Have you ever wondered how the covid vaccine was made? Vaccines for viruses are made from the viruses themselves. Yes, you read that right. It’s like you give money to a hitman to attack you. Kind of. It is viruses themselves that are used to make vaccines to control the spread. The same goes for bacteria as well.
We know during the covid pandemic, you must have heard a lot about vaccines. If you heard about them, then you must have a lot of questions. Do you want to know how vaccines are developed? is it true weak viruses or bacteria make vaccines? How are Vaccines mass-produced? and Who makes the Vaccine? Answers to your questions are here. So, stay with us as we explain to you the mind-blowing details!
First of all, you should know What is a vaccine? A vaccine is a product of weak viruses or bacteria which provide immunity against a particular disease. Scientists make every vaccine through a specific process. Vaccines for measles, polio, chickenpox, mumps, influenza, etc., which have produced a blessing for mankind, are produced from steps we are describing down below:
How vaccines are Developed (No, You Can’t Try this at Home):
To begin with, the right environment is necessary to make vaccines. One can’t expect to cook even a good cookie without heating it at the right temperature. Similarly, optimum conditions should be provided to viruses or bacteria so that “scientists” can extract Vaccines from them. Yes, it is scientists working for an organization that makes vaccines.
The optimum conditions for vaccine production are:
1) Right temperature.
2) Right pH.
3) Sterility.
4) Oxygen rate.
5) Homogeneity.
Viruses are dangerous as they multiply quickly up to millions of times within hours. In contrast to this, Vaccine viruses reproduce only 20 times more or less. As viruses reproduce in less quantity, they produce no disease. Thus, it is also beneficial for those men who have weak immunity. Also, some more good news- such immunity by the vaccine is lifelong.
Steps in the Development of vaccines:
1) Culture Media production:
Cell culture is one of the modern mediums to grow microorganisms/microbes artificially to extract some benefits from it. It is also necessary for vaccine production as viruses or bacteria grow in it. Depending on the vaccines, cell culture may take two days to three months to make a vaccine. A small amount of cell culture can produce millions of vaccine doses. All scientists need is a perfect cell culture with weak viruses or bacteria.
To produce mass vaccines, scientists use two methods. One involved bioreactors that mass-produce vaccines. An example of it is the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The other is via mRNA. Messenger RNA does that whole work in this technique which is to combine with nucleotides and enzymes. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for covid-19 are examples of this procedure. That is how companies mass-produce vaccines.
Moreover, The slightest variation in the culture media will compromise the production and quality of the vaccine.
2) Purification:
Simply put, the extraction of Microbes or viruses/bacteria from the cell culture is Purification. In this, no part of cell culture should be part of the “purified” microbes. Otherwise, it will deteriorate the quality of the vaccine.
3) Inactivation of Virus and Bacteria:
Then, the next step is inactivating bacteria and viruses. This makes them weak. This is done so that we could eliminate their ability to cause diseases.
- It is the journey from being harmful to being a blessing.
However, Scientists retain their ability to elicit a precautionary immune response from the body. Scientists call the inactivated virus or bacteria “Valence.”
4) Formulation:
A vaccine may include one or multiple valences to protect from one or many diseases. A single shot of such vaccines can prevent many diseases. The condition of it is that one valence must not affect the other valence.
- It is this combination of perfect valences that took years of research for Covid vaccines.
Then, scientists add stabilizers and preservatives in small amounts to ensure that vaccines will remain stable. So, vaccines are made up of chemicals as well.
5) Filling of weak Virus and Bacteria:
Some vaccines are dried into powder to further preserve them. It increases its efficacy. It is done in outbreaks as there is a chance that vaccines could go out of stock during an outbreak. When needed, vaccines can be combined with diluent. This is then filled into vials or syringes. Scientists do inspections visually and digitally of these syringes or vials.
6) Batch Release (Vaccines are Now Available for All):
Health authorities check the samples of the vaccine. Organizations use volunteers’ services for vaccine trials. Animals take the first shot of the vaccine, and then humans do the same as well. If it shows positive results, then other individuals use it as well. If these are against health standards, then it is the end for the vaccine.
Experts recommend storing vaccines between 2–8 Celsius while shipping.
Mostly, organizations use cold rooms and refrigerated trucks in packaging, storage, and shipping. That is how Vaccines are developed
How a Vaccine works?
After knowing how are vaccines developed, also know how they work. In addition to the above details, Some Bacteria cause disease by producing a protein-“Toxin.” Some Vaccines for bacteria take toxins and make them inactive. Then, it no longer causes disease. Sugar part is also a major component of Bacterial vaccines. But how does a vaccine work?
Weak viruses or bacteria induce a response in the human body. It literally tells the human immune system that if you see anyone like me, kill them as we are giving you the power to do so.
- Antibodies are invincible after the first encounter with that virus or bacteria.
Also, the immunity system has memory as well. T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte remember the virus or bacteria. So, whenever it enters into the human body again in the future, they kill them. This is also the answer to your most searched question nowadays: How do COVID-19 Vaccines Work?
All-inclusive, a question How vaccines are developed is always in the mind of many people. We answered your question along with other questions related to vaccination. Vaccines for viruses and bacteria are almost the same. The vaccines have an antigen that kills the harmful virus when it enters the body. This modern way of protecting yourself is courtesy of science and scientists. Also, many pieces of research are going on regarding vaccines to make them more efficient and broad for many diseases. Let’s see how the future of vaccines will look after 20 years from today.
If you have any questions, you can ask in the comments section down below.
- If you liked this article, then increase your knowledge more by reading Coronavirus immunity and the role of antibodies
