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The Centers for Disease Control just published the results of a comparative study of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, and Moderna leads the way in terms of efficacy.
The study, conducted nationwide between March and August, involved 3,689 vaccinated adults hospitalized with COVID-19, as well as testing for antibodies in the blood of 100 healthy volunteers. And while all three vaccines were found to offer “substantial” protection against serious illness and hospitalization, one of the three came out on top with a slight edge, as reported by CNN. The Moderna vaccine has been shown to be 93% effective in preventing people from entering hospitals, with the Pfizer vaccine being 88% effective.
“Among American adults without immunocompromised conditions, vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 hospitalization from March 11 to August 15, 2021 was higher for the Moderna vaccine (93%) than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (88%) and the Janssen vaccine (71%), “the CDC wrote in a weekly update.
“While this real-world data suggests some variation in vaccine protection levels, all COVID-19 vaccines approved or authorized by the FDA provide substantial protection against COVID-19 hospitalization.”
The study also confirms a drop in the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine after four months, which was observed in an earlier study of 50,000 patients conducted by the Mayo Clinic Health System, published in August. Some experts have pointed out the higher dosage of mRNA present in Moderna’s vaccine.
“The differences in vaccine efficacy between the Moderna vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech could be due to a higher mRNA content in the Moderna vaccine, differences in the timing between doses (3 weeks for Pfizer-BioNTech versus 4 weeks for Moderna), or to possible differences between the groups who received each vaccine that was not taken into account in the analysis, ”the CDC team wrote.
The work of the CDC and its researchers, they said, will hopefully help “guide individual choices and policy recommendations regarding vaccine recalls.”
Meanwhile, an FDA panel met on Friday to discuss possible booster injections for the Pfizer vaccine and whether there is any evidence of any risks or benefits associated with the boosters. Depending on the FDA panel’s decision, the CDC will then need to make a recommendation on who should get the booster shots – which could include older Americans, frontline health workers, and those with compromised immunity.
In August, we heard that the FDA is likely to recommend boosters for many after 8 months, but the debate continues. And here in the Bay Area, Santa Clara County has already started giving booster shots to the immunocompromised.
In San Francisco, if you have had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, they offer booster doses of Pfizer or Moderna at SF General.
Previously: Study: Moderna vaccine is significantly better against Delta than Pfizer
Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images
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