Eight approved vaccines, three pending and nearly 250 more in development. This is the landscape of covid-19 vaccines around the world.
Are already on the market
Pfizer / BioNTech – Licensed in the European Union, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and many other countries. Developed by the American giant Pfizer and the German laboratory BioNTech, it is based on messenger RNA technology and shows a very high efficiency (95%).
Modern: Another messenger RNA vaccine, has very similar characteristics to the previous one, with 94.1% efficacy. This American vaccine is approved in the EU, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom (where it is not yet available) and in some other countries, such as Israel and Singapore.
AstraZeneca / Oxford: Designed by the English University of Oxford and the Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca, this vaccine uses a different technology called “viral vector”. It is allowed in the EU, UK and some other less wealthy countries such as India (where it is sold under the name Covishield), Argentina or South Korea. According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), it is 60% effective, but it is cheaper and easier to store than the previous two. It has also been the subject of several criticisms, regarding the lack of data on its efficacy in the elderly or its potential important side effects.
Sputnik V: Developed by Russia, this viral vaccine is 91.6% effective. In addition to Russia, it is homologated in about fifteen countries (including Belarus, Armenia, Venezuela, Iran, South Korea, Argentina and Algeria). In the EU, Sputnik V, although proceedings at the EMA have started, is not yet ready to apply for an authorization.
Sinopharm: The two vaccines developed by the Chinese laboratory, which use the classic inactivated virus technique, are present in China and several other countries around the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Peru, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. According to the designers, it has an efficiency of 79%, but the data on which it is based has not been published.
Sinovac: Another Chinese vaccine based on the inactivated virus technique has been approved in China, Chile, Brazil and even Turkey. Other countries have reserved doses of this vaccine, such as Ukraine and Uruguay. According to Sinovac, large-scale studies in Brazil showed an overall efficacy of about 50% (and 80% against the most severe forms), but the data was not published in this case either.
Bharat Biotech: This inactivated virus vaccine from India, licensed in that country.
CanSino: This Chinese viral vaccine was approved by Mexico last week, but has not yet been administered there.
On our way
Johnson & Johnson: The American group has filed for licensing applications in the European Union and the United States for this viral vector vaccine, manufactured by its subsidiary Janssen Cilag. According to the manufacturer, it is generally 66% effective and 85% effective against severe forms. Unlike the others, it only needs one injection and not two.
Novavax: The EMA is investigating this US vaccine, which paves the way for an upcoming application for authorization in the EU. It is a vaccine based on proteins that trigger an immune response, without viruses. The designers claim that it is 89.3% effective.
CureVac: This German vaccine was also included in the ongoing EMA investigation process on Friday. It’s a messenger RNA vaccine.
Vaccines in the making
According to the World Health Organization, 69 other vaccines against covid-19 have been subject to clinical trials in humans. In addition to 181 vaccines that are in the preclinical development phase and have not yet been tested in humans.