Thread🧵: How do the frontrunner COVID-19 vaccines work? In this thread, we'll quickly discuss the vaccines from Moderna, Oxford, Sinovac, and NovaVax (all info courtesy of freelance science writer @thesharedscope who, by the way, is looking for new clients!) (1/7)
Three out of four of these vaccines (Moderna, Oxford, and NovaVax) target the novel coronavirus's spike proteins. Those are the spiky things on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 molecule which help the virus get into our cells and cause a COVID-19 infection. (2/7)
Moderna's mRNA-1273 is a novel vaccine for #COVID19 which contains the instructions needed for our body to produce the novel coronavirus's spike proteins to develop immunity to them. Learn more about the Moderna vaccine at fancycomma.wordpress.com/2020/06/28/cov…. (3/7)
Oxford and AstraZeneca have teamed up to develop a viral vector vaccine which is a mashup of a simian adenovirus and the genetic material for SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins. With this vaccine, our body produces the spike proteins & we get immune to them. fancycomma.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/all… (4/7)
CoronaVac relies on a tried-and-true method of vaccine development. It is a COVID-19 vaccine made from actual SARS-CoV-2 virus that has been chemically inactivated. CoronaVac is made by Chinese biopharma company Sinovac. Learn more about CoronaVac: fancycomma.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/cor… (5/7)
Novavax is a biopharma company based in Germantown, Maryland (USA). Their vaccine, called NVX-CoV2373, is a vaccine made entirely of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins. The spike proteins are grown in the lab, harvested, and put into a vaccine. fancycomma.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/nov… (6/7)
You can learn more about the science of COVID-19 vaccines, and more about the ongoing COVID-19 vaccine trials in general, at fancycomma.com/covid-19/. (7/7)
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