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COVID-19 vaccines have worked well in controlled studies.
But how did they do in the real world?
The US government’s first look at the vaccines since they were approved in an emergency found that their efficacy was almost as robust in the general population as it was in their clinical trials.
The two vaccines available since December – Pfizer and Moderna – were 90% effective after two doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday. In testing, the vaccines were about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19.
“This is very reassuring news,” said Mark Thompson of the CDC, lead author of the study. “We have a vaccine that is working very well.”
The study is the government’s first assessment of how injections have worked beyond the initial experiences of drug makers. Results can sometimes change when vaccines are used in larger and more diverse populations outside of studies.
With nearly 4,000 participants from six states, the study focused on healthcare workers, first responders and other frontline workers who had the first priority for vaccines. They were given nasal swab test kits to use weekly to check for signs of infection.
“The evidence base for COVID-19 vaccines (currently available) is already strong and continues to mount more and more with studies like this,” said David Holtgrave, dean of the University of the School of Albany Public Health, in an email.
The study included about 2,500 volunteers who received two doses of the vaccine, about 500 who received one dose, and about 1,000 who were not vaccinated.
The researchers counted 205 infections, including 161 in the unvaccinated group. Of the remaining 44, the CDC said 33 of them were apparently infected people two weeks before their last vaccine, when they are considered fully vaccinated.
No one died and only two were hospitalized. Thompson did not say whether those hospitalized were vaccinated or not.
“These findings should offer hope to the millions of Americans who receive COVID-19 vaccines every day and to those who will have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated in the weeks to come,” in a statement from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC. . “Licensed vaccines are the key tool that will help end this devastating pandemic.
Different researchers have tried to examine the performance of vaccines, including work done in Israel and the United Kingdom, and a US study of patients from the Mayo Clinic.
Unlike the Mayo study, which focused on hospitalization and death, the CDC study looked for any infection, including infections that never caused symptoms or were identified before the symptoms. people don’t start to feel sick.
About two-thirds of participants who were vaccinated received Pfizer injections, one-third received Moderna, and five received the last injection of Johnson & Johnson. The study was carried out in Miami; Duluth, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Temple, Texas; Salt Lake City; and Phoenix and other parts of Arizona
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