Moderna Covid vaccine is the most effective against hospitalization at 93% compared to Pfizer shot at 88% and Johnson & Johnson jab at 71%, CDC study suggests
- Researchers looked at the efficacy of three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S.: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen
- They found that 11.3% of hospitalized patients vaccinated with Moderna
- Comparatively, 17.3% of patients vaccinated with Pfizer contracted the disease as did 32.7% of hospitalized J&J recipients
- They found that the Moderna shot is 93% effective against hospitalization compared to 88% for the Pfizer vaccine and 71% for Johnson & Johnson
- Antibody levels in blood samples were highest among Moderna recipients in a separate group of healthy volunteers
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective at protecting recipients against hospitalization, a new report suggests.
There are currently three immunizations authorized for use in the U.S.: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that efficacy of the Moderna shot is 93 percent against hospitalization.
Comparatively, the Pfizer jab was 88 percent effective and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 71 percent effective.
A new CDC report looked at the efficacy of three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S.: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. Pictured: Aggie Health and Wellness Center Nurse Marissa Archule administers a Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine to Lauren Naranjo at a walk in clinic at Corbett Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, May 13
Researchers found that the Moderna shot is 93% effective against hospitalization compared to 88% for the Pfizer vaccine and 71% for Johnson & Johnson (file image)
For the report, published on Friday, CDC researchers looked at data from 3,689 adults aged 18 and older.
The participants had all been hospitalized at 21 hospitals across 18 states between March 11, 2021 and August 15, 2021 – but not all due to the virus.
Researchers also recruited a control group of 100 healthy volunteers and looked at blood samples between two and six weeks after they were fully vaccinated.
No patients with immunocompromising conditions were included in the study.
Among the hospitalized patients, 64 percent were unvaccinated.
Antibody levels in blood samples were highest among Moderna recipients in a separate group of healthy volunteers compared to levels for Pfizer and J&J recipients
Of the remaining group 476 (12.9 percent) were fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine; 738 (20.0 percent) with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 113 (3.1 percent) with the J&J vaccine.
When the team looked at COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated patients, they found that some immunizations were more effective than others.
Among the Moderna vaccine recipients, there 54 Covid infections among 476 participants, or 11.3 percent.
Comparatively, there were 128 cases among 738 participants who had received Pfizer, or 17.3 percent, and 37 cases among 113 J&J recipients, or 32.7 percent.
This translates to 93 percent efficacy against hospitalization for the Moderna vaccine, 88 percent for the Pfizer vaccine and 71 percent for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, researchers said.
They also compared antibody levels among the 100 healthy volunteers, 32 of whom received Moderna, 51 of whom received Pfizer and 17 of whom received J&J.
Results were highest among the Moderna recipients compared to those who were given one of the other two vaccines.
‘These real-world data suggest that the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine regimens provide more protection than does the one-dose Janssen viral vector vaccine regimen,’ the CDC authors wrote.
‘Although the J&J vaccine had lower observed [vaccine efficacy], one dose of Janssen vaccine still reduced risk for COVID-19–associated hospitalization by 71 percent.’
The authors still insist that all three vaccines are highly effective and that unvaccinated Americans should get whichever shot is available to them.
‘Although these real-world data suggest some variation in levels of protection by vaccine, all FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide substantial protection against COVID-19 hospitalization,’ they added.
