Bivalent, Covalent and Multivalent Vaccines Defined
We keep simple no fluff:
Bivalent Vaccine Definition
A bivalent vaccine elicits an immune response against two different antigens. This can means two different viruses, or two variations of one virus. or two bacteria.
Covalent Vaccine Definition
The same as Bivalent except the two target antigens are in equal parts.
Multivalent Vaccine Definition
Vaccines have been designed to protect against even more than two types of viruses. Various degrees of multivalent vaccines have existed in the for years, and are used to protect people against conditions like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), flu, and pneumonia.
Some multivalent vaccines examples include:
- Gardasil-9: Gardasil is a vaccine that targets nine strains of human papillomavirus virus (HPV), a common STI.2
- Influenza vaccine: All U.S. flu vaccines are quadrivalent, targeting four different strains of flu.3
- Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23): This vaccine targets 23 types of bacteria that cause pneumococcal disease, protecting against pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, meningitis, and bacteria.
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella virus
Note: Gardasil-9 and PPSV23 are trade names. We are not paid nor will we take payment. This is not a promotion for them.