![]() Vaccination remains the most effective measure to prevent the severe consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D. “Since children have gone back to school in person and people are resuming pre-pandemic behaviors and activities, there is the potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. The spike proteins of BA.4 and BA.5 are identical. ![]() The mRNA in these vaccines is a specific piece of genetic material that instructs cells in the body to make the distinctive “spike” protein of the original virus strain and the omicron variant lineages BA.4 and BA.5. These bivalent COVID-19 vaccines include an mRNA component of the original strain to provide an immune response that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and an mRNA component in common between the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for administration at least two months following completion of primary or booster vaccination in children down to five years of age. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for administration at least two months following completion of primary or booster vaccination in children down to six years of age. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent to authorize their use as a single booster dose in younger age groups. In short, Pfizer and Moderna are producing fewer but more effective (and pricier) vaccines, while AstraZeneca is making a greater number of less effective (and cheaper) vaccines.Today, the U.S. A 95% effective vaccine is better than a 62% to 90% effective vaccine, but 200 million doses is better than 20 million to 50 million doses. (Note that all three vaccines require two doses.)Īs shown, it's hard to answer this question. AstraZeneca can deliver the most doses the fastest. However, the company says that it will seek profits after the pandemic ends.ĭoses by end of 2020. (There's nothing wrong with that.) AstraZeneca does not (yet), which is why its vaccine is so cheap. As shown, both Pfizer and Moderna plan to profit from the vaccine. Moderna's does better at 30 days, while AstraZeneca's can last 6 months. Once it's out of the deep freeze, it's only good for 5 days. Once again, Pfizer's vaccine poses a unique challenge. Moderna's vaccine can be stored in a normal freezer, while AstraZeneca's can be stored in a regular refrigerator. It has to be stored at -94° F, which is an obscenely cold temperature that requires specialized freezers. Pfizer's vaccine poses a logistical problem. Much to everyone's surprise, the experimental mRNA vaccines are most effective (95%), while the time-tested adenoviral vector vaccine shows only 62% to 90% efficacy. ![]() The AstraZeneca vaccine is based on time-tested technology that employs a harmless cold virus (called adenovirus) that has been genetically modified to stimulate an immune response against the coronavirus.Įfficacy. There is currently no vaccine on the market that uses mRNA, so these vaccines are a world-first. Both Pfizer and Moderna are using experimental technology that employs mRNA. In an attempt to clarify this, we have compiled information from multiple news sources to create a chart that compares what is currently known about the three major vaccines that have made global headlines. For example, which vaccine is better: One that causes no side effects and is 80% effective or one that causes rare but lethal side effects and is 99.9% effective? The answer isn't immediately obvious. Even better, vaccines are being developed by multiple companies.Īmong the many questions that will follow is, "Which vaccine is best?" The answer is tricky because several factors go into describing a "good" vaccine. Over the past several days, the world has received monumentally good news: Vaccines exist against the coronavirus, and they are effective.
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