building protection and should go away within a few days.
Based on evidence from clinical trials in people 16 years and older, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 in people who received two doses and had no evidence of being previously infected.
Evidence shows mRNA COVID-19 vaccines offer similar protection in real-world conditions as they have in clinical trial settings―reducing the risk of COVID-19, including severe illness by 90% or more, among people who are fully vaccinated.
- Moderna
Who Should Get Vaccinated
The Moderna vaccine is recommended for people 18 years and older.
Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated
If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction, even if it was not severe, to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (such as polyethylene glycol), you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
If you had a severe or immediate allergic reaction after getting the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get a second dose of either of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech).
An immediate allergic reaction means a reaction within 4 hours of getting the shot, including symptoms such as hives, swelling, or wheezing (respiratory distress).
Possible side effects are;
Pain, redness, swelling in the arm where you got the shot.
Tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, nausea throughout the rest of the body.
These side effects happen within a day or two of getting the vaccine. They are normal signs that your body is building protection and should go away within a few days.
Based on evidence from clinical trials, in people aged 18 years and older, the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received two doses and had no evidence of being previously infected.
The vaccine was also highly effective in clinical trials at preventing COVID-19 among people of diverse age, sex, race, and ethnicity categories and among people with underlying medical conditions.
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen
Who Should Get Vaccinated
The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is recommended for people 18 years and older.
Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated
If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction, even if it was not severe, to any ingredient in the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (such as polysorbate), you should not get the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.
An immediate allergic reaction means a reaction within 4 hours of exposure, including symptoms such as hives, swelling, or wheezing (respiratory distress).
Possible side effects are;
Pain, redness, swelling in the arm where you got the shot.
Tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, nausea throughout the rest of the body.
These side effects happen within a day or two of getting the vaccine. They are normal signs that your body is building protection and should go away within a few days.
Fainting After Vaccination: Fainting (syncope) and other events that may be related to anxiety-like rapid breathing, low blood pressure, numbness, or tingling can happen after getting any vaccine. Although uncommon, these events are not unexpected, and they are generally not serious.
According to information from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), there were 653 reports of fainting events (fainting and near-fainting) among nearly 8 million doses of J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine administered in the United States in March and April 2021. This translates to a rate of about 8 fainting events for every 100,000 doses of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine given. These events occurred during the recommended 15-minute wait after vaccination.
By comparison, the rate of fainting after flu vaccination in 2019–2020 was 0.05 per 100,000 doses.
How Well the Vaccine Works
The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.
In the clinical trials, the vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick. No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine had to be hospitalized.
Do mRNA Vaccines prevent infection and transmission?
A growing body of evidence suggests that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines also reduce asymptomatic infection and transmission. However, investigations are ongoing to assess further the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on transmission.
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Protein subunit vaccines include harmless pieces (proteins) of the virus that causes COVID-19 instead of the entire germ. Once vaccinated, our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build T-lymphocytes and antibodies that will remember how to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 if we are infected in the future.
- Vector vaccines contain a modified version of a different virus than the one that causes COVID-19. Inside the shell of the modified virus, there is material from the virus that causes COVID-19. This is called a “viral vector.” Once the viral vector is inside our cells, the genetic material gives cells instructions to make a protein that is unique to the virus that causes COVID-19. Using these instructions, our cells make copies of the protein. This prompts our bodies to build T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus if we are infected in the future.
- Sinovac
The Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine is recommended for people 18 to 60 years old.
How efficacious is the vaccine?
A large phase 3 trial in Brazil showed that two doses, administered at an interval of 14 days, had an efficacy of 51% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, 100% against severe COVID-19, and 100% against hospitalization starting 14 days after receiving the second dose.
Does it prevent infection and transmission?
There is currently no substantive data available related to the impact of COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac-CoronaVac on transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
- Sinovac
Here is a website to track the vaccination progress all around the world.
Source: CDC-Vaccines, CDC-Science, WHO, Wikipedia.
