Of men’s health
When the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were introduced using mRNA technology, everyone wondered exactly what they meant. Now other vaccines in the US are on the horizon – some are already authorized for use in other countries – with different and sometimes more traditional technologies behind them.
The bottom line is: every type of Covid-19 vaccine developed or developed – mRNA, vector, and protein subunit – has its own way of doing things. But everyone has one thing in common. “Each vaccine works by stimulating an antibody-mediated immune response to attack the virus that causes COVID-19,” says Jay W. Lee, Managing Director, MPH, a practicing GP in Orange County, California.
All the vaccines bring you to the same place – it creates your immune system to protect you from Covid. But exactly how does each vaccination work? Here is a screenshot:
mRNA vaccine
Vaccines that use it: Pfizer, Modern
How it works: mRNA or messenger RNA can be described as the latest vaccine in the city, which is true, but as we have previously reported, the technology around it is not completely unknown, as mRNA research has been in the works since the 90s. This type of vaccine injects instructions through a piece of genetic code that tells your body how to make a certain protein necessary to block the virus. “The mRNA vaccines instruct our cells to recognize COVID-19 and produce a harmless protein,” explains Dr. Lee. These proteins train your immune system to recognize the virus and make antibodies to attack the virus when it arrives in your body. The instructions disappear quickly, but your immune system continues to strengthen.
Vector vaccine
Vaccines that use it: Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca (not yet available in the US)
How it works: Vector vaccines are made from a customized version of a live virus, says Dr. Lee. Those harmless viruses – in this case an adenovirus, which is a version of a cold – are sent to your body with a manual that tells your cells to make a field protein; a harmless piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (this is the one that causes Covid-19). Vector vaccines will not give you Covid-19. Your body starts making antibodies against this, so if the true ear protein is found on the Covid-19 coronavirus, the antibodies will attack it and eventually help your body defend itself. If you have had a vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) or chickenpox, it works the same way.
Protein subunit vaccine
Vaccines that use it: Novavax (still in clinical trials)
How it works: This is what is currently used in hepatitis V and one of the shingles vaccines (Shingrix). Vaccines with protein units are a bit like vector vaccines, but instead of using another virus to send in the genetic message, they contain ‘harmful pieces of the virus that cause Covid-19, but not the whole virus. not, ‘says dr. Lee. Once these parts or subunits, such as the protein, the sugar of the germ, or an envelope around the germ, known as capsid, enter the body, our immune system recognizes that it is foreign, promoting the production of antibodies. in turn fights the virus.
What type of vaccine is the flu vaccine?
Since we are in the middle of the flu season (it peaks this month, but will last until May), you may also be wondering where the flu vaccine falls into it all. The shot version (there is also a nasal spray) uses an inactivated virus or some proteins of the flu virus, and does essentially the same as the Covid-19 vaccines mentioned above: it introduces your body to parts of different flu viruses. It puts your immune system on the defensive to rid your body of this foreign substance. Antibodies are made and then provide protection going on. The tricky thing about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is that it is going to vary from season to season because there are different types or the virus that spreads every year. Medical experts therefore never know exactly what we will hit and often make highly trained representations.
The most important takeaway from all this? Protection against the Covid-19 is the most important. All these types of vaccinations are just different routes to protect your body.
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