A Sneak Peek into COVID-19 Vaccines-Present Status

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a toll on all of us for one year with more than 1.94 million deaths. Despite many educational interventions and precautionary measures, there is increasing number of cases with rising mortality. The only ray of hope in this uncertain situation is the development of “vaccines” against the disease. Several pharmaceutical companies across the world have started vaccine production which are in different phases of clinical trials. Till date only four vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Gamaleya Sputnik V, have completed the Phase 3 trials, received Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) and two Indian vaccines-COVISHIELD and COVAXINTM have received restricted use approval and are ready to be given according to the priority list given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Several countries have started the process of vaccination to their high risk population above the age of 16. In this review, authors have listed the various vaccine options available till the time this article is written, their route of administration, dosage with few concerns related to the storage and safety of the vaccine. Let’s hope that atleast one of the vaccines in the pipeline will give promising results and help us to overcome the pandemic.

A focused review on technologies, mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines

“…CORVax12 can be used alone or in combination with another plasmid DNA encoding IL-12. Since the role of IL-12 in augmentation of the efficacy of immunotherapy has been shown in several studies, the company decided to add the plasmid encoding IL-12 in the vaccination regimen to augment anti SARS-CoV2 immune responses [43][44][45][46][47]. Early preclinical data demonstrated the induction of IgG responses against the S protein and the receptorbinding domain (RBD).…”

COVID-19, the Pandemic, and Challenges Associated with Vaccines

“…These vaccines can produce strong antibody responses. Inactivated vaccines contain a whole pathogen that is inactivated by chemicals, heat, or radiation [18]. Some COVID-19 vaccines, their types, and production counties are shown in Table 2 [18].…”

“…Inactivated vaccines contain a whole pathogen that is inactivated by chemicals, heat, or radiation [18]. Some COVID-19 vaccines, their types, and production counties are shown in Table 2 [18]. Various jurisdictions allowed for a prolonged second dosing interval.…”