Christelle D'Sa
The body naturally protects itself from viruses and foreign bacteria. Two ways that the immune system combats new viruses and bacteria are by utilizing the humoral and cell-mediated immune response pathways. These two pathways are critical for allowing the body to effectively fight off a novel virus or bacteria and also remember that specific pathogen so that it can more easily fight against it the next time the body encounters that virus or bacteria.
Humoral immunity involves a B lymphocyte, which creates a specific antibody, binding to the unknown substance which is called an antigen (Dornell 2021). These antigens are not recognized by the body, and once the B lymphocyte binds to the antigen, it differentiates into memory B cells and effector B cells (Dornell 2021). Memory B cells can later be activated to produce the specific antibody for the antigen it was created to combat. For instance, if a B lymphocyte came into contact with bacteria A and differentiated into memory B cells and effector B cells, then the memory B cells will immediately be activated if the body encountered bacteria A again. This quick activation helps the body respond more quickly the second time it encounters the bacteria.
The vaccines made to combat the COVID-19 virus take advantage of the body's natural immune response. However, it takes a long time to manufacture these vaccines because of how the manufacturing process is set up. For the Pfizer vaccine, the steps of the manufacturing process occur in three different places: Chesterfield, Missouri; Andover, Massachusetts; and Kalamazoo, Michigan (Weise and Weintraub 2021). In Chesterfield, large amounts of a plasmid that contains the DNA of the COVID-19 vaccine is first mass produced, which takes two weeks, after which the plasmids are cut and the purity of the solution is checked to make sure that it only contains the cut plasmids (Weise and Weintraub 2021). After this solution is received in Andover, the DNA in the cut plasmids is transcribed into mRNA, and this process takes about three to four days, and the mRNA is then taken out of the solution and frozen before it is shipped (Weise and Weintraub 2021). Once these frozen bags of mRNA reach Kalamazoo, the mRNA is enclosed in lipid nanoparticles which create a shell to protect the mRNA as it travels from the injection syringe into the body and finally into the cell (Weise and Weintraub 2021). After the lipid nanoparticles enclose the mRNA, the vaccine is then put into vials for distribution, and in total the whole process of adding the lipid nanoparticles and bottling the vaccine takes roughly three days (Weise and Weintraub 2021). It takes weeks to run quality control tests to ensure the efficacy and purity of the vaccine, but once this process is finished, the vials can then be shipped in one to two days to different states in trucks filled with dry ice (Weise and Weintraub 2021).
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA in their vaccine (Moderna 2021 and Corum and Zimmer 2021). Once the vaccine is injected, the mRNA travels to the inside of the cell where it will be translated into protein by a ribosome. The protein that is created is the spike protein that is normally displayed on the surface of the COVID-19 virus, and this spike protein is then integrated into the cell membrane of the cell (CDC 2021). The body recognizes this spike protein as a foreign substance, and once a B lymphocyte binds to the spike protein, it can differentiate into memory B cells and effector B cells. The memory B cells that are created now make a specific antibody that recognizes and binds to the COVID-19 spike protein. This means that if the body comes into contact with the real COVID-19 virus, it can now quickly and effectively launch an immune response to get rid of the virus.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine (Christensen 2021). This means that it uses a harmless adenovirus to inject the genetic material of the COVID-19 spike protein into a cell (Christensen 2021). This allows the cell to produce the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus, and the body then launches an immune response against this foreign protein. The result is memory B cells that can be activated to create antibodies to bind to the COVID-19 spike protein if the body encounters the real COVID-19 virus.
Overall, the vaccines created for the COVID-19 virus use the body's natural immune response to their advantage so that when the body encounters the real COVID-19 virus, it will be prepared. While it does take a considerable amount of time to create vaccines, this happens mainly because at each step of the manufacturing process the vaccine's purity and safety must be checked before it begins the next step of the manufacturing process.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Mar 4. Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
Christensen J. 2021 Jan 29. Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, how it works and why it matters. CNN. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/health/johnson-covid-19-vaccine-how-it-works/index.html
Corum J, Zimmer C. 2021 Mar 22. How the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Works. The New York Times. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine.html
Dornell J. 2021 Jan 25. Humoral vs Cell-Mediated Immunity. Technology Networks. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.technologynetworks.com/immunology/articles/humoral-vs-cell-mediated-immunity-344829
Moderna. 2021. What is Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. moderna. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.modernatx.com/covid19vaccine-eua/recipients/moderna-vaccine
Weise E, Weintraub K. 2021 Feb 8. A COVID-19 vaccine life cycle: from DNA to doses. USA Today. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/health/2021/02/07/how-covid-vaccine-made-step-step-journey-pfizer-dose/4371693001/
Humoral immunity involves a B lymphocyte, which creates a specific antibody, binding to the unknown substance which is called an antigen (Dornell 2021). These antigens are not recognized by the body, and once the B lymphocyte binds to the antigen, it differentiates into memory B cells and effector B cells (Dornell 2021). Memory B cells can later be activated to produce the specific antibody for the antigen it was created to combat. For instance, if a B lymphocyte came into contact with bacteria A and differentiated into memory B cells and effector B cells, then the memory B cells will immediately be activated if the body encountered bacteria A again. This quick activation helps the body respond more quickly the second time it encounters the bacteria.
The vaccines made to combat the COVID-19 virus take advantage of the body's natural immune response. However, it takes a long time to manufacture these vaccines because of how the manufacturing process is set up. For the Pfizer vaccine, the steps of the manufacturing process occur in three different places: Chesterfield, Missouri; Andover, Massachusetts; and Kalamazoo, Michigan (Weise and Weintraub 2021). In Chesterfield, large amounts of a plasmid that contains the DNA of the COVID-19 vaccine is first mass produced, which takes two weeks, after which the plasmids are cut and the purity of the solution is checked to make sure that it only contains the cut plasmids (Weise and Weintraub 2021). After this solution is received in Andover, the DNA in the cut plasmids is transcribed into mRNA, and this process takes about three to four days, and the mRNA is then taken out of the solution and frozen before it is shipped (Weise and Weintraub 2021). Once these frozen bags of mRNA reach Kalamazoo, the mRNA is enclosed in lipid nanoparticles which create a shell to protect the mRNA as it travels from the injection syringe into the body and finally into the cell (Weise and Weintraub 2021). After the lipid nanoparticles enclose the mRNA, the vaccine is then put into vials for distribution, and in total the whole process of adding the lipid nanoparticles and bottling the vaccine takes roughly three days (Weise and Weintraub 2021). It takes weeks to run quality control tests to ensure the efficacy and purity of the vaccine, but once this process is finished, the vials can then be shipped in one to two days to different states in trucks filled with dry ice (Weise and Weintraub 2021).
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA in their vaccine (Moderna 2021 and Corum and Zimmer 2021). Once the vaccine is injected, the mRNA travels to the inside of the cell where it will be translated into protein by a ribosome. The protein that is created is the spike protein that is normally displayed on the surface of the COVID-19 virus, and this spike protein is then integrated into the cell membrane of the cell (CDC 2021). The body recognizes this spike protein as a foreign substance, and once a B lymphocyte binds to the spike protein, it can differentiate into memory B cells and effector B cells. The memory B cells that are created now make a specific antibody that recognizes and binds to the COVID-19 spike protein. This means that if the body comes into contact with the real COVID-19 virus, it can now quickly and effectively launch an immune response to get rid of the virus.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine (Christensen 2021). This means that it uses a harmless adenovirus to inject the genetic material of the COVID-19 spike protein into a cell (Christensen 2021). This allows the cell to produce the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus, and the body then launches an immune response against this foreign protein. The result is memory B cells that can be activated to create antibodies to bind to the COVID-19 spike protein if the body encounters the real COVID-19 virus.
Overall, the vaccines created for the COVID-19 virus use the body's natural immune response to their advantage so that when the body encounters the real COVID-19 virus, it will be prepared. While it does take a considerable amount of time to create vaccines, this happens mainly because at each step of the manufacturing process the vaccine's purity and safety must be checked before it begins the next step of the manufacturing process.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Mar 4. Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html
Christensen J. 2021 Jan 29. Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, how it works and why it matters. CNN. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/health/johnson-covid-19-vaccine-how-it-works/index.html
Corum J, Zimmer C. 2021 Mar 22. How the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Works. The New York Times. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine.html
Dornell J. 2021 Jan 25. Humoral vs Cell-Mediated Immunity. Technology Networks. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.technologynetworks.com/immunology/articles/humoral-vs-cell-mediated-immunity-344829
Moderna. 2021. What is Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. moderna. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.modernatx.com/covid19vaccine-eua/recipients/moderna-vaccine
Weise E, Weintraub K. 2021 Feb 8. A COVID-19 vaccine life cycle: from DNA to doses. USA Today. [accessed 2021 Apr 15]. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/health/2021/02/07/how-covid-vaccine-made-step-step-journey-pfizer-dose/4371693001/
Proudly powered by Weebly