The covid 19 outbreak has killed millions of people worldwide and has been killing more day by day. This has urged scientists and researchers from all around the world to find an ultimate solution for the outbreak of the deadly infectious disease which is the development of corona virus vaccine. A vaccine is a type of medication given to people to stimulate the immune system in the body to produce adequate amounts of antibodies which helps in fighting the infectious disease in the future.
Many companies have worked hard in finding this ultimate solution and most of them have revealed a successful result in producing a good efficacy towards the coronavirus strain. Continue reading the article to know more about who is actually manufacturing the covid 19 vaccine and the phases that they went through before being given to the public.
Who are the manufacturers of covid 19 vaccine?
These are some of the manufacturing companies of covid 19 vaccine.
- Pfizer- BioNTech
Pfizer-BioNTech covid 19 vaccine is an encapsulated mRNA vaccine. The mRNA encoding for the Spike protein is protected in lipid nanoparticles which looks like soap bubbles. Once these soap bubbles are absorbed into the body after vaccine injection, the cell expresses the Spike protein to immune cells in our body resulting in production of antibodies against it. The efficacy recorded after passing through multiple clinical phases were 95% for the US/UK strain.
The dosing required for the vaccine is 0.3mL-2 doses which is given 3 weeks apart. It needs to be stored in extreme cold temperatures reaching -70 degrees celsius.
- Moderna
Another popular manufacturer of the covid 19 vaccine is Moderna. It is also an encapsulated mRNA vaccine. The mode of action of this vaccine is exactly similar to Pfizer vaccine. The efficacy of the Moderna vaccine recorded was 94.1 % to the US/UK strain. It is given 0.5mL -2 doses which is given 28 days apart. It is stored in temperature reaching -20 degrees celsius.
- Astrazeneca
The next manufacturer in line is the Oxford/Astrazeneca. This is known as the viral vector vaccine, which the dsDNA encoding for the Spike protein is protected in a safer virus (adenovirus). Once this vaccine is injected, the safer virus releases the dsDNA and the infected cell then expresses the Spike protein which eventually leads to an immune response to protect the body.
The efficacy recorded for the vaccine is 82% for the US/UK strain, which is given as 2 doses 12 days apart.
- Johnson & Johnson
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also a viral vector vaccine which the vector vaccine contains the dsDNA of the Spike protein. Once injected, the infected cell expresses the dsDNA to immune cells and subsequently results in body immune response towards the coronavirus. The efficacy recorded was 72% against the US/UK strain and it is only given as 1 dose.
- Sinovac
The Sinovac company is a China based company and it produced an inactivated Virus vaccine. The SARS-CoV2 is chemically inactivated by using a chemical called the beta-propiolactone. It is used so that the virus cannot replicate, however all the other proteins remain intact which after injecting in the human body, it causes immune response. The efficacy recorded was 50% against the US/UK strain and normally given as 2 doses 3 weeks apart.
- Bharat Biotech
Bharat Biotech is a Indian continent based vaccine which is also an inactivated virus vaccine. The mode of action of the vaccine is exactly similar to the Sinovac vaccine. The vaccine is still under clinical phase trial and soon to be released for the use of public however, it is said to have a good record of efficacy toward the virus. It is given as 2 doses, 21 days apart.
Now vaccines are available everywhere. The best vaccine for now is any vaccine available to you. After all, choosing not to get vaccine at all will obviously expose yourself to Covid-19. Thereby, go to nearby hospital and get vaccinated.