Large gap between Pfizer and Modana vaccines seen to prevent COVID-19 hospitalization

Los Angeles — Amid persistent concerns that COVID-19 vaccine precautions may be weakening, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that America’s flagship shot is to prevent long-term serious illness. It turned out that the effect was extremely low. More than many experts were aware of.

Data collected from 18 states between March and August reduced the risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 by 91% in the first 4 months after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Suggests to let. However, beyond 120 days, the vaccine’s effectiveness drops to 77%.

On the other hand, the Moderna vaccine was 93% effective in reducing the short-term risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 and was 92% effective after 120 days.

Overall, 54% of fully vaccinated Americans are immunized with Pfizer shots.

A surprising finding came as an advisory board to the Food and Drug Administration recommended for providing booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine to all Americans over the age of 16. With an impressive rebuke, 16 of the 18 experts told the agency that they hadn’t collected enough data to standardize on the third shot.

In a long briefing to the panel, Pfizer representatives presented clinical trial results involving 306 nearly healthy participants who claimed that boosters “recovered” the 95% vaccine efficacy rate seen early in the pandemic. I pointed out.

Company officials also promoted evidence from Israel that deployed boosters after seeing an increase in hospitalizations among fully vaccinated people. According to Israeli scientists, these hospitalizations decreased dramatically after the third dose.

However, panel members revealed that despite Pfizer’s aggressive stance, third shots did not gather sufficient evidence that they were safe for young people and those at low risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19. Did.

“We need age-specific data,” said Dr. Ofer Levy, a panel member who directs the Boston Children’s Hospital Precision Vaccine Program, on additional booster safety and protection benefits.

Dr. Eric Rubin, a panel member and infectious disease expert at Harvard TH Chan Public Health School, said FDA approval for booster shots for anyone over the age of 16 would be considered “close to duty.” rice field. Rubin was worried that such a move could redefine what is needed to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“None of us are there yet,” he said.

But others are clearly. Dr. Anthony Fauci, president’s chief adviser on vaccines for President Joe Biden, strongly supported booster shots and said it would be “a mistake” not to approve the shots before the vote on Friday.

And in mid-August, Biden himself said his administration would begin making booster shots available to people vaccinated for at least eight months in the week of September 20th.

Biden warned at the time that his plans were subject to FDA approval. However, his announcement raised concerns about political interference on issues that required unhindered evaluation by scientists.

“This should generally show that the members of this committee are independent of the FDA.” Dr. Archana Chatterjee, The Dean of the Chicago Medical College said after the vote. “In fact, we bring our voice to the table when asked to be a member of this committee.”

The panel puts a third shot of the vaccine currently sold under the Comirnaty brand name on occupations including individuals over the age of 65, people at risk of developing serious illness, and health care workers at risk of infection. Is high.

Dr. Peter MarksLeading the FDA’s drug and vaccine evaluation told panel members that the FDA can bless booster shots Emergency use authorization — Regulatory measures that fall short of the full approval that Pfizer sought.

The company did not issue a statement on Friday in response to a panel vote.

Researchers in the United States have warned for months that the immunity provided by the COVID-19 vaccine may be weakened. CDC report In late July, nearly three-quarters of the 469 outbreaks in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated.And the agency launched Some studies It aims to detect changes in vaccine efficacy in early-vaccinated health care workers and others.

However, in fact, all of these infections appeared to be mild.And health officials are eager to induce vaccine skeptics to step up for their shots — with Fauci. Dr. Rochelle WalenskyThe director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — has repeatedly praised the vaccine to keep most fully vaccinated people away from the hospital.

A new report on reduced vaccine efficacy challenges that expectation.

Researchers across the country have found significant differences between the two mRNA vaccines that have long been considered compatible.

When the Moderna vaccine received an emergency use authorization in December The company reported In that clinical trial, 30 developed severe cases of COVID-19, 9 of whom required hospitalization. All 30 patients belonged to the placebo group, resulting in 100% vaccine efficacy against serious illness.

10 people Pfizer’s first clinical trial I developed a severe case of COVID-19. Nine of them belonged to the placebo group, which included seven hospitalized patients, and resulted in vaccine efficacy against 88.9% of serious illnesses.

When the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were released to the public, records of preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in the first 4 months were 93% and 91% effective, respectively. But then the degree of protection diverged.

When they focused specifically on the period 120 days after the second dose, the authors of the study found that the Moderna vaccine remained 92% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization. However, the equivalent number for the Pfizer vaccine was 77%.

The results were published in the weekly report on CDC morbidity and mortality.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are based on mRNA technology and provide the muscle cells of the body with temporary instructions to help learn the recognition of the peplomer protein, which is an important part of the structure of the coronavirus. However, “it’s not always compatible in practice,” he said. Dr. Timothy Brewer, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at UCLA.

According to Brewer, each vaccine is prescribed and administered differently, and these differences can affect the defense and duration of the two vaccines.

Moderna shots contain 100 micrograms of vaccine. This is more than three times the 30 micrograms of Pfizer Shot. In addition, two doses of Pfizer are given at 3-week intervals, and Modana’s 2-shot regimen is given at 4-week intervals.

Brewer also pointed out evidence that the Modana vaccine appears to elicit higher levels of important antibodies than the Pfizer vaccine.

“Other studies have shown that neutralizing antibody levels decline over time. Therefore, starting at a higher level goes further before decaying to a point of reduced efficacy. It means you need to, “he said.

Dr. Robert MurphyLeading the Global Health Institute at Northwestern University, the reduced defense of Pfizer vaccines against serious illnesses is a booster for all vaccinated people, not just the specific groups identified by the FDA Advisory Board. Said that it could strengthen the case.

“Based on the data I’ve seen, people who get the Pfizer vaccine will benefit from booster immunity at this point,” he said. “I don’t know why young people have to wait until they get sick and are hospitalized.”

However Dr. ArnoldmontChairing the FDA Advisory Board praised the authorities’ willingness to withhold the full appeal of boosters until a stronger proceeding was filed. And he suggested that as more evidence accumulated, all boosters might still nod.

“That’s the beauty of an emergency use authorization,” said Monteau, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan. “You can make changes based on changes in your data.”

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