On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new study that suggests the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shows better long-term protection against hospitalization than Pfizer, according to Medical Xpress.
CDC researchers looked at 3,689 adults who were hospitalized with severe COVID infection between March 11 and August 15, 2021. During this time, the highly contagious Delta variant become the most dominating strain in the United States.
Overall, nearly 13% were fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine, 20% were vaccinated with Pfizer, and only 3.1% were vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
The researchers found that the Moderna vaccine was 93% effective against hospitalization, while Pfizer and J&J were 88% and 68% effective, respectively.
Pfizer’s vaccine efficacy against hospitalization waned over time, falling from 91% in 14 to 120 days after vaccination to 77% in more than 120 days after vaccination, according to Medical Xpress. By comparison, the Moderna vaccine’s efficacy fell from 93% to 92% in the same period.
The CDC study also looked at the levels of different types of antibodies induced by the vaccines, which were taken from 100 volunteers.
The researchers found that Moderna elicited higher levels of antibodies than Pfizer and J&J for a key part of the virus’ spike protein.
Previous studies have also shown that the Moderna COVID vaccine is slightly better than the Pfizer vaccine. However, the reasons are not fully clear. The researchers believe that it could be because of the high dosage levels.
The investigators also believe that dosing interval could also be one of the reasons, as the Pfizer shots are given three weeks apart, while the Moderna jabs are given four weeks apart.
Meanwhile, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel has rejected booster shots for the general public, but it has proposed to recommend a third dose for people aged 65 and above, and those who are at a high risk of developing severe illness.
However, the FDA is yet to take a call on this proposal.
