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For months, data on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines has been based on information from clinical trials. There is now real new data on the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines – and it is very promising.
New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday found that Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are extremely effective at preventing disease after a single dose, at higher rates than previously reported .
The study analyzed data from 3,950 healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers who underwent weekly testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, for 13 weeks after being tested. been vaccinated. The researchers found that the vaccines were 80% effective at preventing COVID-19 after one dose and 90% after two doses.
This is slightly different data than what clinical trials have found. In these trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 52% effective after one dose and 95% effective after two doses. For clinical trials of the Moderna vaccine, this vaccine was 50.8% effective up to two weeks after the initial dose (and 92.1% after that), with 94.1% effectiveness after two doses.
Why the difference? This is real world data versus a clinical trial. “Real-world data is the best way to assess the impact of a vaccine,” says Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, infectious disease specialist, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. vaccine value. “
Dr William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life he’s “not entirely sure” why there is such an increase in vaccine effectiveness to prevent COVID-19 after a dose based on real world data. But, he says, “this is data from ongoing analysis of larger populations – and that’s encouraging.”
The data “supports what many of us have felt,” Dr. Shobha Swaminathan, associate professor in Rutgers’ Division of Infectious Diseases, told Yahoo Life. “After two weeks, most vaccines will have some effectiveness, and the degree of effectiveness will depend on the potency of the vaccine,” she adds.
This study also sampled people “regardless of symptoms” and “may also have detected asymptomatic cases,” says Swaminathan.
Adalja says the results could even end up influencing public policy about who gets vaccinated and when. “For now, I think a two-dose regimen will be in place, but this result underscores the importance of prioritizing the first doses,” he says. “Second doses can be given, but the first doses must take priority.”
Schaffner stresses that people shouldn’t look at these results and assume they don’t need a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “Don’t try to slice this salami too thin,” he said. “I think we need this second dose for maximum protection.” Schaffner points out that people get “a lot more antibodies” to SARS-CoV-2 with the second dose, as well as “more complete protection” that can help against variants of the virus.
Dr Thomas Russo, professor and head of infectious diseases at the University of Buffalo in New York City, agrees. “I can’t stress enough the importance of getting the second dose,” he tells Yahoo Life. Russo points out that some people are nervous about receiving the second dose after hearing that the side effects may be more severe afterwards, but he says many stories about the side effects have “a bit of a beautification” effect. .
“Only a minority of people have severe systemic symptoms,” he says. “Even if you have flu-like symptoms, you take a ‘day of vaccination.’ It’s a small price to pay to get a truly incredible level of protection against this coronavirus. “
If you need to wait beyond the recommended three to four weeks between vaccinations, that’s okay, Schaffner says – as long as you’ve actually completed the diet. “Please take the second dose. You have to get full protection, ”he says. “We can’t tell you that you’re going to get 95 percent protection on a single dose basis, and you’ll probably get longer protection that way.”
Swaminathan agrees. “We don’t know how sustainable the vaccine response will be for these products if people stop at a dose,” she says.
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