Comprehensive literature review on COVID-19 vaccines and role of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the pandemic

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid expansion in vaccine research focusing on exploiting the novel discoveries on the pathophysiology, genomics, and molecular biology of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Although the current preventive measures are primarily socially distancing by maintaining a 1 m distance, it is supplemented using facial masks and other personal hygiene measures. However, the induction of vaccines as primary prevention is crucial to eradicating the disease to attempt restoration to normalcy. This literature review aims to describe the physiology of the vaccines and how the spike protein is used as a target to elicit an antibody-dependent immune response in humans. Furthermore, the overview, dosing strategies, efficacy, and side effects will be discussed for the notable vaccines: BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Gamaleya, and SinoVac. In addition, the development of other prominent COVID-19 vaccines will be highlighted alongside the sustainability of the vaccine-mediated immune response and current contraindications. As the research is rapidly expanding, we have looked at the association between pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccinations, in addition to the current reviews on the mixing of vaccines. Finally, the prominent emerging variants of concern are described, and the efficacy of the notable vaccines toward these variants has been summarized.

COVID-19 infection among vaccinated and unvaccinated: Does it make any difference?

“…Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 infection has resulted in 9.4 million deaths worldwide resulting in one of the major global health crises of the 21 st century [1]. Hence, the tremendous amount of efforts led to the unprecedented development and manufacturing of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, along with their rapid approvals for emergency use and marketing authorizations, and that happened at an unparalleled pace [2]. As of March 2022, an estimated 10 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide and at least one dose of vaccine has been administered to 63.1% of the global population [3].…”

Steep Decline in Binding Capability of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant (B.1.1.529) RBD to the Antibodies in Early COVID-19 Convalescent Sera and Inactivated Vaccine Sera

“…The kinds of vaccines approved have played great roles in controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 [3,4]. However, with the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the emergence of VOCs, the antibodies generated by the current vaccines might lose neutralization capability to the variants [5][6][7]. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the capability of the current vaccines against different variants [8,9].…”

Shot in the dark

“…A It is beyond the scope of this discussion to review in detail the mechanism of action of each COVID-19 vaccine, but for the interested reader there are many excellent review articles published on the subject. 21 , 35 , 36 In general, the COVID-19 vaccine development program can be divided into traditional and novel approaches. The traditional vaccine platform consists of live attenuated virus, inactivated virus and protein.…”