Which one is better Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine? It is really a daunting task to decide. The contagious Omicron variant is driving an uptick in COVID-19 cases, especially among unvaccinated people. Unfortunately, this latest variant is infecting some vaccinated individuals as well.
But the excellent information is that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been confirmed to be effective against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Booster shots are also advised, and a “mix-and-match” approach allows adults to select a different vaccine for their booster than the one they began with.
For the ease of people, we have worked out a comparison of the two prominent COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to let you all understand the various aspects of the both the vaccines.
Pfizer-Biontech vs Moderna Vaccines
Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine
Pfizer-BioNTech was the foremost COVID-19 vaccine to acquire entire Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permission for individuals ages 16 and older. In addition, it was the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) back in December 2020, after the company declared its vaccine was highly effective at controlling the symptomatic disease.
- Status: It is approved for ages 16 and older. Those immunized with Pfizer-BioNTech for their primary vaccine series ages 12 and older can obtain a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot five months later. Only adults ages 18 and older can pick any of the two COVID-19 vaccines obtainable in the U.S. as a booster shot, nevertheless whichever immunization is employed for the primary vaccination.
- Recommended for: Children and adults ages five and older are qualified for vaccines; anyone 12 and older should bring a booster, according to the CDC, which selects a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster in most cases. In addition, anyone ages five and up who are moderately or harshly immunocompromised may be recommended to obtain a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna to achieve their primary succession.
- Dosage: Two shots, 21 days apart; it is fully effective two weeks after the second shot. Single-shot booster doses can be issued to those eligible five months after completing the primary doses. Because Pfizer-BioNTech says, its data indicates a smaller dose produces a strong immune reaction in children, the two 10 mg doses for children ages 5-11 are smaller than the two 30-microgram doses given to teens and adults.
- Possible side effects: You may feel pain, redness, swelling where the shot was administered. You may feel chills, headache, muscle pain, fever, nausea, tiredness in the body. These side effects usually settle within a day or two of rest, hydration, and medications such as acetaminophen. The vaccine appears to trigger anaphylaxis on rare occasions, a severe reaction treatable with epinephrine.
- How it works: Unlike vaccines that place a weakened or inactivated disease germ into the body, the Pfizer mRNA vaccine offers a tiny piece of genetic code from the SARS CoV-2 virus to host cells in the body, effectively giving those cells instructions, or blueprints, for making copies of spike proteins. The spikes do the work of infiltrating and infecting host cells. In addition, these proteins evoke an immune response, building antibodies and forming memory cells that will identify and react if the body is contaminated with the actual virus.
- Efficiency: Pfizer’s early Phase 3 clinical data submitted in December showed its vaccine to contain 95% efficacy. In April, the company reported the vaccine had 91.3% efficacy against COVID-19, founded on gauging how well it stopped symptomatic COVID-19 infection seven days through to six months after the second dose. It was discovered to be 100% effective in preventing severe disease as defined by the CDC and 95.3% effective in preventing severe illness as defined by the FDA. However, more data decreased the efficacy number to 84% after six months, although efficacy against the severe disease was 97%.
Moderna Vaccine
Moderna’s vaccine was approved for emergency use in the U.S. in December 2020, roughly a week after the Pfizer vaccine. Moderna employs the same mRNA technology as Pfizer and has a similarly high efficacy at preventing symptomatic disease. However, it also requires to be stored in freezer-level temperatures. In mid-August, the FDA sanctioned a third dose of the Moderna vaccine for detailed immunocompromised people, including stable organ transplant recipients and those with ailments that give them an equally decreased ability to resist infections and other diseases.
- Status: Emergency usage in the U.S for the vaccine and a half-dose booster for all grown-ups older than 18 at least five months after their first Pfizer or Moderna shot. In addition, people with certain immunocompromising conditions can get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to reach a level of immunity they could not go after two doses.
- It is recommended for: Adults 18 and older. In addition, a booster dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech is recommended for anyone 18 years and more aged five months after their primary Moderna vaccination is completed or two months after the first dose.
- Dosage: Two shots, 28 days apart; It is fully convincing two weeks after the second dose.
- Possible side effects: Comparable to Pfizer, side effects can have pain, tiredness, chills, headache, and/or redness and bulging at the injection site, all of which generally resolve within a day or two. In addition, on rare occasions, mRNA vaccines have appeared to trigger anaphylaxis, a severe reaction that is treatable with epinephrine. For that reason, the CDC mandates vaccination sites to monitor everyone for 15 minutes after the COVID-19 shot and 30 minutes if they hold a record of severe allergies.
- How it works: Equivalent to the Pfizer vaccine, this is an mRNA vaccine that transmits the body’s cells instructions for creating a spike protein that will train the immune system to recognize it. The immune system will then shoot the spike protein the next time it sees one connected to the actual SARS CoV-2 virus.
- Efficiency: Moderna’s initial Phase 3 clinical data in December 2020 was similar to Pfizer’s—at that point, both vaccines showed about 95% efficacy. This figure has changed over time. According to the company, six months after vaccination, the Moderna vaccine was shown to have an effectiveness of 90% against infection and more than 95% against developing a severe case. In addition, while Pfizer and Moderna are still considered highly productive, several recent studies showed Moderna to be more protective.
Wrap Up
It’s essential to keep up, but it’s also a daunting task, given the flood of information coming at us from so many directions. Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech & Moderna are being administered in the U.S. The Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) supports the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.