My uninformed impression is that an “adjuvant” is just something that stimulates increased immune response, which has historically been an additional chemical (such as an aluminum salt) added to vaccines. The mRNA vaccines do not contain these chemicals, but some people confusingly refer to the lipid nanoparticles that surround and protect the mRNA as adjuvants (because they also help increase immune response). I haven’t seen any evidence that these lipid nanoparticles are the kind of adjuvants that might mitigate OAS, but that doesn’t mean much because I’m a total nonexpert.
Adjuvants are for activating the immune system to respond to free-floating virus particles. If the virus actually infects a cell and produces proteins on the cell’s surface, that is a different signal to the immune system and adjuvants are not needed. Thus adjuvants were not needed for traditional live/attenuated vaccines and 21st century mRNA and vector vaccines (AZ, etc), but were needed for 1980s recombinant protein vaccines (Novavax) and traditional dead/inactivated vaccines.
Immune response to the lipid nanoparticles themselves is very bad. It reduces the uptake of protein coding mRNA into the cells and diminishes vaccine efficacy. It also leads to most of the severe allergic reactions.
My uninformed impression is that an “adjuvant” is just something that stimulates increased immune response, which has historically been an additional chemical (such as an aluminum salt) added to vaccines. The mRNA vaccines do not contain these chemicals, but some people confusingly refer to the lipid nanoparticles that surround and protect the mRNA as adjuvants (because they also help increase immune response). I haven’t seen any evidence that these lipid nanoparticles are the kind of adjuvants that might mitigate OAS, but that doesn’t mean much because I’m a total nonexpert.
Adjuvants are for activating the immune system to respond to free-floating virus particles. If the virus actually infects a cell and produces proteins on the cell’s surface, that is a different signal to the immune system and adjuvants are not needed. Thus adjuvants were not needed for traditional live/attenuated vaccines and 21st century mRNA and vector vaccines (AZ, etc), but were needed for 1980s recombinant protein vaccines (Novavax) and traditional dead/inactivated vaccines.
Immune response to the lipid nanoparticles themselves is very bad. It reduces the uptake of protein coding mRNA into the cells and diminishes vaccine efficacy. It also leads to most of the severe allergic reactions.