Safety and effectiveness of WHO approved COVID vaccines are becoming critical concerns in the fight against coronavirus. That is partly because the ongoing vaccination process has provided little to no evidence based details on safety. Even so, WHO Emergency Use Listing Vaccines remains the only promising solution of responding to the pandemic.
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The World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control are yet to recommend any vaccine above another. However, there is hope that underway research will reveal more on the effectiveness and safety of various vaccines in use.
Full list of WHO approved COVID vaccines
Is there a vaccine for COVID-19? Yes, the World Health Organization has approved several vaccines for the vaccination programme.
The vaccination process which started in December 2020 has since gained popularity across the world.
4 types of WHO approved COVID vaccines for coronavirus
There are at least 13 approved COVID 19 vaccines. These falls under the following 4 types of corona vaccines.
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The list of COVID vaccines approved by WHO and the CDC are as follows;
1. Viral Vector Vaccines – AstraZeneca
The viral vector vaccines work by using a modified version of a different virus other than COVID 19 to instruct immunity in body cells.
The class of vaccines is preferable because it delivers protection without exposing the body to any form of coronavirus strains.
Examples of viral vector vaccines include;
- AstraZeneca – University of Oxford (UK)
- Janssen/Johnson & Johnson – United States of America.
- Gamaleya – Russia
- Ad5-nCoV vaccine – China
Most of the WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines fall under the viral vector category.
2. RNA Vaccines – Pfizer/ BioNTech
The RNA vaccine introduces an mRNA sequence of COVID 19, with specific antigen for COVID 19.
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RNA vaccines are cheaper, faster to produce, and safer considering they are not produced from infectious elements.
The body immunity responds in readiness for coronavirus infection, making it possible to defeat the disease in the event of a contact.
Examples of RNA vaccines are;
- Pfizer/BioNTech – Germany
- Moderna – United States of America
In summary, these Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) vaccines use messenger RNA to arrest coronavirus strains as soon as they enter the body.
3. Protein Subunit Vaccine – EpiVacCorona
Also called acellular vaccines, protein subunit vaccines use purified pieces of COVID 19 causing pathogens to stimulate an immune response.
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Protein subunit vaccines are safe because incomplete pathogen strains cannot cause infections.
Examples of protein subunit vaccine include;
- EpiVacCorona – Russia
Russian Vector Institute rolled out EpiVacCorona after Gamaleya of months earlier.
4. Inactivated Vaccine – CoviVac
The inactivated vaccines use dead or inactivated COVID 19 viruses to trigger immunity response.
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Notably, inactivated COVID 19 vaccines are different from live attenuated vaccines used in polio and chickenpox immunization.
This means that inactivated COVID 19 viruses in the vaccine cannot replicate once introduced into the body.
As such, multiple immunization is necessary to achieve the recommended immunity levels in the body.
Examples of inactivated vaccines are;
- CoviVac – Russia
- CoronaVac – China
- Covaxin – India
- BBIBP-CorV – China
- Wuhan vaccine – China
- Vero Cells – China
- COVIran Bareka – Iran
Russia developed and approved its third coronavirus vaccine CoviVac on February 20, 2021.
The vaccine by the Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune and Biological Products has since outgrown domestic use.
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Other key players in the development of inactivated coronavirus vaccines are Iran, China, and India.
There are even more on the World Health Organization approved COVID-19 vaccine list including Sinopharm and Covishield.
Roles of WHO and CDC – WHO approved COVID vaccines
The two organisations have consistently taken a front lead in keeping researchers focused and the population informed on the progress of the pandemic.
Most importantly, WHO and CDC remain key players in the control, regulation, and use of COVID 19 vaccines.
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The list of WHO approved COVID vaccines is becoming longer even as more knowledge continues to pour in from around the world. We can only hope that the pandemic will go away soon to pave way for our normal lives.
