Table 1.
The 18 current vaccines against COVID-19 that have reported results of clinical trials
| Vaccine | Platform | Developer | Formulation | NAb level in humans | Cellular responses in humansa | Efficacy | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) | Virus vector (ChAdOx1) | University of Oxford, with AstraZeneca, UK | Recombinant adenovirus expressing full-length S protein | Similar to HCS | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | Overall 66.7%; LD/SD 80.7%; SD/ SD 63.1% | (61–64, 113, 114) |
| Ad26. COV2.S | Virus vector (Ad26) | Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, USA | Recombinant adenovirus expressing full-length S protein with two proline substitutions (K986P and V987P) and two mutations at the furin cleavage site (R682S and R685G) | Generally similar (single- dose groups) or higher (two-dose groups) GMT levels than HCS | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | 66.9% (single dose) | (43, 65, 116) |
| Gam-COVID- Vac (Sputnik V) | Virus vector (Ad26 and Ad5) | Gamaleya Research Institute, Russia | Recombinant adenovirus expressing full-length S protein | Similar to HCS in rAd26-S + rAd5-S groups | Induction of IFNγ + T-cell responses | 91.6% | (20, 115) |
| Ad5-nCoV | Virus vector (Ad5) | CanSino Biological Inc., with Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, China | Recombinant adenovirus expressing full-length S protein | Induction of NAb in humans but no comparison with HCS | Induction of IFNγ +, TNFα + and IL-2+ T-cell responses | 68.8% | (23, 66) |
| BNT162 | mRNA | BioNTech, with Fosun Pharma and Pfizer, Germany | BNT162b1: LNP-mRNA expressing RBD trimer (trimerized by addition of T4 fibritin foldon domain) BNT162b2: LNP-mRNA expressing full-length S protein with two proline substitutions (K986P and V987P) |
BNT162b1: similar to HCS in 10 µg groups; higher GMT levels than HCS in 30 and 50 µg groups BNT162b2: generally similar (10 µg groups) or higher (30 µg groups) GMT levels than HCS |
Th1-skewed T-cell responses | BNT162b2: 95% | (26, 49, 50, 109, 111) |
| mRNA-1273 | mRNA | Moderna, with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA | LNP-mRNA expressing full-length S protein with two proline substitutions (K986P and V987P) | Generally similar (25 µg groups) to or higher (100 µg groups) than HCS | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | 94.1% | (44, 48, 57, 110) |
| INO-4800 | DNA | Inovio Pharmaceuticals, with International Vaccine Institute, and Advaccine Biopharmaceutical, USA | Plasmid pGX9501 expressing full-length S protein | Induction of NAb in humans but no comparison with HCS | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | NA | (60) |
| NVX-CoV2373 | Protein subunit (Sf9 insect cells) | Novavax, USA | Full-length S protein with two proline substitutions (K986P and V987P) and three mutations at furin cleavage site (R682Q, R683Q and R685Q) + Matrix-M1 adjuvant | Higher GMT levels than HCS in rSARS-CoV-2 + Matrix-M1 groups | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | 89.7% | (45, 117) |
| ZF2001 | Protein subunit (CHO cells) | Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, with Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Dimeric RBD protein + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Generally higher than HCS | Balanced Th1 and Th2 T-cell responses | NA | (67) |
| SCB-2019 | Protein subunit | Clover Biopharmaceuticals, with GSK and Dynavax, China | Ectodomain of wild-type S protein in-frame fusion to trimer-tag + CpG/Alum or AS03 adjuvant | Generally higher than HCS in AS03 adjuvanted groups | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | NA | (14) |
| CoV2 preS dTM | Protein subunit (expresSF + insect cells) | Sanofi Pasteur, France, with GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium | Recombinant prefusion S protein with two proline mutations in the C-terminal region of S2 domain + AF03 or AS03 adjuvant | Similar to HCS | Balanced Th1 and Th2 T-cell responses | NA | (68) |
| CoronaVac | Inactivated virus | Sinovac, with National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, China | Inactivated whole virus + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Induction of NAb in humans with lower GMT levels than HCS | No obvious vaccine-induced T-cell responses | 83.5% in Turkey; 65.9% in Chile | (70, 71) |
| BBIBP-CorV | Inactivated virus | Beijing Institute of Biological Products, Sinopharm, with Institute of Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China | Inactivated whole virus + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Induction of NAb in humans but no comparison with HCS | NA | 78.1% | (72) |
| Inactivated virus-WIBP | Inactivated virus | Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, Sinopharm, with Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Inactivated whole virus + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Induction of NAb in humans and no comparison with HCS | T-cell responses upon stimulation were not measured | 72.8% | (8) |
| Inactivated virus- IMBCAMS | Inactivated virus | Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China | Inactivated whole virus + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Induction of NAb in humans and no comparison with HCS | Induction of IFNγ + T-cell responses | NA | (7) |
| KCONVAC | Inactivated virus | Shenzhen Kangtai Biologi cal Products, with Beijing Minhai Biotechnology, China | Inactivated whole virus + aluminum hydroxide adjuvant | Generally similar (0/14 regimen) to or higher (0/28 regimen) than HCS | Induction of IFNγ + T-cell responses | NA | (74) |
| BBV152 (Covaxin) | Inactivated virus | Bharat Biotech, with Indian Council of Medical Research, India | Inactivated whole virus + Algel-IMDG adjuvant | Generally similar to HCS in Algel-IMDG adjuvanted groups | Th1-skewed T-cell responses | NA | (9, 75) |
| CoVLP | VLP (Nicotiana benthamiana plants) | Medicago, Canada | VLP + CpG1018 or AS03 adjuvant | Higher GMT levels than HCS in AS03 adjuvanted groups; similar levels to HCS in CpG1018 adjuvanted groups | Balanced Th1 and Th2 T-cell responses | NA | (69) |
Ad, adenovirus; CHO, Chinese hamster ovary; LD, low dose; NA, not applicable; SD, standard dose; Sf9, Spodoptera frugiperda 9.
aTh1 and Th2 cell responses were generally measured by detection of the Th1 cytokines IFNγ, IL-2 and TNFα and the Th2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and IL-13.