A new study in the United States shows that Moderna’s vaccine is more effective than the vaccines from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in reducing the risk of hospitalization for individuals with Covid-19.
The study on three types of Covid-19 vaccines indicates that Moderna’s vaccine leads in effectiveness in the current battle against the pandemic, CNN reported on September 17.
Specifically, the Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective in protecting individuals with Covid-19 from hospitalization, while the rate for Moderna is 93%. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine ranks third, providing a protection rate of 71%.
The new study shows that Moderna’s vaccine is more effective than those from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. (Photo: Reuters).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with scientists across the country to review 3,689 Covid-19 patients at 21 hospitals in 18 states for the study. They also examined the antibodies in the blood of 100 healthy volunteers after receiving one of the three vaccines.
“Among adults without compromised immune systems in the U.S., the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine (93%) in preventing hospitalization due to Covid-19 from March 11 to August 15 is higher than that of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (88%) and Janssen (71%)”, the research team wrote in the CDC’s weekly report.
“Although this real-world data shows that the vaccines have varying levels of protection, all FDA-approved vaccines provide significant protection, helping to reduce hospitalization rates.”
Additionally, researchers found that the most significant difference lies in the decline of effectiveness, which begins about 4 months after individuals are fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
“The effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 91% in the first 14-120 days after the second dose, but it significantly drops to 77% after more than 120 days,” the research team noted.
“The difference in vaccine effectiveness between Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech may be due to the higher mRNA content in the Moderna vaccine.” Additionally, it may stem from the time interval between doses (3 weeks for the Pfizer vaccine and 4 weeks for Moderna), or due to the different demographics of the vaccinated groups.
However, the study has some limitations as it did not consider other groups such as children and adults with compromised immune systems. Furthermore, the volunteers were only monitored for just over six months.
