COVID-19 vaccines - A must know

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is not compromising on vaccine efficacy in the fight against COVID-19.

In January, this year, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) issued its policy recommendations for the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech, the first COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use.

The experts also issued as interim recommendations for use, the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine against COVID-19 in people aged 18 years and older.

The main components in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are similar. Both vaccines have been found to be safe and efficacious in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 disease in rigorously conducted clinical trials.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are mRNA-based, while that of Johnson & Johnson  (J&J) is adenovirus.

Clinical trials and experiments have shown that Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, when administered, were more effective overall than Johnson and Johnson’s in the trials, but it was noticed that all these vaccines share two very important statistics, which are zero hospitalisations and zero deaths among fully vaccinated trial participants.

Risks

Although local and systemic side effects have been reported and shall be experienced within the population, as is the case for many other medical interventions, the risk of lacking protection against COVID-19 and developing severe disease far exceeds those posed by the vaccine itself.

Injections given from Pfizer and Moderna vaccines give the body genetic instruction manuals to safely learn how to fight the coronavirus.

Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines train the body to fight COVID-19 by injecting mRNA, or messenger RNA, into a person's deltoid -— the rounded muscle that hugs the upper arm and shoulder.

The mRNA  is injected into the muscle codes for the spike protein.

The coronavirus' spike protein is what allows the virus to latch on to and invade the human cells. The mRNA vaccines train the human bodies to immunologically move in a determined pace.

The body sees that protein and makes an immune response against it, giving the body the protection that has been shown with both of the mRNA vaccines.

The J & J vaccine injects viral DNA and not mRNA. This is a key reason why the J & J vaccine is much easier to manufacture and can be stored in the normal fridges in our homes and clinics.

The DNA inside is not as fragile as the single-stranded mRNA in Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines. The DNA in the J & J vaccine is encapsulated in a harmless, non-replication-competent virus.

The adenovirus is called Ad26 and is a common cold virus that has had its illness-causing genes removed, so it can't get the human system sick.

Once the vaccine is injected into a person's arm, the virus injects its DNA into cells, where it is copied into messenger RNA.

That mRNA then codes for coronavirus spike proteins in the same way as Pfizer's or Moderna's shots.

Taking vaccines

When taking the vaccine, the population should take note of the following: The vaccine vial or seal must not be already broken; it must not have a change in colour, or discoloured in the vial; the vaccine must be opened in the presence of the receiver; the syringe used must be new and the vaccine taken from the cold chain storage box.

Keep protocols

Research and case reports have showed that Pfizer and Moderna’s two shot courses were more than 94 per cent effective in their trials, while J & J’s vaccine were 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease and death.

Adenovirus vaccines like J&J's might give people a more robust form of immunity against viral variants, with antibody and T-cell responses.

mRNA vaccines may provide only narrower antibody protection, but that remains to be seen as more people get vaccinated and variants continue to spread.

Furthermore, it is extremely important for the population to keep on masking, using the hand washing techniques regularly, using the alcohol hand sanitisers and physical or social distancing approach to help achieve a competent prevention even after taking the prescribed doses of any of the COVID-19 vaccines.