What is the COVID-19 vaccine and How Safe is it?
Written by: Rasheena Wright, BA
Since declaring the virus named COVID-19 a pandemic back in March of 2020, the world has been in a frenzy. Wearing masks, gloves, social distancing, closing restaurants and schools. SARS-CoV-2 took the world by storm. A virus that no one had ever seen before.
Weeks after the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 emerged in late 2019, scientist in china had already determined the structure of its genome and the famous spike protein on its surface. Researchers then began creating a mRNA vaccine to combat this virus.
Contrary to popular belief, mRNA vaccines are not new. They have been in development for 30 years. Companies like Pfizer and Moderna had built technology that could create a vaccine for any disease by inserting the right mRNA sequence.
How Vaccines Work
The main goal of a vaccine is to introduce a particular infectious agent to the body to teach the immune system what the virus looks like. Vaccines rarely make you sick with the intended virus. Once the body has seen a part of the virus, it will vigorously attack, if it comes in contact with the virus naturally. Some vaccines use a weakened version of the virus, others just use a critical or defining feature of the virus.
COVID-19 Vaccine
The COVID-19 vaccine uses a defining feature of the COVID-19 virus, the spiked protein on the surface. BNT162b2 (Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine)”is a lipid nanoparticle–formulated, nucleoside-modified RNA vaccine that encodes SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike protein.” (Polack, 2020) It does not contain live COVID-19 virus, so it cannot make you sick with COVID-19.
How Safe is it?
Pfizer and Biotech held a phase 1 clinical trial in adults to evaluate the safety of BNT162b2. The participants were individuals 16 years of age or older who received two injections of vaccine 21 days apart. A placebo was used as a control. 43,548 participants were randomized and 21,720 received BNT162b2 and 21,728 received placebo. The participants were observed for 30 minutes after vaccination for any adverse reactions. Mild to moderate pain at the injection site was the most common local reaction. Fatigue and headache were the two most reported systemic events at 59% and 52% respectively. No COVID-19 related deaths were reported during this trial. The observed efficacy between dose one and two was reported to be 52% and 91% within 7 days of dose two. Full efficacy against COVID-19 was reached 7 days after dose 2.
Limitations of the Vaccine
Participants had a median follow up time of 2 months post 2nd dose of vaccine, therefore adverse reactions after two months and duration of protection are still to be determined. The study does not include the prevention of COVID-19 in other populations, such as pregnant women, younger adolescents and children.
Conclusion
Pfizer’s COVID-19 (BNT162b2) Vaccine provided safe and effective protection against COVID-19. Symptoms after injection may include fatigue, pain at injection site and headaches. It has proven to be 52% effective after one dose and offer full protection 7days after the 2nd dose. Although there are limitations within the study, it provides hope for new and emergent mRNA vaccines. We then think further and ask, are mRNA the vaccines of the future? Can mRNA vaccines be used to cure cancer and HIV/AIDS? mRNA vaccines are currently being tested for other infectious agents, such as Ebola, Zika virus, and influenza.
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This article was written by Rasheena Wright. Rasheena Wright has received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the City University of New York, Hunter College. She is currently working as the COVID-19 Coordinator for the Essex County Health Department. She plans on pursuing a master’s degree and going into medicine as a Physician. Her dream is to become an OB/GYN and care for the underserved. Her interests include women’s health, HIV/AIDS, STI’s and Cancer Research.
Citations
Jackson, Lisa A., et al. “An MRNA Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 — Preliminary Report: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, 12 Nov. 2020, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2022483.
Komaroff, Anthony. “Why Are MRNA Vaccines so Exciting?” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard.edu, 12 Dec. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-are-mrna-vaccines-so-exciting-2020121021599.
Polack, Fernando P., et al. “Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 MRNA Covid-19 Vaccine: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, 10 Dec. 2020, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577.
“Understanding How Vaccines Work — Centers for Disease …” CDC.gov, July 2018, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf.
