There are five main types of vaccine.

 

1. Attenuated vaccine is produced by weakening a pathogen  (germ) in a laboratory.
2. Inactivated vaccine is made up of killed or inactivated viruses or bacteria, making them harmless.
3. Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate
4. Toxoid
5. Genetic vaccine (DNA and RNA) is a new vaccine platform with mRNA vaccines showing promise for use in fighting off SARS-CoV-2 infection. Two companies using this technology are seeking regulatory approval for their mRNA vaccines. 

Certain viruses such as the adenovirus  (which causes the common cold) are often used as vectors to carry or deliver a reduced or weakened form of the pathogen (Sars-CoV-2 fro example) by infecting the cell. The viruses,  such as the adenovirus,  are also modified so they can’t cause illness when used in people.  Several candidate vaccines for COVID-19 use viral vectors.

Categories:

Infectious Disease Prevention Vaccines

Cross-reference:

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)Attenuated VaccineInactivated vaccineToxoid vaccinemRNA vaccineVirusBacteria (singular: bacterium)SARS-CoV-2Conjugate vaccineVaccines