Moderna mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccine less effective than Pfizer’s

Moderna mRNA-1273 Vaccine less effective than Pfizer’s. On December 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency use authorization for the new coronavirus pneumonia vaccine mRNA-1273 developed by the U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, which is the BNT162b2 new coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech. Then the second vaccine approved for use in the United States.

A COVE research paper published on December 30 in the “New England Journal of Medicine” evaluated the COVID-19 vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 data produced by Moderna. This study proves that the vaccine produced by Modern can prevent COVID-19 infections. Among more than 30,000 subjects who were randomly vaccinated or received placebo treatment, 11 subjects in the vaccine group developed new coronavirus symptoms. In contrast, 185 subjects developed new coronavirus symptoms during placebo treatment. The data shows that the effectiveness of the vaccine group is 94.1%. It is worth mentioning that cases of severe COVID-19 only occurred in the placebo treatment group.

 
Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine.NEJM,2020.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2035389.

Moderna vaccine has adverse events, and side effects still need to be closely monitored

A total of 30,420 adult subjects (79% white; 10% black or African American; 20% Hispanic or Latino participants) were recruited at 99 trial sites in the United States, and the subjects were 18 years old And none of the subjects over 18 years old had a history of new coronavirus infection.

From July 27 to October 23, 2020, the subject received the first injection and 28 days later, the second injection. The volume of each injection is 0.5 mL (containing 100 μg mRNA-1273 and saline placebo).

mRNA-1273 vaccine efficacy

In the second analysis, the effectiveness of the vaccine mainly focused on those people who already have antibodies and those 65 years of age and older. The study found that 30 subjects in the placebo group suffered from severe new coronavirus symptoms.

In general, the number of adverse events reported in the placebo group and the vaccine group was similar. The adverse reactions to the vaccine were mild, with moderate to severe side effects such as fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia and headache. After the second injection, about half of the subjects experienced such side effects, but most of the side effects disappeared from 15 hours to the next day after vaccination.

In the short term, the mRNA-1273 vaccine did not show an increase in respiratory diseases after infection. The histopathological examination showed that the characteristics of enhanced respiratory disease include Th2 oblique immune response and eosinophilic lung infiltration. In the advanced clinical evaluation of the mRNA-1273 vaccine and the preclinical trials of other COVID-19 vaccines, the Th1 tilt vaccine response was shown, and no pathological lung infiltration occurred.

Adverse events

Previously, it was reported that Bell’s Palsy was discovered in the BNT162b2 vaccine trial jointly conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech. This possibility will also be closely watched in the mRNA-1273 vaccine trial. According to a report from the New York Times on December 25, a doctor in Boston said that he had a severe allergic reaction within minutes after receiving the Moderna vaccine, becoming the first case of allergy after Moderna vaccine was vaccinated nationwide. He suffers from severe shellfish allergy. The doctor said in an interview that he had a severe reaction almost immediately after the vaccination, feeling dizzy and his heart beating faster.

Throughout the Moderna vaccine trial process, the Safety Monitoring Committee continued to monitor new coronavirus cases and severe cases, and subjects closely monitored adverse events within a few weeks after injection. Researchers will also collect all adverse events within two years after injection.

Differences between Moderna vaccine and Pfizer vaccine

The mRNA-1273 vaccine is more effective in preventing new coronavirus infection than the respiratory virus infection vaccine. In the inactivated influenza vaccine for adult viruses, the efficacy data of mRNA-1273 is 59%, and its data is based on short-term data. The efficacy of mRNA-1273 is similar to that of the recently reported BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer vaccine). On December 10, 2020, NEJM confirmed that the 2-dose regimen of BNT162b2 can provide 95% protection against COVID-19 for people over 16 years of age. The vaccine was officially approved for emergency use by the US FDA on December 11, 2020.

Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine.N Engl J Med 2020; 383:2603-2615.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2034577

Although both companies are mRNA vaccines, there are certain differences:

• Efficacy: Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine has an effective rate of 95%, and Moderna’s mRNA vaccine has an effective rate of 94.1%;
• Side effects: both parties said that there are no serious adverse reactions, but considering that mRNA vaccines are brand-new technologies, further observations must be made in phase IV clinical trials in the future. From the perspective of storage temperature, Pfizer vaccines have extremely demanding requirements for storage temperature. It needs to be stored at a low temperature of -70℃. Moderna’s mRNA vaccine can be stored in an environment of minus 20℃ for 6 months, in an ordinary refrigerator at 2-8℃ for one month, or even at room temperature. 12 hours, greatly enhancing the universality of the vaccine;
• Price, the BioNTech vaccine is currently priced at US$19.5 per dose, which is cheaper than Moderna’s vaccine at US$25-37 per dose;
• Production capacity, BioNTech plans to supply 1.3 billion doses of vaccine globally in 2021, while Moderna expects the production capacity to reach 500 to 1 billion doses in 2021.

In 2019, the global mRNA vaccine and treatment market reached 12.5 billion yuan and is expected to reach 34.9 billion yuan in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.4%. It is estimated that by 2032, mRNA vaccines used in the treatment of infectious diseases will occupy 73.15% of the market.

At present, BioNTech, Moderna and CureVac are collectively known as the world’s three leading mRNA therapy leaders. Among them, BioNTech and Moderna are at the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccine research and development.

~~~ Moderna mRNA-1273 Vaccine less effective than Pfizer’s ~~~~

(source:internet, reference only)

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