Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 27:13:843928.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.843928. eCollection 2022.

Vaccines for COVID-19: A Systematic Review of Immunogenicity, Current Development, and Future Prospects

Zhan Zhang  1 , Qi Shen  1   2 , Haocai Chang  1   2
Affiliations

Vaccines for COVID-19: A Systematic Review of Immunogenicity, Current Development, and Future Prospects

Zhan Zhang et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

The persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), characterized by severe respiratory syndrome, is caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and it poses a major threat to public health all over the world. Currently, optimal COVID-19 management involves effective vaccination. Vaccination is known to greatly enhance immune response against viral infections and reduce public transmission of COVID-19. However, although current vaccines offer some benefits, viral variations and other factors demand the continuous development of vaccines to eliminate this virus from host. Hence, vaccine research and development is crucial and urgent to the elimination of this pandemic. Herein, we summarized the structural and replicatory features of SARS-CoV-2, and focused on vaccine-mediated disease prevention strategies like vaccine antigen selection, vaccine research, and vaccine application. We also evaluated the latest literature on COVID-19 and extensively reviewed action mechanisms, clinical trial (CT) progresses, advantages, as well as disadvantages of various vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2. Lastly, we discussed the current viral treatment, prevention trends, and future prospects.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; SARS-CoV-2; antigen selection; prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of SARS-CoV-2 and its genomic RNA. (A) SARS-CoV-2 is composed of spike glycoprotein (S), envelope protein (E), membrane protein (M), nucleocapsid protein (N), and genomic RNA. These components guide the transcription and translation of its nonstructural, structural, and accessory proteins. (B) SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (+ssRNA) virus and the genome components encode both structural and nonstructural components of SARS-CoV-2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The primary targets of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The entire virus can be used as antigen in the following forms: inactivated, live attenuated, and virus vector vaccines. In some cases, functional proteins can also be employed as antigens. These include: mRNA, DNA, and recombinant protein.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The regulation of ORFs on body immunity.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Antigen selection for COVID-19 vaccines. The role of varying antigens in immune response against COVID-19 ① Recombinant protein, ② Inactivated virus, ③ Live attenuated virus, ④ DNA, ⑤ Viral vector, and ⑥ mRNA.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The clinical trials assessing COVID-19 vaccines. (A) The proportion of varying vaccine types, namely, RNA-based, DNA-based, inactivated, live attenuated, virus vector, recombinant protein, and other vaccines, in all clinical trials, and especially in phase IV clinical trials. (B) The COVID-19 vaccines in phase IV clinical trials.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. COVID-19 - China . WHO Disease Outbreak News (2020). Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2020-DON229.
    1. Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) . WHO Situation Report-1 (2020). Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situatio....
    1. WHO Technical Guidance . Naming the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the Virus That Causes It (2020). Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technica....
    1. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard . WHO Global Situation (2021). Available at: https://covid19.who.int/.
    1. Kuehn BM. Most Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 Have Lasting Symptoms. Jama (2021) 325:1031. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.2974 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types