History has proven that it takes Scientist years to come up with a vaccine for a disease and almost as long for Researchers to ensure the viability and safety of that vaccine. However, in a race to produce Covid-19 vaccines in record time, researchers have worked tirelessly to come up with tens of vaccines of which:

• 49 are undergoing Phase 1 Tests.
• 36 are undergoing Phase 2 Tests.
• 26 are undergoing Phase 3 Tests.
• 5 have been Authorized.
• 8 have been Approved.
• 4 Abandoned.

After months of anticipation, development, clinical trials and clinical regulatory assessments, two vaccines were finally approved in the US before 19th December 2020. Later on, two more vaccines were approved making a total of 4 vaccines which have either been or are being used in the US. These vaccines are:

• The Pfizer Vaccine
• Moderna’s Vaccine
• Oxford- Astrazeneca Vaccine
• Johnson & Johnson Vaccine.

Below we will take a closer look at each of these vaccines as well as the other major Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved and authorized for use around the world.

MESSANGER RNA VACCINES

1. Fizer-BioNTech Vaccine
Name: Comirnaty
Efficacy: Over 90 %
Dose: 2 doses, 3 weeks apart
Side Effects: Fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain, especially after the second dose.
Currently in Use: Approved in the US as well as other countries.

2. Moderna’s Vaccine
Name: mRNA-1273
Efficacy: 94.5 %
Dose: 2 doses, 4 weeks apart.
Side Effects: Fever, muscle aches, headaches lasting a few days. Effects worse after second dose.
Currently in Use: Approved in the US as well as in other countries.

ADENOVIRUS BASED VACCINES

1. Oxfored-Astrazeneca Vaccine
Name: AZD1222 or Covishield
Efficay: 79 perccent
Dose: Two doses, 4 weeks apart
Side Effects: Injection site pain, fever, muscle aches, headache.
Currently in Use: Approved for Use in Brazil. However, Administration has stopped in Denmark.

2. Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
Name: Ad26.COV2.S
Efficacy: 72% in the United States of America
Dose: 1 Dose
Side Effects: Injection site pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain.
Currently in Use: In the US. Also been approved by the European Union and Canada.

3. Gamaleya Vaccine
Name: Sputnik V or Gam-Covid-Vac
Efficacy: 91.6%
Dose: 2 doses, 3 weeks apart
Side Effects: Fever, muscle pain and headaches
Currently in Use: Approved in Russia, Belarus etc.

INACTIVATED CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

1. Sinopharm Vaccine
Name: BBIBP-CorV
Efficacy: 79.34%
Dose: 2 doses, 3 weeks apart
Side Effects: Pain, redness, swelling , itching and/or hardening of injection site . Transient fever, fatigue, headaches, and/or diarrhoea
Currently in Use: In China, Bahrain and UAE

2. Sinovac Vaccine
Name: CoronaVac
Efficacy: 50.65% in Brazil trial, 91.25% in Turkey trial
Dose: 2 doses, 2 weeks apart
Side Effect: Elevated blood pressure, headache, injection site pain, dizziness, and rash
Currently in Use: In China, Brazil. Also approved for emergency use in several other countries.

3. Bharat Biotech’s Vaccine
Name: Covaxin
Efficacy: 78%
Dose: 2 doses, 4 weeks apart
Side Effect: Fever, bleeding disorder, allergies, weaker immunity
Currently in Use: Philippines, Zimbabwe, Mexico etc.

As July 4th approaches, the United states is proving itself atop of the situation in this battle against Covid-19. US health care officials have been racing to administer more Covid-19 shots in other to fulfill President Biden’s vision. A vision he reminded the American public of during his remarks marking the administering of 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses in the US. This was a vision of what America could look like by the 4th of July ‘an America that was much closer to normal life that we left behind more than a year ago.’

However, concerns are beginning to rise as there have been an increase in reports of development of rare blood clot in patients who received some of these major vaccines. The AstraZeneca vaccine is known to be the major cause of this adverse reaction with a ratio of 5 out of 1 million people.

However, several scientists advise against the pause or discontinuation of these vaccines explaining that their advantages far outweigh their disadvantages.