The vaccine many hope for
Vaccines activate the immune system in a number of ways
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Novavax’s protein vaccine is nearing approval. Why so many vaccine reluctants hope so. And how well it really protects against infection and disease.
MSome people are waiting for their corona immunization for vaccines that are based on other technologies such as the vaccines that are currently available. Nuvaxovid is just about to be approved for such a product. A commission of the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) wanted to deal with the application from the manufacturer Novavax on Monday. Further alternatives to the four previously approved vaccines could follow next year. This is also linked to the hope that some people will still be vaccinated after all.
How does the Novavax vaccine work?
Source: WORLD infographic
According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Nuvaxovid consists of virus-like particles that contain the spike protein of the coronavirus. The body recognizes the proteins as foreign and the immune system is turned on – specific antibodies and T cells are formed. This means that you are better prepared for a real infection. mRNA preparations, for example, work differently. Here, body cells are stimulated with the help of snippets of genetic material to produce the spike protein themselves in order to trigger an immune response.
How well does Novavax’s new vaccine work?
In a pivotal study by Novavax, its effectiveness in terms of disease was 90 percent. This means that 90 percent fewer diseases occurred among the subjects in the vaccinated group than among the subjects in a control group. Two doses were given three weeks apart.
However, the results mainly relate to the alpha variant, which has been almost completely displaced by Delta in Germany. According to experts, the new Omikron variant will soon have a strong influence on the infection process. “This vaccine will also have to be adapted to Omikron,” wrote Carsten Watzl, Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, recently with a view to the Novavax agent on Twitter.
Why are some waiting for these vaccines?
Some seem to have greater reliance on vaccines made by classical methods. For example, there is a distrust of the new mRNA technology on which the vaccines from Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer are based. There are concerns that these could cause previously unknown long-term damage. Football national player Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern), for example, initially explained his vaccination with “a few concerns, especially about the lack of long-term studies”. After emotional debates and a corona infection, he recently announced that he would be vaccinated after all. Experts believe that it is almost impossible for the approved vaccines to have long-term effects that are still unknown.
What does the term “dead vaccine” mean?
According to the Federal Ministry of Research, inactivated vaccines contain pathogens that have been killed, i.e. no longer able to reproduce. They can also contain only components or individual molecules of these pathogens. Examples are vaccines against hepatitis A and influenza. The body cannot differentiate between the dead vaccine and the pathogen and activates a targeted immune system that protects against a real infection. For some people who have so far refused to be vaccinated, this approach sounds “more natural” than that of mRNA vaccines, for example.
Is the class of dead vaccines clearly defined?
No. The term is not used consistently. If the definition is that the real virus or at least parts of it must be included in the vaccine, Novavax, for example, would not be a dead vaccine in the narrower sense. Because the crucial component that is supposed to trigger the immune response was not taken from a real virus, but is a genetically engineered virus protein.
On the other hand, one could also say that all vaccines without living – i.e. reproductive – pathogens are dead vaccines. “The name is wrong,” says Watzl. “All Covid-19 vaccines approved so far are dead vaccines.” What many meant by dead vaccine are “vaccines that are based on principles that are also used in other vaccinations”.
Which vaccines against Covid-19 could come soon?
Several products are in the so-called rolling review process EMA already in the assessment, although not all parts of the approval application have been submitted yet. The vaccines from the manufacturers Sinovac and Valneva (France), for example, contain killed coronaviruses.
Is it worth waiting for other vaccines?
“If someone only wants to be vaccinated with such a vaccine, then that is still better than being completely unvaccinated,” says immunologist Watzl. But he thinks it is unwise to wait – Novavax will not come until next year, Valneva in the second quarter of 2022 at the earliest. “Anyone who waits for these vaccines will be unprotected for a long time. Therefore: Better vaccinate now than wait. “
Even the head of the manufacturer Valneva doesn’t think much of hesitation. “I do not advise anyone to wait for our vaccine,” said Thomas Lingelbach, managing director of the French biotechnology company, the “Spiegel”. “That would be ethically unacceptable.” He is currently recommending vaccines from other manufacturers to relatives and friends and recently had himself boosted with the mRNA product from Biontech.
Are there also live vaccines?
Yes, for example against mumps, measles and rubella. They contain real pathogens that can still multiply, but whose disease-causing properties have been bred. So far there is no live vaccine against coronaviruses.
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