I would prefer to be writing about the fantastic ways to improve and boost your immune system backed up by scientific evidence, but I can’t because I feel the duty to explain the importance of “vaccines education”.
First, let me clarify that there are a lot of different types of vaccines and you CAN NOT put them all in the same bag! I will explain 5 of the most promising SARS-COVID-2 vaccines further below.
Second, a bit of a history lesson: we should be grateful for the existence of vaccines that have helped prevent the spread of terrible diseases, such as tuberculosis and polio. Both brought huge suffering in multiple countries around the world and were controlled thanks to the implementation of vaccines!
Third, look at the current situation
when people refuse to vaccinate: we have an outbreak that
puts others in danger. “Why?”, you ask. Because
viruses need a host or reservoir to continue existing and non-vaccinated people
can be that reservoir. Therefore, don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you: to infect
you with a disease!
Currently, more than 125 vaccines for
COVID-19 are in pre-clinical development, which means
that they are being tested in non-human subjects (cells, mice, rats, ferrets,
rhesus macaques, etc). 10 vaccines are being tested in humans for safety and dosages
(this means in healthy subjects), 8
vaccines are in phase II, which involves testing the safety in expanded
studies. Only 3 vaccines are starting phase III, meaning large scale efficacy
tests. In this phase, the vaccine is tested in thousands of people separating
the volunteers in 2 groups: one will receive the actual vaccine and the other -
the placebo one to determine if the vaccine protects against the coronavirus.
The last step can be a phase IV trial with an even bigger and diverse group of
volunteers and a review of the results by the local regulatory entity which will
evaluate if the vaccine is approved or not for use in that region. Notice that
each country has its own regulatory organization and some medicines are
approved for use in the USA but not in Europe.
Types of vaccines:
Attenuated or inactivated virus vaccine
These vaccines use a weakened or inactivated version of the coronavirus to trigger an immune response. The Chinese companies “Sinopharm” and “Sinovac” are starting to test their attenuated and inactivated vaccines for phase III internationally. “CoronaVac”, the Sinovac’ vaccine, has shown promising results in Phase I/II of the trials: 743 volunteers reported no severe adverse effects and produced an immune response. Sinovac is building a facility to manufacture up to 100 million doses annually.
Attenuated bacteria vaccine
This vaccine contains live bacteria that have been weakened or
attenuated. One such vaccine is the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine which
was developed in the early 1900s as a protection against tuberculosis.
After a study reported a relationship between Covid-19 outcomes
and the BCG vaccination status, a Research Institute in Australia started conducting
a Phase III trial, and several other trials are underway to understand if this vaccine
partly protects against the coronavirus.
Viral Vector Vaccines
These vaccines use a different type of virus that wouldn’t affect
humans in a negative way (called a vector) to deliver coronavirus genes into
cells and trigger an immune response.
The British-Swedish company “AstraZeneca” and the University of
Oxford are working on a viral vector vaccine using a chimpanzee adenovirus that will expose the
coronavirus’ S protein on its surface in order to trigger an immune system
response in the
people that will be vaccinated. The vaccine is in Phase II/III trial in the UK
and Phase III trials in Brazil and South Africa, and it might be ready by 2021.
“AstraZeneca” claimed their total manufacturing capacity stands at two billion
doses.
Vaccines with viral genomic material
These vaccines use one or more of the coronavirus’ own genes to
trigger an immune response. USA based company “Moderna” uses the viral
messenger RNA to produce only the viral proteins in the cells that will trigger
an immune response. The company tested this vaccine in 8 volunteers with positive results,
and they are moving to phase III in July. The trial was dosing volunteers in
Phase I with 3 different amounts of mRNA species, and after testing the immunogenicity
(whether or not these doses produce antibodies) they reported that by day 15
after the first injection, the volunteers generated antibodies.
The German company “BioNTech” is collaborating with “Pfizer” and “Fosun
Pharma” to develop their mRNA vaccine. They started the Phase I trial in May, “Pfizer”
hopes to have a few million doses for emergency use in 2021 if all goes well in
the trials.
Another interesting one, the Imperial College London is
collaborating with “Morningside Ventures” to develop a “self-amplifying” RNA
vaccine, which boosts the production of a viral protein that stimulates the immune system, and they began Phase I/II trials in June.
Protein-Based Vaccines
These vaccines use a coronavirus protein or a protein fragment to
trigger an immune response.
One such vaccine is worked on by the USA company “Novavax” which started
a Phase I/II trial on a vaccine made up of particles carrying fragments of
coronavirus proteins.
The list goes on and I encourage you to check on the links below
and learn more about the different vaccines and the research behind them. Be aware
of your own cognitive bias, for example, stop citing the inexistent connection between
autism and vaccines, that research has now been thoroughly debunked, the Lancet
journal issued a retraction on Wakefield’s paper, and he lost his medical licence.
Let me leave you with this great advice from the WHO about how to
respond to vaccine deniers:
“Vaccine-preventable diseases can be very severe, and still cause
millions of deaths per year around the world. Even with the best available care
in the world, vaccine-preventable diseases can cause permanent disability and
even death. Prevention is by far the best intervention.”
“There are no equally safe
and effective alternatives to vaccinations.”
“The scientific evidence is
clear: vaccination is the most effective health intervention for prevention of
many serious diseases.”
“We as an
institution/agency are aiming to sustain the health of every individual member
of the public. We are sorry that you have lost trust in our effort, but we hope
to regain it.”
“The scientific evidence is
clear; vaccination is a safe way to prevent many serious diseases. Any
theoretical risk to the individual and society is far outweighed by the risks
to one and all of not doing so.“
References:
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dYWZMx-Lfs
