COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms: Challenges and Safety Contemplations

Hadeel T Al-Jighefee; Hoda Najjar; Muna Nizar Ahmed; Abeer Qush; Sara Awwad; Layla Kamareddine

doi:10.3390/vaccines9101196

COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms: Challenges and Safety Contemplations

Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Oct 18;9(10):1196. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9101196.

Authors

Hadeel T Al-Jighefee^{1

2}, Hoda Najjar¹, Muna Nizar Ahmed¹, Abeer Qush¹, Sara Awwad¹, Layla Kamareddine^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
² Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
³ Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a pandemic as of March 2020, creating a global crisis and claiming millions of lives. To halt the pandemic and alleviate its impact on society, economy, and public health, the development of vaccines and antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 was a dire need. To date, various platforms have been utilized for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development, and over 200 vaccine candidates have been produced, many of which have obtained the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for emergency use. Despite this successful development and licensure, concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of these vaccines have arisen, given the unprecedented speed of vaccine development and the newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains and variants. In this review, we summarize the different platforms used for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development, discuss their strengths and limitations, and highlight the major safety concerns and potential risks associated with each vaccine type.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; challenges; limitations; safety; strengths; vaccine platforms.

Publication types

Review