Moderna’s vaccine is slightly more effective than Pfizer’s or Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine in preventing hospitalization.
“These real-world data show that vaccines remain highly effective at reducing COVID-19 related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, even in the presence of the new COVID-19 variant,” said study author Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S., Regenstrief Institute vice president for data and analytics and professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. “We strongly recommend vaccinations for all who are eligible to reduce serious illness and ease the burden on our healthcare system.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Vision network analyzed more than 32,000 medial cases from nine stated during the period of June to August 2021, when the Delta variant became the predominant strain. It was found that unvaccinated individuals with Covid-19 are five to seven times more likely to require emergency hospitalization. The Network’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found a stark difference between the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer). According to the study:
- Moderna vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations among adults ages 18 and older.
- Pfizer vaccine was 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations among adults ages 18 and older.
- Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine was 60 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations among adults ages 18 and older.
The study also found that Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness is lower for people 75 years and older, which had not been shown in previous study. When it came to preventing emergency department and urgent care visits, it was found that:
- Moderna vaccine was 92 percent effective.
- Pfizer vaccine was 77 percent effective.
- Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 65 percent effective.
According to study author Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S., Regenstrief Institute vice president for data and analytics and professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, “Despite the differences in effectiveness, vaccines continue to offer much more protection than not getting one at all,” and that “The vast majority of COVID hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among unvaccinated individuals.”
The study has limitations. “This analysis did not consider children, immunocompromised adults, or vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 that did not result in hospitalization,” the team wrote. Plus, the volunteers were only followed for 29 weeks — just over six months.
