Vaccinations and COVID-19

What Is a Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is the name of a family of viruses that are associated with the
common cold. Most people will be infected with these viruses at some point in
their lives.

Coronaviruses get their name from the crown-like halo (corona) that is visible
when the virus is viewed under an electron microscope.

COVID-19 is the name that has been given to the disease caused by a novel
strain of coronavirus.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is the name that has been given to the
virus. This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the
outbreak of SARS in 2003. Viruses, and the diseases they cause, often have different names. For example,
the HIV virus causes AIDS and the rubeola virus causes measles.

Why Do Viruses Make Us Ill?

Viruses live inside cells. They reproduce rapidly inside the cell, then burst out, causing damage to the cell.
The new viruses then go on to infect further cells.

The virus binds to The virus enters the The cell makes viral Newly formed
the cell surface. cell and releases proteins and forms viruses leave the cell.
genetic information. new viruses.

How Do You Treat a Virus?

Because viruses live inside cells, it is difficult to develop drugs that kill them without also damaging the
body’s tissues. Antibiotics only kill bacteria, so they do not work on viruses. For most people, the
symptoms of a coronavirus infection can be treated in the same way you would treat a cold. Some people
will have a more serious response to the virus and may require breathing support in hospital.

While we can treat the symptoms of COVID-19, we do not have any drugs that cure it. The most effective
thing we can do is try to prevent the spread of the virus. Scientists across the world have been working on
a vaccine and in November 2020 some groups started to report positive data about some possible
candidates.
How Does a Vaccine Work?
Small amounts of antigens are put into your body, usually by injection.
An antigen is something that stimulates the body’s natural immune
response. These antigens are usually in the form of dead or inactive
pathogens.

The antigens in the vaccine stimulate your white blood cells into
making antibodies that recognise and stick to the antigens. This allows
the immune system to destroy the antigens without any risk of you
getting the disease.

The white blood cells remember how to make the correct antibody for
the antigens, so they can react to the pathogen the antigen comes from.
This means you are immune to the disease.

If the body then meets a live version of the pathogen, the body can
respond rapidly, making large amounts of the correct antibody so that you
don’t get ill.

Herd immunity is achieved when a sufficient proportion of the

population is vaccinated to become immune to the disease, therefore
reducing its spread.

What is a Spike Protein?

Spike proteins are found on the surface of the virus that causes
COVID-19. They help the virus to bind to human cells.

The spike protein is an antigen. This means that it is capable of causing an immune response. White
blood cells in the body produce antibodies that recognise the spike proteins. When the antibodies bind to
the spike proteins, they prevent the virus from entering the body’s cells.

Vaccines can deliver the spike protein antigen into the body so that the white blood cells produce
antibodies that work against the virus. This could make the person immune to COVID-19. Two different
delivery methods have been used in the vaccines that are currently approved for use in the UK.

Method 1: University of Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine

This vaccine uses a non-replicating viral vector. This means that it uses another virus that carries the
genetic information for the spike protein. The virus cannot replicate so it is harmless to us.

Method 2: Moderna and Pfizer Vaccines

These vaccines contain mRNA (a type of genetic information) which codes for the spike protein. The
mRNA gets into the cytoplasm of the body’s cells and instructs the cells to make the spike proteins. It does
not enter the nucleus so does not affect the cell’s DNA.