This is the year of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Approximately a total of 96 covid-19 vaccines are under different stages of development. But few are already developed and out now for the public. At present we have three major vaccines available to reduce the risk of corona disease. These three major vaccines include Pfizer BionTech, Moderna, and Oxford AstraZeneca, approved by FDA. Aside from these three major vaccines, other vaccines like Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, Russia Sputnik V Vaccine, Chinese Sinovac, and Sinopharm are available too.
As time passes million of reports are coming out as to how the vaccines are effective on corona patients. And this is a kind of relief because this third variant is taking lives in India and other countries with each passing day. There are reports that one billion doses of vaccine have been administered, in 178 countries worldwide. But considering all the information and misinformation coming from different directions, vaccine administration is a daunting task.
Covid-19 Vaccines Approved by FDA
Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine
BioNTech is the first Covid-19 Vaccine made available to use on the public. It was approved by FDA on December 11, 2020, after the firm reported 95% effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. It is an mRNA vaccine that codes for the spike proteins, present at the outer membrane of Corona, encapsulated in a lipid nanoparticle. Once administered to humans, the immune cells churn these spike proteins which in turn boost the immunity against this agent.
Pfizer BioNTech has strict storage rules. For example, the shipping of this vaccine requires ultra-cold temperature units, -94 degrees Fahrenheit, earlier this year February. Then the company submitted new reports to FDA stating the stability of vaccines at temperatures more commonly found at pharmaceutical refrigerators.
Recommended for: 16 years or Older.
Dose: Two Doeses- 21 Days Apart.
Effectiveness of BioNTech:
A total of Three phases carried out to check the efficacy of this vaccine. And in the Phase 3 trial, the Pfizer BioNTech shows 95% of efficacy in those without prior infection. Reports say that this vaccine is effective in all kinds of people varying in age, gender, race, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI). The Pfizer vaccine is also reported to be 100% effective in patients with prevailing medical disorders.
In March 2021, CDC enrolled 3,950 health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers for a small study. They showed the vaccine to be 90% effective and providing full immunity after the second dose in real-world conditions.
Common Side Effects:
Until now there haven’t been any cases of severe side effects of this vaccine and still, Pfizer is working with the least number of side effects. Headache, Chills, Pain, Tiredness, Redness at the site of injection, and swelling are common side effects of this. And these too resolve within a day or two after a proper rest, hydration, and medications like acetaminophen (if symptoms prevail more than 72 hours).
Out of 18 million vaccination just in 11 cases this mRNA vaccine trigger the anaphylaxis, which later treated by epinephrine. So, CDC has asked the vaccination sites to monitor people with allergic conditions for at least 30 minutes after vaccination.
Modrena Covid-19 Vaccine
The Second Vaccine which gets authorization on December 18, 2020, by FDA EUA, is Moderna. This is also an mRNA vaccine and works similar way Pfizer BioNTech works. But unlike that vaccine, the Moderna vaccine is stable at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit which is the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator, for up to 30 days. All this makes the Moderna vaccine easier to distribute and store.
Recommended for: Adults 18 and older. Moderna vaccine is still under testing in children ages 12-17, and children with age 6 months to 12 years.
Dosage: Two doses, 28 days apart.
Effectiveness of Modrena:
In people with no previous records of COVID-19 Moderna is 94.1% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. This vaccine has shown high effectiveness in people different in age, race, ethnicity, and underlying medical conditions. But the efficacy rate drops to 86.4% in elders aging 65% and older. In a CDC study in late March, the vaccine showed 90% effectiveness when tried on health care personnel, first responders, and other frontline workers. There are studies that showed that the Moderna vaccine is effective for the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants of COVID.
Common Side Effects:
Moderna’s side effects showed the same side effects as Pfizer BioNTech. These include Chills, Headaches, Redness, Swelling, Fever, and pain at the injection site.
Johnson & Johnson
The FDA granted approval to the johnson & johnson vaccine this year on 27 February. It works differently than the Moderna and Pfizer Vaccine. Rather than using mRNA to induce immunity, it makes our body cells produce SARS COV-2 spike proteins. The scientists introduced the genetic code of spike proteins in the protein shell of adenovirus and then administer this to the human body. The shell and code can’t make us ill. Once inside the cell, this genetic code is used by the human’s machinery to make these proteins. When these proteins appear in the blood, the immune system activates and fights these proteins which in return causes immunity against SARS COV-2 infection. The vaccine is easy to store at refrigerator temperatures.
In April, both CDC & FDA pause the use of this vaccine. The reason was an investigation into reports of six rare, but serious clotting problems among women age 18 to 48, after six to 13 days of dose. The clots that occurred with the J&J vaccine are cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and also low levels of blood platelets, called thrombocytopenia. But then on Friday, April 23, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ended its pause and allowed to resume the vaccine. But a warning label about an uncommon, but potentially serious, blood clotting disorder has been added to the precaution list of vaccines.
Effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson:
The vaccine has 86% efficacy according to the company. In the global trial, the vaccine showed 66% efficacy in controlling the infection. But in the USA, overall this vaccine showed 72% efficacy in preventing the disease. But was 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and deaths. Provide protection against B.1.1.7 variant and showed 65% efficacy against South African B.1.351 variant.
Common Side Effects:
Chills, headache, pain, swelling, redness, and itching at the injection site. But these issues are milder than these symptoms of modern and Pfizer vaccine. The symptoms resolve within a day or two of rest and medication. No reports of severe allergy cases appeared. Just the clotting is a warning label that comes with this vaccine.
Dosage: Single shot. But the Company started a phase three trial to test if two shots, two months apart, provide better protection than a single shot. The result showed 100% effectiveness.
Recommended For: Adults 18 and older. The company also expects to start testing the vaccine on children.
Oxford-AstraZeneca
The Oxford and AstraZeneca showed high-level results from an analysis of their COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222. The analysis showed the results of trials in the UK and Brazil and demonstrated the efficacy of up to 90%. AstraZeneca Vaccine has been in use in the United Kingdom and other countries but not in the USA. The vaccine is different from others because of its low price- cheaper to make per dose, storage, handling, and transporting conditions. It requires a normal refrigerating temperature for storage for up to six months.
Works a similar way to the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. This is also a carrier vaccine, made from a modified version of a harmless adenovirus. The end product contains the spike protein found in SARS-CoV-2. When that protein contacts the body’s cells, the immune system initiates defense, creating antibodies and memory cells to protect against real infectious agents.
Dosage: Two doses, 1 to 2 months apart.
Recommended for: For ages 18 year and older.
Efficacy of AstraZeneca:
The company showed that vaccine is 100% effective in preventing severe disease infections. Overall the vaccine showed 76% efficacy at reducing the risk of symptomatic disease after 15 days of the second dose. In people ages, 65 years and older the vaccine has provided 85% protection against viral infection. The vaccine is effective against B.1.1.7 variant and not effective against B.1.351 variant.
Common Side Effects:
The symptoms are mild and resolve within a day or two after injection. These include fatigue, tenderness, swelling, fever, pain, redness, and bruising at the injection site.
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
Novavax announced its COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, on January 28, 2021. The company hit the primary endpoint with an 89.3% efficacy of the vaccine in its Phase III trial in the UK. Novavax vaccine is different from others. The others are either mRNA or vector vaccines this is another type called a protein adjuvant. It is also simpler to make and can be stored in a refrigerator. It is stable at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and can be shipped in a ready-to-use liquid formulation.
While other vaccines cause the body’s cells to produce virus spike proteins that can trigger the immune system, the Novavax vaccine takes a different route. It contains the spike protein of the coronavirus itself, as a nanoparticle, which cannot cause severe disease. After the vaccine is administered, the content of the vaccine stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies and T-cell immune responses. This produces memory cells that fight off real infection when the time comes.
Dosage: 2 doses, three to four weeks apart.
Recommended for: Adults ages 18-84.
Novavax Efficacy:
Novavax shows 100% effectiveness against severe disease from the original COVID-19 strain. Overall the efficacy is 89.3% to 96.4% in treating mild and moderate disease. 86.3% efficacy was shown in the United Kingdom, where the B.1.1.7 variant is active. The shot is also 55.4% efficacious (in a Phase 2B trial) against the B.1.351 variant among the HIV-negative trial people.
Common Side Effects:
The vaccine is still under study and no symptoms and adverse events have been reported untill now.
Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm Vaccine
China has come forward with two runners in the race of COVID-19 vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm. Here’s everything we need to know about these vaccines.
How Sinovac Works?
The Beijing-based Pharmaceutical Company Sinovac launched an inactivated coronavirus vaccine named Sinovac. The vaccine contains inactivated killed viral particles to introduce the body’s immune system to the virus without risk of serious disease response. This is a traditional method of vaccine manufacturing and different from that of vaccines in the west. One of Sinovac’s main advantages is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius, like the Oxford vaccine. It gives these vaccines an advantage over Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech which have strict guidelines of storage.
Dosage: two doses, 28 days apart.
Recommended for: Adults, 18 years and above age.
Sinovac Effectiveness:
Data from a huge real-world study in Chile has shown that China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine was 67% effective in preventing symptomatic infection. Also, the CoronaVac vaccine showed 85% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and 80% efficacy in preventing deaths.
CoronaVac has been under phase three trials in various countries. Data from late-stage trials in Turkey and Indonesia showed the efficacy of the vaccine was 91.25% and 65.3% respectively.
Adverse Reactions of Sinovac:
The most common symptom was pain, swelling, pruritus, erythema, headache, fatigue and induration. Uncommon symptoms include burning at the injection site. No serious adverse side effects have been reported till now.
About Sinopharm Vaccine
Beijing Institute of Biological Products manufactured an inactivated coronavirus vaccine called BBIBP-CorV. This vaccine was also traditionally created like Sinovac Vaccine. And works in a similar fashion. Phase 3 clinical trials by the state-owned company showed that it had an efficacy rate of 79 percent.
The United Arab Emirates approved this vaccine for public administration and the vaccine showed 86% effectiveness. Sinopharm is working in many countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan and helps to control infections and preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
Sinopharm 
Sinovac
There are other reports which ays the two new vaccines under development in China. First is CanSino Biologics, which is in phase three clinical trials in countries like Saudi Arabia. The other vaccine is under development by Anhui Zhifei Longcom. These are also under phase three trials. This is just the start of the COVID-19 Vaccine era. It will not stop until a fully effective COVID-19 vaccine will be manufactured and ends this pandemic.
