Social media users share a meme that attempts to undermine COVID-19 vaccinations by questioning whether it is possible to make a 95% effective coronavirus vaccine within ten months, after 70 years of working on the flu vaccine and still only 40% is effective. However, the two vaccines differ and cannot be directly compared. First, the vaccines are targeted at different viruses, as the flu and COVID-19 have common symptoms, but they are caused by different viruses. Second, the flu vaccine must fight multiple flu viruses that mutate, while the COVID-19 vaccine targets only one virus. Third, there has been an unprecedented global and collaborative effort to promote the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The meme, which has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook (here, here, here, here), shows a photo of Bill Gates holding a vaccine with his face painted like the supervillain “The Joker” and saying, “Believe me honestly that in 70 years of research and development we have an effective flu shot of 40%, but in ten months an effective Rona shot of 95%? “
At time of publication. more than 1.5 million people worldwide and more than 282,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19, according to a Reuters version (here). COVID-19 infections in the United States peaked in early December 2020 with a daily death toll of more than 2,000 (here).
Reuters had earlier dropped claims to compare the COVID-19 vaccine with other vaccines (here) and other claims related to the flu vaccine and coronavirus (here, here).
COMPARATIVE COVID-19 AND FLU
COVID-19 and flu are both contagious respiratory diseases and have some symptoms but are caused by different viruses (here).
Both share symptoms such as cough, fever and fatigue. However, COVID-19 can also cause changes in the sense of taste and smell, and it seems to cause more serious diseases in some people (here).
Influenza is caused by four types of influenza viruses, types A, B, C and D. Influenza A and B viruses such as H1N1 and H3N2 cause seasonal epidemics of the disease (here). COVID-19 is a new disease caused by a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that has not been seen in humans before (here).
EFFECT OF ENTSTOE
Multiple flu viruses usually circulate for one season. As such, the seasonal flu vaccine protects against three or four different flu viruses. In the United States, it is usually an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus and two influenza B viruses in the vaccine (here).
The flu viruses against which the vaccines are protected are determined by research and surveillance that can be predicted for the coming season (here). However, as the CDC explains, the flu viruses are constantly changing, so it is not possible to predict this with certainty (here). To make this task more difficult, experts must choose months in advance which viruses should be included in the vaccine in order to produce and deliver the vaccine on time.
The CDC says that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine may vary, but studies show that it reduces the risk of flu by 40% to 60%. Efficacy depends on the age and health status of the vaccine recipient and the degree of similarity between the vaccine and the flu strain (here, here). When one or more of the circulating viruses differs from the vaccine viruses, the effectiveness of the vaccine is reduced.
The COVID-19 vaccine is targeted at SARS-CoV-2 (here). Initial research suggests that there are at least six strains of SARS-CoV-2, but that the mutation rate is low and that the virus is little variable, making it easier to develop a vaccine (here, here).
Final vaccine trial data showed that the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer Inc and the German partner BioNTech SE was 95% effective without serious side effects (here). Complete results from a late-stage study showed that the coronavirus vaccine from Moderna Inc was 94.1% effective, without serious safety issues (here).
The British AstraZeneca announced an average efficacy rate of 70% for its vaccine and as much as 90% for a subset of test subjects who first received half a dose, followed by a full dose (here).
As of December 2, 51 COVID-19 vaccines were according to clinical evaluation according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and as of November 24, five (including the three outlined above) were in large-scale phase 3 clinical trials. for use in the US (here, here, here).
The first round of vaccinations is expected to be administered in the United States once the COVID-19 vaccines are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, covering Pfizer’s trial data on Dec. 10 and Moderna on Dec. 17 (here).
Pfizer’s trial involved more than 43,000 people; 170 people contracted COVID-19, but 162 of these received a placebo (here). More than 30,000 people were involved in the Moderna trial; 196 volunteers received COVID-19, but 185 of them received a placebo (here).
TIME FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
Vaccines must go through a number of phases before being approved (here).
Scientists have managed to develop an effective vaccine for seasonal flu, but it needs to be renewed every year. This is because the body’s immune protection against vaccination decreases over time and flu viruses constantly mutate, which is why new vaccines are needed every year to adapt to the new strains (here, here). As such, it is not correct to claim that scientists have been working on a single flu vaccine for 70 years.
In fact, a vaccine against one flu strain can be made in a shorter time than it took to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, because flu vaccine manufacturers can use the same process as for the annual seasonal flu vaccine. The coronavirus targeted by the COVID-19 vaccine is new and coronaviruses in humans do not yet have licensed vaccines or processes to build on (here). Scientists were able to make use of knowledge gathered from the development of animal coronavirus vaccines (here) and from early research on vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), caused by coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 (here).
However, this did not slow down progress, as there was a major effort to pool resources to accelerate the development and production of the COVID-19 vaccine (here).
In April 2020, access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator (here) was launched by WHO and partners, bringing together governments, scientists, businesses, civil society, philanthropists and global health organizations to develop and distribute tests to support. treatments and vaccines. Operation Warp Speed was also instituted in the United States to invest and coordinate vaccination efforts to help make and deliver COVID-19 vaccines as quickly as possible (here).
As the WHO explains, in the case of COVID-19, unprecedented financial investment and scientific cooperation have enabled some steps in research and development to take place “in parallel”. They say, for example, that some clinical trials are evaluating multiple vaccines at the same time. The WHO points out that clinical and safety standards are maintained despite the acceleration (here).
VERDICT
Missing context. The flu vaccine is less effective and needs to be redeveloped every year because the vaccine targets several flu viruses that are constantly mutating, while the COVID-19 vaccine targets one coronavirus, even if it is a new one. A global effort has also been made to accelerate the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.