Corona vaccines in comparison: protective effect varies considerably - mRNA agents with enormous advantages

Two mRNA vaccines and one vector vaccine are currently very popular around the world.

Find out here how they work and which vaccine type is rated more positively.

• The European Union (EU) has been vaccinated against Corona since the end of December 2020.

  In Germany, the 101-year-old Edith Kwoizalla, who lives in a senior care facility in Saxony-Anhalt, made the start.

• Some would like to get vaccinated immediately, others struggle with possible side effects *.

  The manufacturers, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) as the Federal Institute for Infectious Diseases and Non-Communicable Diseases rate the vaccinations previously approved in the EU as safe and effective.

• "The new corona vaccination currently offers you the best possible protection against the disease and its possible consequences," says an RKI information letter.

  Find out which vaccines are available here - and how they differ.

The vaccine BNT162b2 from Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer was the first vaccine to be approved throughout the EU.

This was followed by the approval of mRNA-1273, the vaccine from the US biotechnology company Moderna.

Another vaccine could also be available shortly.

The EU authority EMA will probably decide on the approval of AZD1222 at the end of January, as reported by the North German Broadcasting Corporation.

The preparation of the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca in cooperation with the University of Oxford differs fundamentally from the previously approved vaccines.

Vaccines in comparison: Astrazeneca funds are fundamentally different from Biontech vaccines

Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer used a new process to develop their vaccines, known as messenger RNA technology (mRNA for short).

Both vaccines are therefore referred to as mRNA vaccines.

With these, an antigen (i.e. the pathogen itself or parts of it) is not inoculated in the classic way, but the building instructions for the corona-specific spike protein.

The coronavirus uses this to dock onto and penetrate body cells.

Antibodies are able to recognize the virus based on the spike protein and mark it as a target for immune cells, as the Helmholtz Institute informs.

A corona vaccination has the consequence that the body is stimulated to produce antibodies.

With mRNA vaccinations, this is achieved by injecting synthetic genes that contain the building instructions for the spike protein.

As a result, the body produces these spike proteins, which in turn activates the immune system and makes antibodies against the protein.

Astrazeneca, on the other hand, does not use the mRNA, but an established method, as reported by ZDF.

The British-Swedish company's vaccine, called AZD1222, is a

vector

vaccine

.

It is supposed to smuggle genetic material of the coronavirus into human cells and thus boost the immune system

.

The goal is the same as with mRNA vaccines: the immune system should form antibodies against coronaviruses, so it can fight an infection with the pathogen more quickly and reduce the risk of serious disease.

Also read

: Still sick after corona vaccination?

The new mRNA vaccines against Covid are so safe.

62, 70 and 90 percent effectiveness with Astrazenca vaccine?

Studies create confusion

The preparations from Moderna and Biontech differ from the Astrazeneca active ingredient not only in terms of the type of vaccine.

Where the mRNA vaccines showed a protective effect of up to 96 percent in studies, it was 62 to 90 percent for the AZD1222 vector vaccine, depending on the study.

“

The study data showed: The probability of contracting the virus was 95 percent lower among the participants vaccinated with Covid-19 than among participants vaccinated with placebo

.

If a person who has been vaccinated against Covid-19 comes into contact with the pathogen, there is a high probability that they will not fall ill, ”says the RKI about the Biontech / Pfizer active ingredient.

According to the Tagesschau, the vaccine from the US biotechnology company Moderna, which has been approved since the beginning of January, is between 86.4 and 96 percent - depending on the age of the vaccinated.

In the case of the Astrazeneca preparation, two studies with different study designs caused confusion, according to the Pharmazeutische Zeitung.

Depending on the publication, the preparation was certified as being 62, 70 and 90 percent effective

.

For the pooled data taken together, the scientists calculated a protective effect for AZD1222 of 70.4 percent, as the medical newspaper writes.

Astrazeneca vaccine can be stored at up to eight degrees Celsius

In terms of handling, however, the Astrazeneca vector vaccine has the edge.

The agent can be transported with normal cooling of two to eight degrees Celsius and stored for at least six months, as the ZDF informs.

In the case of mRNA vaccines, however, storage at around minus 70 degrees Celsius is necessary.

According to Biontech, however, the vaccine can be stored in boxes with dry ice for up to 30 days in the respective vaccination center or up to five days in a normal refrigerator.

(jg) * Merkur.de belongs to the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editorial network

.

More sources: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Infekt/Impfen/ImpfungenAZ/COVID-19/Leitfaden-Patient.pdf?__blob=publicationFile;

https://www.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de/wie-funktionieren-mrna-impfstoffe-121742/;

https://www.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de/schutzffekt-bis-zu-90-prozent-mit-vektorimpfstoff-122009/;

https://www.dw.com/de/%C3%BCber-100-j%C3%A4hrige-erh%C3%A4lt-erste-corona-implung-in-deutschland/a-56061914;

https://www.helmholtz.de/glossar/glossar-detail/spike-protein/

Survey on the subject of corona vaccination

Read more

: Does corona vaccination work against British virus mutation?

Study is optimistic - also with regard to the Africa virus.

From yoga to qigong: reduce stress and relax

From yoga to qigong: reduce stress and relax