A STRATEGY IN PLACE
The government is setting up an institutional mechanism to inspect and supervise the huge Covid-19 vaccination drive in India
AS India gears up to tackle the deadly Covid-19 virus through vaccines, the last few months of lockdowns and high morbidities seem like a nightmare. With vaccines giving hope, the common man is spoiled for choice and has little knowledge of how these work.
The Covid-19 virus has two main components—the genetic component and the protein one. When a genetic component is used to make the vaccine, the said component (mRNA) inside the candidate’s (the person who receives the vaccine) cell produces viral proteins against which the body produces antibodies. In protein-based vaccines, the protein directly makes neutralising antibodies in the body.
All genetic mRNA-based vaccines will potentially cause more allergic reactions as RNA is highly inflammable. But these vaccines will be highly antigenic and will produce a strong immunity response.
Examples of the genetic-based material vaccines are Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna. India’s Zydus Cadila is also working on a DNA-based genetic vaccine and is in Phase 3 trials. Other competing vaccines are based on the S protein segment of the virus which is introduced in the body by way of a vector virus (which does not produce infection in humans) and this protein then makes the antibodies.
On the other hand, protein-based vaccines’ efficacy may be lower (around 60 percent to 70 percent) as Covid-19 is a mucosal-based disease. The side effects of these vaccines may also be similar to other mucosal-based vaccines, with possible neurological manifestation as has been seen in the recent past.
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