Table 3 Available major COVID-19 vaccines (Phase III) against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants
Major vaccines | Composition of vaccine | Mode of action against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants | References |
|---|---|---|---|
BioNTech/ Pfizer mRNA vaccine BNT162: a1, b1, b2, c2 | Lipid nano-particle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA vaccine encoding spike (S) protein | Target: Spike (S) protein with two stabilizing proline mutations within the S2 subunit Possible target: Spike (S) protein | |
Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine | |||
AstraZeneca/ University of Oxford ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/AZD1222 replicating vector vaccine | Attenuated version of a common cold virus (adenovirus): the genetic material has been added to the ChAdOx1 construct | Target: Spike (S) protein. High doses of vector particles are administered followed by recognition by the host immune sensors; resulting in the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines | Noor (2021a, b b, 2021c), Ura et al. (2021), Mercado et al. (2020) |
Johnson & Johnson Ad26 vector-based vaccine: Ad26.COV2.S | Adenovirus-type 26 non-replicating viral vector which expresses the S protein. Seven (7) variants of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein sequences are codon optimized and artificially synthesized. So far the most divergent vaccine with S protein variants as target | Activates S-specific and RBD-specific neutralizing antibody production; (2) triggers cell-mediated immunity. Ad26 vector encodes the prefusion stabilized S immunogen (wild-type leader sequence, full-length membrane-bound S, mutation of the furin cleavage site, and two proline stabilizing mutation) | Noor (2021a, b b, 2021c), Ura et al. (2021), Mercado et al. (2020) |
Gam-COVID-Vac/ Sputnik V two vector COVID-19 vaccine | Mixture of the recombinant replication-defective adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad 26) plus Ad5 | ||
Sinovac and Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine | Vero cell grown vaccine, inactivated by β-propiolactone (BPL) and the vaccine immunogenicity is increased by the addition of adjuvants | Production of S protein neutralizing antibodies; elicitation of cell-mediated immunity | Noor et al. (2022), Heinz and Stiasny (2021), Gao et al. (2020) |