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Two COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States, and a third, developed by Johnson & Johnson, recently submitted an emergency use authorization application, which means it could be available in early March.
With so many options, a lot of people are wondering if the photo they get is important.
The short answer is you should get the photo shown to you, experts tell Live Science. But there are several reasons why some clichés might work better for different populations.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 66% effective in reducing severe and moderate cases of COVID-19, which include either two mild symptoms or a more severe symptom, such as low oxygen in the blood or an increase in respiratory rate, Live Science reported. In other words, people vaccinated with the J&J vaccine were three times less likely to contract a mild or moderate case of COVID-19 compared to participants who received a placebo. Meanwhile, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective, and the Moderna vaccine was 94% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, which means any positive test with even a mild symptom. All three vaccines are believed to be 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
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But while the Moderna and Pfizer two-dose regimens appear, on paper, to be more effective, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has an advantage in that it does not require a follow-up injection and it can be stored at room temperature in the refrigerator for long periods of time. month. said Dr. Peter Gulick, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. This could help get more people vaccinated, especially those who may not come back for a second shot, as well as in places where access is a problem, he said.
Johnson & Johnson’s less stringent storage requirements could be an advantage in rural areas, Gulick said. “They can be put in a refrigerator and stored there, whereas Moderna, and certainly Pfizer, need much colder temperatures to keep their vaccine viable,” Gulick told Live Science. “The fact that you can easily store [the Johnson & Johnson vaccine] in a doctor’s office, pharmacy, etc., could make it more accessible. ”
This single-shot vaccine might also be better for people who might have difficulty getting to hospitals or mass vaccination sites (especially those at home or in bed).
“People have one shot, but there’s no guarantee they can come back for the second shot,” Gulick told Live Science.
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With the rise of new coronavirus variants, protection is better than no protection. Because a single-dose vaccine like that from Johnson & Johnson only requires one vaccine, the same number of doses can go twice as far as with other vaccines, which could be better at controlling the spread of virus. However, the initial supply of J&J vaccine will be limited; The company originally pledged 12 million doses in March, but it could fall behind production, according to the New York Times.
Dr William Lang, former White House doctor and medical director of JobSiteCare, told Live Science that even less efficacy should not deter people from getting vaccinated by Johnson & Johnson. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, Johnson & Johnson tested its vaccine against the South African variant, which has been shown to evade neutralizing antibodies the immune system deploys to prevent the coronavirus from infecting cells.
“The reported lower efficiency may be somewhat real, but it may also be a function of testing in a slightly different environment due to the newly circulating variants,” Lang said. “If my 88-year-old dad or I offered J&J, I wouldn’t hesitate to get it.
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With the emergence of vaccine-avoidant variants, like the South African and Brazilian variants, there is a need to reduce the spread as quickly as possible to reduce the chances of new mutations evolving, Gulick said.
On the flip side, the Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines, which send mRNA into muscle cells to tell the body to produce an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein, appear to have higher efficiency, said Lang.
Gulick said high-risk groups – such as the elderly, who develop a less robust immune response, and those who are immunocompromised – should be prioritized for more effective vaccines.
“I would probably go with the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccine, at least for my HIV-positive patients. But if the insurance only covers a certain dose, I would tell them to give it to them because I just want the vaccine to be their arm, ”Gulick says. “But I would choose the two-dose vaccine if I had the preference.”
With the world surpassing 100 million cases of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization dashboard, most of us won’t have the chance to choose: Getting vaccinated is important .
Originally posted on Live Science.
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