Moderna and Pfizer Vaccines

A FDA advisory panel recommended yesterday for Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine to receive FDA emergency authorization. This process is the same one that granted the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine emergency authorization and it seems like the Moderna vaccine will get a green light, which would provide Americans and the world with a second option for a vaccine.

What are the similarities and differences between Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines? CNN did a nice explainer.

Moderna’s vaccines can be stored in a regular freezer, which is logistically easier than Pfizer’s requirement for its vaccines to be stored at about -100 degrees F. Moderna’s vaccines will be better suited for smaller or rural facilities that don’t have the same capabilities as hospitals in major cities.

Pfizer’s vaccines come in 30-microgram doses and have to be administered 21 days apart. Moderna’s vaccine is in a 100-microgram dose and has to be administered 28 days apart.

Both vaccines use mRNA, messenger RNA, to help immune systems build a defense against the coronavirus.

Pfizer’s vaccine is considered safe for people 16 and older, while Moderna’s is safe for those 18 and older.

Both vaccines can cause temporary side effects such as fever, chills, and fatigue.

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Pfizer’s trials found the vaccine to be 95% effective in preventing coronavirus and also reduced severe symptoms of the illness. Moderna is just below 95% and is almost as effective.

The U.S. has ordered 100 million doses of Moderna’s vaccines and added 100 million more orders last week. Once the FDA grants emergency authorization, shipments will immediately begin for the vaccines to arrive by Monday morning.

At the time of signing this news, the FDA has not issued a decision on emergency authorization, but it is expected to do so. The CDC will meet on Saturday to decide if they will allow distribution of the vaccine, and then on Sunday will decide which priority groups will get the vaccines. It is likely that the same groups will be at the top of the list — health care workers and nursing home residents. The next two groups are essential workers such as teachers and police officers and those 65 and older who have health issues that put them at higher risk of death from the coronavirus.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/17/health/moderna-vaccine-what-we-know/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/health/covid-vaccine-fda-moderna.html