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Types of Vaccines and Its Working Mechanism (Exam Hunter)

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Types of Vaccines and Its Working Mechanism (Exam Hunter)

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Vishal
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EXAM HUNTER

Detailed Concept Related to Current Affairs

Vaccines

Why in the news ?

(1)AstraZeneca has started global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was
provided in India as 'Covishield' in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, days after it
admitted to rare side effects (I have covered about the side effects in the daily current affairs)
(2)Researchers from the University of Florida have developed a new mRNA cancer
vaccine to fight against Glioblastoma, the most common type of brain cancer.It is the
most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer. Its human clinical trial began recently.

Terminologies associated with the Vaccines

1.Immunization - It is the process of your body becoming resistant to a germ (pathogen)


after you get a vaccine.
2.Inoculation - It is introducing a pathogen or vaccine to the body to help someone develop
immunity to a disease.
3.Pathogens - These are what we commonly call germs: the viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites
and other microbes that can enter our bodies and cause infection and illness.
4.Antigens - These are anything present in the body that the immune system recognizes as an
invader and tries to fight. Vaccines put antigens into the body.
5.Antibodies -These are Y-shaped proteins produced by immune cells in the body to fight
pathogens. Most people have hundreds of millions of different kinds of antibodies.

6.All vaccines work on the same principle – getting the body acquainted with a
non-lethal form of the pathogen so that the immune system learns to defend itself
against infection.

7.The first vaccine was developed in 1796 to treat smallpox. It was developed by
Edward Jenner.

Different Types of Vaccines

1.mRNA Vaccines

The mRNA(messenger Ribonucleic Acid) vaccines carry the genetic code for the
proteins that make up the non-lethal but key parts of a virus.
For example, the COVID-19 vaccines used the codes for the spike protein used by
Sars-CoV-2 to enter the body. Once injected, the vaccine uses the body’s own protein
manufacturing centre to produce these viral proteins.
mRNA from a virus tells our cells to make harmless proteins just like those on a harmful
virus.
The immune system then responds by creating antibodies against the viral protein and learns
to fight the actual infection.
mRNA vaccines were used on humans for the first time during COVID.
It is a very powerful technique to be able to create a lot of vaccines fast.
Scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have won Nobel Prize in Medicine or
Physiology, 2023 for their contribution in the development of mRNA vaccine

2.Inactivated Vaccines

Many of the first vaccines were created this way. After isolating the virus or bacterium,
manufacturers grow a large population of these germs and treat them with heat or chemicals
to inactivate them before putting them into vaccines.

Though inactivated vaccines may cause fewer or less intense side effects, they may result in
less robust immunity than a live attenuated vaccine and may require booster shots.

Examples of inactivated vaccines: hepatitis A, some forms of flu, polio and rabies vaccines

3.Live Attenuated Vaccines

These vaccines contain weakened versions of viruses or, less commonly, bacteria.
Manufacturers isolate the pathogen and grow it in a lab until the pathogen loses its ability to
cause disease. They select the weakest ones and reproduce them to put in the vaccine.

Live attenuated vaccines can produce a strong immune response, which can mean both
long-term immunity and a higher chance of side effects. They may not be safe for people
with impaired immune systems, who could develop a full-scale infection from even
weakened viruses or bacteria.

Examples - measles, mumps/rubella (MMR), smallpox, chickenpox vaccines and rotavirus


vaccine

4.Viral Vector Vaccines

Viral vector vaccines use a harmless deliverer (vector), such as a type of adenovirus. To make
the vaccine, an adenovirus is loaded with information that informs cells how to manufacture a
look-alike, harmless part of the disease-causing virus.
The vaccines deliver “directions” from the vector, telling cells how to create copies of the
harmless part of the virus. The cells make copies of the part, which accumulate in the body,
triggering the immune system to create antibodies to fight them.

Example - An example of this was the AstraZeneca vaccine available in India as


Covishield that used parts of the COVID-19 virus attached to an adenovirus.An
additional problem with vector vaccines is that the immune system also develops responses to
the carrier virus as well, making the booster shots not so effective.Ebola Vaccine was also
made using this technology

5.Toxoid Vaccines

Some bacteria release toxic substances. Some of these toxins can be made into toxoids by
isolating and modifying them so they are not harmful. A vaccine that contains a small amount
of toxoid can help a person’s immune system learn to fight the bacterium.

Examples of toxoid vaccines: tetanus and diphtheria vaccines

6.Subunit (Recombinant, Polysaccharide or Conjugate) Vaccines

After isolating and growing the germs, vaccine manufacturers isolate a part of it (such as a
protein, a sugar or part of its surface) that is harmless by itself but is recognized by the
immune system as an invading antigen.

This part (which is harmless on its own) is manufactured and put into a vaccine that activates
the immune system against the entire pathogen if it enters the body.

Because vaccine makers only use a part of the pathogen, these vaccines can be safer for
people with weakened immune systems.

Examples of subunit vaccines: pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, shingles, meningitis


and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines

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