Vaccine options: Comparing mRNA vaccines to traditional inoculations
In the realm of vaccinology, two distinct approaches have emerged in recent years: traditional vaccines and the more modern mRNA vaccines. These two methods differ significantly in their manufacturing processes, effectiveness, safety profiles, and side effects.
Manufacturing Process
Traditional vaccines, such as those for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), chickenpox, and smallpox, often employ weakened or inactivated viruses or purified viral proteins. These require growing the virus in cell cultures or eggs, a process that takes longer and involves more complex biological manufacturing steps.
On the other hand, mRNA vaccines, like those recently developed for COVID-19, use synthetic messenger RNA that encodes a viral protein, such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This mRNA is delivered into the body to instruct cells to produce the viral protein, prompting an immune response without the need to grow live virus or viral proteins in the lab. This cell-free manufacturing process is faster and less complex than traditional methods.
Effectiveness
mRNA vaccines have demonstrated impressive effectiveness, with Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines showing robust immune responses and strong antibody production, and about 90% or higher efficacy against severe outcomes in clinical trials and real-world use.
Traditional vaccines also produce immunity by exposing the immune system to viral components, but some types, such as viral vector vaccines, have somewhat lower efficacy (around 71% for hospitalization prevention). Effectiveness can vary widely depending on the disease and vaccine.
Safety
mRNA vaccines have a reassuring safety record, with millions of doses administered. The synthetic mRNA does not integrate into the host DNA because it does not enter the nucleus, only interacting with ribosomes in the cytoplasm to produce proteins.
Traditional vaccines have long safety histories, but differ by type. Live attenuated vaccines carry a small risk of reverting to a harmful form, while inactivated vaccines generally have fewer risks. Overall, safety profiles differ by vaccine and pathogen.
Side Effects
Side effects of mRNA vaccines are generally mild to moderate and temporary, such as fatigue, fever, injection-site reactions, and flu-like symptoms. Serious adverse effects are rare, and autoimmune reactions seem uncommon but require continued monitoring.
Traditional vaccines may cause injection-site pain, mild fever, or allergic reactions, with side effect profiles depending on vaccine design—live vaccines can cause more significant side effects in immunocompromised individuals, whereas inactivated vaccines tend to be milder.
In conclusion, mRNA vaccines offer faster, cell-free manufacturing, strong immune responses, and a favorable safety profile with mostly mild side effects. Traditional vaccines rely on whole or partial viruses grown biologically, have variable effectiveness, and established safety and side effect records that depend on vaccine type. The newer mRNA technology benefits from decades of research and has become prominent especially for rapid pandemic response.
Two doses of inactivated polio vaccine are effective, while three doses are even more effective, at 99-100%. mRNA vaccines do not contain viruses or any other microbes, and they do not change a person's DNA. Traditional vaccines have a longer shelf life compared to mRNA vaccines. People need to get new flu shots every year, as the flu virus mutates and changes.
The protection that traditional vaccines can offer varies significantly. Some traditional vaccines offer lifelong immunity against infections, while others may require booster shots. The flu vaccine reduces the risk of severe flu, but its effectiveness can vary significantly due to the mutation and change of flu viruses.
Inactivated vaccines use dead microbes to stimulate an immune response, but they require booster shots for ongoing immunity. mRNA vaccines, such as the one for COVID-19, mimic the spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, teaching the body to recognize and fight the virus.
Live viral vaccines, such as the one for measles, use a weakened form of a microbe to stimulate an immune response, providing strong and lasting protection against future infections. However, live viral vaccines are not recommended during pregnancy due to the risk of viral transmission to the fetus, and they are not suitable for people with weakened immunity.
- The traditional vaccines, like those for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), chickenpox, and smallpox, often employ viral proteins, while mRNA vaccines, such as those for COVID-19, use synthetic messenger RNA that encodes viral proteins.
- mRNA vaccines, including those developed for COVID-19, have demonstrated impressive effectiveness, with about 90% or higher efficacy against severe outcomes, while some traditional vaccines, like certain viral vector vaccines, have somewhat lower efficacy.
- mRNA vaccines have a reassuring safety record, as the synthetic mRNA does not integrate into the host DNA, and side effects are generally mild to moderate, while traditional vaccines have long safety histories but differ by type, with live attenuated vaccines carrying a small risk of reverting to a harmful form.
- Side effects of traditional vaccines may include injection-site pain, mild fever, or allergic reactions, with live vaccines causing more significant side effects in immunocompromised individuals, whereas mRNA vaccines generally cause temporary and mild to moderate side effects like fatigue, fever, and injection-site reactions.
- In the realm of health-and-wellness, vaccines, whether traditional or modern mRNA, play crucial preventative roles in maintaining medical-conditions and overall immunity, as demonstrated by the effectiveness of two doses of inactivated polio vaccine and the mRNA vaccine's ability to mimic the spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in order to prevent COVID-19.
