Blog

Vaccines and Variants

By Herm Lehman, Professor of Biology

March 10, 2021

The news is good – vaccines against COVID-19 are increasing available, and the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated is rapidly increasing. Thus far, 18 percent of the U.S. population has received one, and 9 percent has received two vaccinations. The percentages are very similar for New York State, and even better in Oneida County (30.1 percent, 16.8 percent).

Three different vaccines are currently available in the U.S. (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson), and a lot of attention has focused on their respective efficacy, defined as measuring how well these vaccines have lowered the chances of getting sick with COVID-19.  The FDA has reported that the overall efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson are 95 percent, 94 percent, and 66 percent respectively. However, each of these vaccines is different in numerous ways and, perhaps most importantly, were tested at different times. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were tested during most of 2020, whereas the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine study did not begin until September. Geographical diversity in the testing programs also varies. The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson study included people from the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil, where mutated variants of the virus are common. This could explain why the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is less efficacious than those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, and it also tells us that these vaccines are likely to be effective against mutant strains.

It is also important to consider that all of the vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, respectively) are virtually equal in preventing severe disease (75 percent, 100 percent, and 85 percent), lowering hospitalization rates (100 percent, 89 percent, and 100 percent), and lowering death rates (100 percent for all three). Thus, all vaccines are effective in preventing serious illness.

In sum, we should not be concerned about which vaccine we receive. When we are eligible (LINK TO: https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/phased-distribution-vaccine#phase-1a---phase-1b>), we should be vaccinated.

Data and information for this post came from CDC, FDA, Oneida County, and NYS Covid web sites and Time Magazine (March 9, 2021).