COVID-19 Vaccines Are Finally Here – How Do They Work?

By Rishi Ganesh

Finally, the world is seeing some respite from the never-ending onslaught that COVID-19 has brought. The vaccine is being rolled out by numerous companies, allowing masses of people to receive immunity. As the population gains herd immunity, we could see the beginning of the end of the pandemic, which has caused families all over the world to be forced to stay at home for nearly a year.

But as with everything, there has been some skepticism about the vaccine. Doubters ask: how does it work, though? Rumors of things as far-flung as mind control and DNA mutation have been thrown around, causing skepticism in a time where we must all be united towards getting out of this pandemic. However, once people find the right information, they often find fault in these conspiracies and change their views.

So how do vaccines work?

To answer a question like this, first we have to split up vaccines into 4 groups, based on the type of vaccine. These four major categories of vaccines include nucleic vaccines (mRNA, RNA, and DNA vaccines), viral vaccines (traditional vaccines like flu and measles), protein vaccines (using parts of the pathogen), and vector vaccines (using a different virus to indirectly increase immunity). Each type of vaccine works in its own way, and while the COVID-19 vaccines are only newly developed, they are no different.

Viral vaccines are the bread-and-butter vaccine of tradition, and the one that most people are familiar with. Using a whole virus, either weakened significantly or dead, allows the body to recognize the virus and begin to develop antibodies towards the injected virus. However, the problem with the injection of a whole virus is through side effects. Sometimes, those with compromised immune systems can still gain an infection from even weakened viruses, making whole-virus live vaccines not a viable option for these people. The dead virus, on the other hand, poses no risk to any immune system. However, it also comes with its drawbacks. Dead viruses elicit a much smaller immune response, meaning that the body is less prepared for future infection.

Next, we’ll move on to nucleic vaccines. These vaccines are currently the most used to treat the COVID-19 pandemic, with both Moderna and Pfizer using this type of vaccine. This vaccine uses DNA or RNA to send instructions to the cells in one’s body. These instructions allow cells to create new antibodies without the actual virus itself ever getting in the body from the vaccine. The reason that these vaccines are dominating the COVID scene is because they are extremely quick to manufacture effectively. As soon as the virus has had its genome sequenced, the protein spike (the “carrier” of the information) is able to be created and tested. However, the initial response to these vaccines is relatively weak in the body, which is why the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use 2 doses. The biggest problem with these vaccines is that they are difficult to store, needing to be kept very cold. This can lead to vaccines becoming ineffective if they are not put in the right temperature.

Vector vaccines and RNA vaccines are the biggest COVID vaccines.

This is no coincidence, either. Vector vaccines are quite similar to RNA vaccines in that they use a carrier of genetic information to allow cells to create antibodies themselves. The difference, however, between these two vaccines is that vector vaccines often use a harmless virus rather than RNA or DNA. This method is much more proven than RNA vaccines, as through studying the functions of viruses, we know that many viruses reproduce by turning cells into “factories” for more viruses. However, scientists are turning this adaptation to their advantage, using harmless adenoviruses to carry and implement instructions to create antibodies rather than more viruses. This method generates a strong immune response and very rarely has any side effects. The main problem with vector vaccines, however, is that they take a while to manufacture, as the viruses can only be created in small bunches.

Finally, we have protein vaccines. These types of vaccines are arguably the best mix of safety and effectiveness. However, they take very long to manufacture and require extensive testing and experimentation to find the best possible vaccine to distribute. Protein vaccines go through experimentation to determine the parts of a virus that elicit the strongest immune response, using those in the vaccine itself. This method ensures that no infection is caused to those with weaker immune systems, and it also doesn’t require cells to create the antibodies for the virus. In my opinion, once the method for identifying effective proteins in vaccines becomes more refined, protein vaccines will eventually become the most common vaccine on the planet.

These four types of vaccines each operate differently, but provide the same effect: immunity. As more and more of the world becomes vaccinated, we will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. COVID cases are already dropping due to the administration of the vaccine, and they will only continue to do so as we wear masks, stay socially distant, and get vaccinated. Vaccines are the way out of this lockdown, and the biggest step yet towards normalcy.