Exploration of Immunology

Table 1. Vaccine platforms and their potential advantages and disadvantages [22]

Vaccine platform	Advantages	Disadvantages	Existing vaccine examples
Live-attenuated	Strong and long-lasting immune response Broad antigenic profile	Potential risk of disease Requirement for biosafety facilities	Smallpox Tuberculosis (BCG) Measles Polio (OPV)
Inactivated	Broad antigenic profile	Reduced immune response Requirement for biosafety facilities Lower purity	Hepatitis A Polio (IPV) Rabies Influenza
Protein subunit	Noninfectious Targeting key antigens	Limited capability in inducing cell-mediated immunity Adjuvant often needed Challenges in large-scale production	Hepatitis B (HBV) DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis)
VLP	Noninfectious Broad antigenic profile	Limited immunogenicity Lower purity	Hepatitis B (HBV) Papillomavirus (HPV)
Nonreplicating viral vector	Fast to produce Reusable platform Strong in both cell- and antibody-mediated immune response	Pre-existing immunity against the vector Risk of adverse reactions	N.A.
Replicating viral vector	Fast to produce Lower doses/single dose Reusable platform Strong in both cell- and antibody-mediated immune response Less infectious	Pre-existing immunity against the vector Risk of adverse reactions	Ebola (EUA)
DNA	Fast to produce Scalable Noninfectious Reusable platform Stable at room temperature	May need special delivery devices	N.A.
mRNA	Fast to produce Noninfectious No genome integration risk Reusable platform Stimulates strong T cell response Simple formulation	May need extremely low temperature for storage and transportation May need special delivery system	COVID-19 (EUA)

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N.A.: data not reported, EUA: Emergency Use Authorization; BCG: Bacille Calmette-Guerin; OPV: oral poliovirus vaccine; IPV: inactivated polio vaccine; DTP: diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis

Note. Reprinted from “A comprehensive review of the global efforts on COVID-19 vaccine development” by Li Y, Tenchov R, Smoot J, Liu C, Watkins S, Zhou Q. ACS Cent Sci. 2021;7:512–33. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8029445/). CC BY ND.

Declarations

Acknowledgments

The authors want to acknowledge and thank their institute, MET’s Institute of Pharmacy, BKC, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Adgaon, Nashik for providing technical support and facilities to complete this work.

Author contributions

EDA conceptualized the content of the manuscript and contributed in drafting the manuscript. SJK reviewed and edited the final manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

Not applicable.

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