monovalent

[mon-uh-vey-luhnt]

adjective

1. Chemistry.,  univalent.

2. Immunology.

   1. containing only one kind of antibody.

   2. pertaining to an antibody fragment with one antigen-binding site.

monovalent

/ ˌmɒnəʊˈveɪlənt /

adjective

1. Also: univalent. chem

   1. having a valency of one

   2. having only one valency

monovalent

1. Having a valence of 1; univalent.

2. Containing antigens from a single strain of a microorganism or virus. Used of a vaccine or serum.

Other Word Forms

• monovalence noun
• monovalency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of monovalent¹

First recorded in 1865–70; mono- + -valent

Example Sentences

Some countries were indeed able to quash type 2 outbreaks with the monovalent vaccine.

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They found that the monovalent vaccine increased their ability to produce mucosal antibodies against most of the tested variants, whereas the bivalent vaccine didn't provide a significant boost.

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Tan, chief policy and partnerships officer at Immunize.org, told Salon he thinks it's difficult to make a definitive statement that the bivalent boosters weren't as effective as the monovalent ones.

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It has found that monovalent vaccines against Omicron perform somewhat better than those that include the ancestral strain.

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Likewise, FDA spokeswoman Abby Capobianco said that such claims tying the discontinuation of the monovalent shots to safety “are entirely false and without basis in fact.”

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