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Ask KHN-PolitiFact: How Can Covid Vaccines Be Safe When They Were Developed So Fast?

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The development of the first covid vaccines may have seemed to occur at a dizzying pace. After all, scientists identified a new virus and created vaccines to protect against its most severe effects within a .This story also ran on . It can beBut the isn’t that new at all, vaccine experts say. Some of it is decades old. This foundation, combined with technical expertise, urgency and financial resources, enabled scientists to pull off the medical marvel.“The reason it was so fast is money and work,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Leveraging mRNA: A Technique as Old as MillennialsCovid mRNA vaccines use the human body’s natural immune response to its advantage. The shot contains the recipe for making the molecule known as the spike protein, which the covid virus uses to bind to cells. Once the cell receives these instructions, it creates the protein and displays it on its surface. The immune system then spots the unknown protein and makes antibodies to fight it.The vaccines made by the companies Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use this technology, which stems from research that began in the early ’90s, said Dr. Drew Weissman, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It has been tested against other viruses Scientists learned from previous clinical trials and have since worked to perfect the use of mRNA, he said. Previous work on related coronaviruses like helped speed the process.Subscribe to KHN's free Morning Briefing.Weissman and his colleague , a senior vice president of , are credited with the that enabled these vaccines to be safe and highly effective.“This isn’t new technology,” Weissman said.Viral Vector Vaccines: A Health Emergency VeteranThe third vaccine being distributed in the United States to protect against severe covid-19 uses viral vector technology to generate an immune response. It contains a weakened form of a different virus that carries instructions for cells to make the spike protein found on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid. The protein appears on the cell’s surface, and the immune system creates antibodies against it.Like the mRNA vaccines, this technology carries the code for making the spike protein to the cell, said Dr. Ruth Karron, director of the Center for Immunization Research at Johns Hopkins University.“The truck is different,” she said, “but what’s being delivered is very similar.”Viral vector technology has been studied . These vaccines have been approved for use to immunize people against Japanese encephalitis. Johnson &amp; Johnson, which uses this platform for its covid shot, also created a viral vector vaccine for Ebola after a in 2019 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Are They Safe?In addition to existing research, generous resources were allocated to quickly create the covid vaccines, experts said. As of Dec. 2020, the federal government spent $12.4 billion alone on to hasten vaccine development. Drug companies partnered with the National Institutes of Health to tap into its expertise and quickly enroll trial participants.Perhaps most important, the final clinical trials for the covid vaccines enrolled between 30,000 and nearly 45,000 participants.“These studies are so much bigger than the studies we do for many licensed vaccines,” Karron said. Some trials for previously approved vaccines have included as few as 3,000 participants, she added.Dr. Scott Ratzan, who runs a covid-19 vaccine communications initiative called at the City University of New York, said pushing certain information has helped assuage fears among the vaccine hesitant. These include highlighting the reality of the virus, comparing the shot’s side effects to other vaccines and showing the vaccines’ effectiveness in millions of people.Waiting for others to get the shot first was “a fair thing” when they first rolled out, Offit said. However, after nearly in the United States have received at least one vaccine dose with no sign of safety issues, he said, the skepticism should be fading away.“You have your proof in terms of efficacy and safety,” Offit said. If you are still refusing, “then that’s because you’re not a skeptic anymore. You’re a cynic.”March 30, 2021The development of the first covid vaccines may have seemed to occur at a dizzying pace. After all, scientists identified a new virus and created vaccines to protect against its most severe effects within a .But the isn’t that new at all, vaccine experts say. Some of it is decades old. This foundation, combined with technical expertise, urgency and financial resources, enabled scientists to pull off the medical marvel.“The reason it was so fast is money and work,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Leveraging mRNA: A Technique as Old as MillennialsCovid mRNA vaccines use the human body’s natural immune response to its advantage. The shot contains the recipe for making the molecule known as the spike protein, which the covid virus uses to bind to cells. Once the cell receives these instructions, it creates the protein and displays it on its surface. The immune system then spots the unknown protein and makes antibodies to fight it.The vaccines made by the companies Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use this technology, which stems from research that began in the early ’90s, said Dr. Drew Weissman, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It has been tested against other viruses Scientists learned from previous clinical trials and have since worked to perfect the use of mRNA, he said. Previous work on related coronaviruses like helped speed the process.Weissman and his colleague , a senior vice president of , are credited with the that enabled these vaccines to be safe and highly effective.“This isn’t new technology,” Weissman said.Viral Vector Vaccines: A Health Emergency VeteranThe third vaccine being distributed in the United States to protect against severe covid-19 uses viral vector technology to generate an immune response. It contains a weakened form of a different virus that carries instructions for cells to make the spike protein found on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid. The protein appears on the cell’s surface, and the immune system creates antibodies against it.Like the mRNA vaccines, this technology carries the code for making the spike protein to the cell, said Dr. Ruth Karron, director of the Center for Immunization Research at Johns Hopkins University.“The truck is different,” she said, “but what’s being delivered is very similar.”Viral vector technology has been studied . These vaccines have been approved for use to immunize people against Japanese encephalitis. Johnson &amp; Johnson, which uses this platform for its covid shot, also created a viral vector vaccine for Ebola after a in 2019 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Are They Safe?In addition to existing research, generous resources were allocated to quickly create the covid vaccines, experts said. As of Dec. 2020, the federal government spent $12.4 billion alone on to hasten vaccine development. Drug companies partnered with the National Institutes of Health to tap into its expertise and quickly enroll trial participants.Perhaps most important, the final clinical trials for the covid vaccines enrolled between 30,000 and nearly 45,000 participants.“These studies are so much bigger than the studies we do for many licensed vaccines,” Karron said. Some trials for previously approved vaccines have included as few as 3,000 participants, she added.Dr. Scott Ratzan, who runs a covid-19 vaccine communications initiative called at the City University of New York, said pushing certain information has helped assuage fears among the vaccine hesitant. These include highlighting the reality of the virus, comparing the shot’s side effects to other vaccines and showing the vaccines’ effectiveness in millions of people.Waiting for others to get the shot first was “a fair thing” when they first rolled out, Offit said. However, after nearly in the United States have received at least one vaccine dose with no sign of safety issues, he said, the skepticism should be fading away.“You have your proof in terms of efficacy and safety,” Offit said. If you are still refusing, “then that’s because you’re not a skeptic anymore. You’re a cynic.”Copy HTMLWe encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our khn.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and “Kaiser Health News” in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.It’s important to note, not everything on khn.org is available for republishing. If a story is labeled “All Rights Reserved,” we cannot grant permission to republish that item.Have questions? Let us know atThank you for your interest in supporting Kaiser Health News (KHN), the nation’s leading nonprofit newsroom focused on health and health policy. We distribute our journalism for free and without advertising through media partners of all sizes and in communities large and small. We appreciate all forms of engagement from our readers and listeners, and welcome your support.KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). You can support KHN by making a contribution to KFF, a non-profit charitable organization that is not associated with Kaiser Permanente.Click the button below to go to KFF’s donation page which will provide more information and FAQs. Thank you!Go Back

The development of the first covid vaccines may have seemed to occur at a dizzying pace. After all, scientists identified a new virus and created vaccines to protect against its most severe effects within a .This story also ran on . It can beBut the isn’t that new at all, vaccine experts say. Some of it is decades old. This foundation, combined with technical expertise, urgency and financial resources, enabled scientists to pull off the medical marvel.“The reason it was so fast is money and work,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of...

Ask KHN-PolitiFact: How Can Covid Vaccines Be Safe When They Were Developed So Fast?

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