Abstract
Roughly 1 year after the first case of COVID-19 was identified and less than 1 year after the sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccines with demonstrated safety and efficacy in phase III clinical trials are available. The most promising vaccines have targeted the surface glycoprotein (S-protein) of SARS-CoV-2 and achieved an approximate 85%–95% reduction in the risk of symptomatic COVID-19, while retaining excellent safety profiles and modest side effects in the phase III clinical trials. The mRNA, replication-incompetent viral vector, and protein subunit vaccine technologies have all been successfully employed. Some novel SARS-CoV-2 variants evade but do not appear to fully overcome the potent immunity induced by these vaccines. Emerging real-world effectiveness data add evidence for protection from severe COVID-19. This is an impressive first demonstration of the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine and vector vaccine platforms. The success of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development should be credited to open science, industry partnerships, harmonization of clinical trials, and the altruism of study participants. The manufacturing and distribution of the emergency use–authorized SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are ongoing challenges. What remains now is to ensure broad and equitable global vaccination against COVID-19.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has caused massive global upheaval
Much hope resides in the potential of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to reduce the risk of disease and infection
This study revealed that among those who were infected, vaccinated individuals had lower peak viral load and shorter duration of RT-PCR+ results for SARS-CoV-2 compared with controls, suggesting that the vaccine is effective in reducing transmission [25]
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has caused massive global upheaval. As of February 2021, four vaccine platforms with candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have reached phase III clinical trials: mRNA, nonreplicating viral vector, protein subunit, and inactivated virus (Figure 1 and Table 1). The mRNA-1273 vaccine had comparable efficacy of 94.1% (95% CI, 89.3%–96.8%) 14 days after the second dose [18] Both vaccines showed similar efficacy in individuals aged 65 years or older, Hispanic people, Black people, people with obesity, and those with comorbidities that increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Across both trials, none of the vaccinated participants required hospitalization for COVID-19, and a protective effect was observed beginning 14 days after the first dose. Geometric mean antibody levels were higher with a longer prime-boost interval in
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