What are the 4 types of COVID vaccines?
MODERNA
General Information:
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
Type of Vaccine:
mRNA
Schedule:
2-doses given 28 days apart
Ages:
18 years +
Efficacy in Preventing Death:
94.1% after 2 doses + 28 days
Efficacy in Preventing Hospitalizations / Severe Illness:
94.5% after 2 doses + 28 days
Common side effects:
Chills, headache, pain, tiredness, and/or redness and swelling at the injection site, all of which generally resolve within a day or two of rest, hydration, and medications like acetaminophen. (If symptoms don’t resolve within 72 hours or if you have respiratory symptoms, such as cough or shortness of breath, call your doctor.)
Pfizer/BioNTech
General Information:
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Type of Vaccine:
mRNA
Schedule:
2-doses given 21 days apart
Ages:
12 years +
Efficacy in Preventing Death:
95% after 2 doses after 21 days
Efficacy in Preventing Hospitalizations / Severe Illness:
95% after 2 doses after 21 days
Common side effects:
Chills, headache, pain, tiredness, and/or redness and swelling at the injection site, all of which generally resolve within a day or two of rest, hydration, and medications like acetaminophen. (If symptoms don’t resolve within 72 hours or if you have respiratory symptoms, such as cough or shortness of breath, call your doctor.)
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
General Information:
Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
Type of Vaccine:
Viral Vector
Schedule:
Single dose
Ages:
18 years +
Efficacy in Preventing Death:
72% after 1 dose after 28 days
Efficacy in Preventing Hospitalizations / Severe Illness:
86% after 1 dose after 28 days
Common side effects:
Fatigue, fever headache, injection site pain, or myalgia (pain in a muscle or group of muscles), all of which generally resolve within a day or two. It has had noticeably milder side effects than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, according to the FDA report released in late February.
ASTRAZENECA
General Information:
AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
Type of Vaccine:
Viral Vector
Schedule:
2-doses given 21 days apart
Ages:
18 years +
Efficacy in Preventing Death:
81.3% after 2 doses after 90 days
Efficacy in Preventing Hospitalizations / Severe Illness:
81.3% after 2 doses after 90 days
This vaccine has not yet been
approved by the FDA
Vaccine Updates:
PFIZER & MODERNA: In June, the FDA announced it will place a warning on the mRNA vaccines regarding a “likely association” between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and reported cases of heart inflammation in young adults. This inflammation may occur in the heart muscle (myocarditis) or in the outer lining of the heart (pericarditis), and is considered important but uncommon—arising in about 12.6 cases per million second doses administered. The inflammation, in most cases, gets better on its own without medical intervention. SOURCE: Yale Medicine
PFIZER: Pfizer is seeking FDA authorization for a third dose of its original vaccine (although the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] have said fully vaccinated Americans don’t need booster shots at this time). SOURCE: Yale Medicine
JOHNSON & JOHNSON: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has attached two warnings to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In July, it attached a warning after rare cases of the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome were reported in a small number of vaccination recipients. Most of the cases occurred within 42 days after vaccination. In April, the FDA added a warning label after ending a pause on the vaccine it had recommended “out of an abundance of caution” over an uncommon, but potentially serious, blood clotting disorder occurred in a small number of recipients. SOURCE: Yale Medicine