Immunology Lecture 23 - COVID Vaccines (O'Donnell)

false

T or F - All strains of coronaviruses are highly pathogenic

safely introduce the immune system to the spike protein so it can learn to fight it

what is the goal of vaccines

- whole virus (attenuated or inactivated)

- virus like particles

- protein subunit vaccines

what are the different conventional approaches to making vaccines

- mRNA vaccines

- non-replicating viral vector

the conventional approaches to making vaccines require significant funding and time to complete. what are the two novel approaches that hope to avoid these hurdles

- antibodies against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein

- T cell responses to preserve memory

what do we need immunologically from a COVID vaccine

disease, transmission

protein protection from _______ is a must for vaccines while protection from ___________ would be valuable

- moderna

- pfizer

- novavax

- janssen (x)

what are the 4 COVID vaccines and which one is not available in the US

- moderna

- pfizer

what are the two mRNA COVID vaccines

our cells have sensors for RNA which can respond to the vaccine

why does using RNA as an adjuvant in the Pfizer vaccine help to engage the immune response

- intramuscular immunization (vaccination)

- mRNA (antigen) uptake by APCs (DC)

- the APC goes to the lymph node

- in the lymph node, the APC shows the spike protein to the T cells

- CD8 and CD4 T cells become activated and carry out their function s

- B cells are activated by CD4 T cells and make antibodies

- memory cells are formed

what are the steps to how mRNA vaccines elicit an immune response

protein subunit

what kind of vaccine in Novavax

- produce the spike protein in insect cells

- coat nanoparticles in the spike protein

- mix the spike protein with an adjuvant called Matrix-M

- the cells will look like the virus and be attacked

how do protein subunit vaccines work

viral vector

what kind of vaccine is Janssen

Janssen

a replication defective adenovirus that carries the gene for SARS-CoV2 spike protein

Janssen

what is the back bone of the current Ebola vaccine

- pain

- swelling

- fever

- chills

- tiredness

- headache

what are some common side effects of the COVID vaccine

- apply a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the area

- use or exercise your arm

- drink plenty of fluids

- dress lightly to reduce body temperature

what are some nonpharmacologic ways to treat symptoms from the COVID vaccine

- ibuprofen

- aspirin

- antihistamines

- acetaminophen

what are some pharmacologic treatment options for the side effects from the COVID vaccine

true

T or F - You can take ibuprofen after you get the vaccination to treat side effects but you cannot take it before

will reduce the immune response

why should you not take ibuprofen, aspirin, antihistamines, or acetaminophen before you get a vaccination

- original boosters were monovalent (2019)

- bivalent booster was introduced (2022)

- by september of 2023, XBB variants accounted for most of the COVID strains

- monovalent booster for XXB was introduced (2023-2024)

what are the main developments for COVID booster shots from 2019-present day

omicron subvariants (BA.4, BA.5)

what were the variants treated by the first COVID boosters

- the original vaccines were not working anymore

- protection from the bivalent boosters started waning

in 2023, COVID boosters with new variants were created (XXB). what were the two reasons for this

- moderna

- pfizer

- LP.8.1

what are the current COVID boosters and what variant are they designed to protect against

create greater levels of cross reactivity from neutralizing antibodies

why do we use boosters

polyclonal

vaccine responses are ________ meaning that our body makes many different antibodies against the spike proteins

affinity maturation

what process does boosting stimulate (producing broader and more efficient antibodies)

- prototype pathogen approach

- prior research in mRNA therapeutics

- spike stabilization for virus vaccines (better neutralizing antibody responses)

- overlapping manufacturing/clinical trial design

what were the main reasons that COVID vaccines were able to be developed so quickly

developed and tested the mRNA platform before COVID19

what does it mean when we say that COVID vaccines were developed so early because they followed a prototype pathogen approach

20 years

how long have mRNA vaccines been studied for

"plug and play"

vaccines are __________ which means that we can modify for new strains to make the processes faster and easier

stabilized spike protein

molecule that is used in mRNA vaccines and is held in a conformation that best elicits neutralizing antibodies

true

T or F - COVID vaccines could be developed so quickly because there is overlap in early clinical trial, phases, and manufacturing