How protein-based vaccines work against COVID-19
What are COVID-19 protein-based vaccines?
Protein-based vaccines use the specific parts of the virus that the immune system needs to recognise in order to develop an immune response. They do not contain the whole virus or another virus.
The coronavirus has tiny pieces on its surface called spike proteins which allow it to infect your cells and make you sick.
Protein-based vaccines contain protein fragments made in the laboratory.
Their function is to allow the immune system to recognise the virus and fight it off if you are infected, so that you don’t fall ill or experience only mild symptoms.
The use of lab-made parts of the virus for a vaccine is a well-established technology that is already widely used in other vaccines.
What happens in your body when you get a protein-based vaccine
- when you receive the vaccine, your body comes into contact with the viral proteins
- your immune system detects the foreign proteins and produces antibodies and immune cells to attack them
- your body gets rid of the proteins
- if you become infected with the coronavirus, your immune system will remember how to destroy the virus
- you won’t fall ill from COVID-19 or experience only mild symptoms
A well-known technology with several advantages
Protein-based vaccines have been used for many years and have a good safety profile.
They are relatively easy to produce.
They can be stored at normal fridge temperature (2-8°C) for several months.
On 20 December 2021, the EU authorised the first protein-based vaccine (produced by Novavax) for use in the EU, following a positive recommendation of the European Medicines Agency.
The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is the fifth vaccine available to EU countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other COVID-19 vaccines authorised for use in the EU are mRNA vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) or viral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Janssen).