Vaccines against COVID-19: Priority to mRNA-Based Formulations

As of September 2021, twenty-one anti-COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in the world. Their utilization will expedite an end to the current pandemic. Besides the usual vaccine formats that include inactivated viruses (eight approved vaccines) and protein-based vaccines (four approved vaccines), three new formats have been validated: recombinant adenovirus (six approved vaccines), DNA (one approved vaccine), and messenger RNA (mRNA, two approved vaccines). The latter was the fastest (authorized in 2020 in the EU, the USA, and Switzerland). Most Western countries have reserved or use the protein vaccines, the adenovirus vaccines, and mRNA vaccines. I describe here the different vaccine formats in the context of COVID-19, detail the three formats that are chiefly reserved or used in Europe, Canada, and the USA, and discuss why the mRNA vaccines appear to be the superior format.

Automated summary

By September 2021, twenty-one anti-COVID-19 vaccines have been approved worldwide, with utilization expected to help bring an end to the pandemic. In addition to traditional vaccine formats such as inactivated viruses and protein-based vaccines, new formats like recombinant adenovirus, DNA, and mRNA have been validated. Western countries primarily reserve or use protein vaccines, adenovirus vaccines, and mRNA vaccines, with mRNA vaccines being seen as the superior option in terms of speed and effectiveness.