Coronavirus vaccine: Pfizer vs Moderna vs Astrazeneca, which is the better COVID-19 vaccine right now?
Pfizer vs Moderna vs Astrazeneca, which is the better vaccine right now?
COVID-19 vaccine inoculations have started rolling out for priority groups in the UK, US, Canada and are expected to start soon in India as well, getting us closer to the end of the pandemic.
Which is the best vaccine suited for India?
As countries worldwide prepare to receive doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and make necessary arrangements in this historic move, all candidates right now, Pfizer-BionTech, Oxford-Astrazeneca and Moderna Inc. have emerged frontrunners. But, there are important differences which set them apart.
We compare the top three vaccines in front of us right now:
Efficacy rates
Moderna became the latest vaccine maker to roll out strong efficacy rates from its observatory study. An efficacy rate determines the workability of a vaccine in a population, under clinical settings. As per figures, Moderna's mRNA model provides 94% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID and reducing the severity of the infection. There is also some evidence to suggest that the vaccine would be able to prevent asymptomatic transmission as well, which made it win FDA nods.
Pfizer, meanwhile, was one of the first ones to suggest high efficacy rates, upwards of 91% in early studies. It also guarantees 95% protection under lab settings. A lot more data which be made clear after the first phase of inoculation wrap up.
Oxford-Astrazeneca, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in India carries an efficacy rate of 70%, which could be scaled up to 90% as part of two-dose regimes.
Pricing
Pricing is an important aspect which will determine how accessible a vaccine would be for the public.
Right now, a lot of vaccination drives are being administered free-of-cost for people, and many are priced under pandemic policy rates. However, out of the three right now, Pfizer's candidate is the steepest one right now, costing $20 per dose. Moderna's make comes up to cost somewhere around $15-$17 per dose.
In comparison to the two mRNA makes, Oxford-Astrazeneca' shot is by far the cheapest vaccine under offering, with reports speculating that a dose of the vaccine could cost the public as little as $5- $6 (Rs.1000). The vaccine makers have also signed pacts with international vaccine federations and WHO to offer further discounts for developing nations and make it accessible for all.
Newer reports also suggest that with Pfizer hoping to secure clinical approval nods in India, the prices of its model may be scaled down to suit the need and synchronize production.
Side-effects
Side-effects are always resultant of vaccination jabs. However, rarely are they adverse or life-threatening.
Both Moderna and Pfizer-BionTech haven't reported the occurrence of undue or alarming side-effects amongst volunteer groups who have been administered the vaccine in trials. Neither have reports of adverse reactions emerged from people who have been vaccinated right now. The only side-effects which have been reported right now are possible chills, fever, muscle aches and temporary inflammatory responses, which are routine.
In comparison to this, the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine has been surrounded by controversies in the past months with the many 'strange' side-effects being reported from volunteers. While the scientists maintain that none of the complications or side-effects is adverse in nature, only one patient who received the Oxford AstraZeneca jab had a “serious side effect possibly related” to the injection, according to the data in The Lancet. If at all, the side-effects with the Oxford dose are mild, reactogenic in nature.
Storage and shelf-life
Storage and shelf-life are important factors to determine how effective a vaccine would be in real-world settings. Given the demographically diverse climates, geography and cold-storage solutions, gaps and irregularities could hinder the administration and render doses ineffective, such as the one Pfizer faced in the early weeks post regulatory clearance.
Many experts claimed that Pfizer's vaccine model won't be well-suited for developing nations, since it requires extreme temperature settings to be stored in and additional shipping ingredients. The vaccine jab can also be stored for use for upto 5 days time in a regular refrigerator, for 30 days in a dry-ice freezer, or 6 months time in ultra-cold freezers, which aren't feasible to arrange everywhere. Moderna faces similar challenges, but is slightly less expensive to ship and can stay stable for a longer time, as compared to Pfizer.
Oxford's dose meanwhile, wins the round hands down. Since it's a vaccine prepared using traditional settings, it can be stored for use for longer months, easily delivered and administered.
Dosage and administration
Pfizer's vaccine works on a two-dose schedule, administered two-three weeks apart to garner the most protection rates. The same schedule works for Moderna's mRNA vaccine model. Oxford vaccine also works best on a two-dose regime given, spaced two weeks apart.
While first doses may provide some level of protection, a person would be considered fully safe from COVID-19 if all the shots are administered. Booster shots may also be required by certain groups of people, but that's something which hasn't been discussed in the first phase of inoculation.