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The race to see which company would finish creating a COVID vaccine and obtain emergency use authorization first was tight. Pfizer’s COVID vaccine was finally the first approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in the United States on December 11 – it was fully approved on August 23 – and the Moderna’s emergency approval followed shortly after December 18. Johnson & Johnson was approved for emergency use sometime later on February 27. But the differences between these vaccines do not end there. While Pfizer and Moderna are both given in two doses, Johnson & Johnson is a single vaccine. And Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines, while Johnson & Johnson is a viral vector vaccine. This fact alone could mean that the latter is on the verge of extinction. Some experts believe that viral vector vaccines will be phased out soon, as mRNA vaccines will become the main solution to fight COVID and other diseases.
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Arnaud Bernaert, a former head of global health and healthcare at the World Economic Forum, told Yahoo Finance on Sept. 7 that “virus vector technologies are going to become obsolete,” while mRNA vaccines dominate. One of the reasons he thinks mRNA vaccines are dominant is that they can be developed in a shorter period of time. “I think it’s over. I think it’s mRNA or nothing. [Other technology] takes too long, ”Bernaert said.
Another advantage of mRNA vaccines is their adaptability. MRNA vaccines are more malleable and allow scientists to tune the vaccine easily enough to handle new variants. “If success is to be defined by the agility of a manufacturer to be able to reposition the DNA template to fight the next variant, I don’t think the US and Europe will do anything but d ‘buy mRNA vaccines’ go ahead, predicts Bernaert. The mRNA vaccines “will be 60 or 70 percent of the market. The rest will die.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, COVID mRNA vaccines use genetically engineered messenger RNA to tell your cells how to make the S protein found on the surface of the COVID virus. After you receive an mRNA vaccine, your immune cells start making the necessary S protein, and then display them on the surface of your cells, which causes your body to make antibodies. If you come into contact with the coronavirus down the line, those antibodies will know how to fight it.
Meanwhile, with COVID viral vector vaccines, material from the COVID virus is placed inside a modified version of another virus. This virus then enters your cells and asks them to make copies of the S protein. Your cells will display the S protein on their surface and your immune system will create antibodies and white blood cells in response. Similar to the mRNA vaccine, if you are infected with COVID, the antibodies will know how to fight the virus.
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Millions of Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson viral vector vaccine, and millions more overseas have received AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine, which is another viral vector vaccine. Both of these vaccines are very effective, but they have also seen more setbacks in the public eye than those of Pfizer or Moderna.
In April, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suspended administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following reports of a link between the vaccine and rare blood clots. (The agencies lifted the break after reviewing the data.) A handful of countries abroad, including the Netherlands and Ireland, have suspended use of AstraZeneca for the same reason, although this vaccine is also used again.
Ultimately, viral vector vaccines are safe and protective against COVID, despite some of the headlines they have generated over the past year. However, since mRNA vaccines are more adaptable and faster to develop, they could eventually reign supreme in the industry.
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