Since many Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments are shifting to doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines following a recommended break in Illinois and Chicago, what can those expecting once on the single vaccine?
Although the break in the J&J vaccine is likely to be only temporary, the city and state have already switched many vaccination clinics and events to one of the available vaccinations.
White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said Sunday he believes the U.S. is likely to resume use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as early as this week, although it may be accompanied by a warning or restriction.
Here’s an outline of the Pfizer and Modern vaccines, their potential side effects and how effective they are.
What is an mRNA vaccine?
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines differ from traditional vaccines in the use of mRNA.
Instead of introducing an attenuated or inactivated germ into your body, this vaccine injects mRNA, the genetic material that our cells read to make proteins, into your upper arm muscle. It teaches your body how to make the protein that causes antibody production, so if the actual virus enters your body later, your immune system will recognize it, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How effective are the Pfizer and Modern COVID vaccines?
Questions about vaccine efficacy have been linked to an increase in the distribution of several COVID variants.
So far, studies show that the vaccines currently in use can recognize the emerging variants – but it may not offer as much protection against the new strains.
However, Pfizer’s latest results indicate that the vaccine is effective against the coronavirus variant that first emerged in South Africa.
“These data also provide the first clinical results that can effectively protect a vaccine against variants currently in circulation, a critical factor in achieving herd immunity and ending the pandemic for the world population,” said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in a statement.
Moderna, citing data from the phase three clinic trial, reports that the COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective against COVID and more than 95% effective against serious diseases up to six months after the second dose, the company said .
Enhancers and new versions of vaccines targeting the variants are already being investigated.
Pfizer-BioNTech is testing a third shot of its vaccine on people who have been fully vaccinated. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said people are likely to need a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine within 12 months of being fully vaccinated.
“The flexibility of our own mRNA vaccine platform enables us to develop technical vaccines within a few weeks, if necessary,” said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, in a release.
Late last month, the National Institutes of Health began testing a new COVID vaccine from Moderna to protect against a variant first discovered in South Africa. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, told CNBC that the company hopes to make a shotgun available for its two-dose vaccine in the fall.
But what about the variants?
In clinical trials, Moderna’s vaccine reported 94.1% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in people receiving both doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is believed to be 95% effective.
A new CDC study reported that a single dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID vaccine was 80% effective in preventing infections. The number rose to 90% two weeks after the second dose, the study on vaccinated health workers showed.
“These findings indicate that authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of symptom status, among working-age adults in actual circumstances,” the U.S. agency wrote in the study. “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all eligible individuals.”
It is not known if any of the vaccines prevent the spread of the virus by people who are asymptomatic.
Monica Hendrickson, public health administrator of the Peoria County Department of Health, noted that the vaccines each have a high efficacy against death and serious coronavirus disease.
“So you are really looking at a distinction that from a clinical point of view, or from, you know, an epidemiological point of view is very small compared to what we really hope, which is decrease in death and decrease in serious diseases, where they all match the three vaccines, “Hendrickson said.” The most important thing, though, is that if you have one of these, you can get one of them. “
Hendrickson’s message reflects one made by Dr. Marina Del Rios, an emergency medicine specialist at the University of Illinois-Chicago, during NBC’s “Vaccinated State” panel.
” Part of my message to the community was that the vaccines on the market are equally effective and equally safe, ” Del Rios said. ‘The best vaccine you can get is the one you can get first, and get vaccinated earlier. , rather than later, we are protecting ourselves and also our community, which has been so terribly devastated by this virus. ”
What are the possible side effects?
Side effects are possible after receiving any COVID vaccine currently being administered in the US
Experiencing side effects is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is a sign that your body is reacting.
“The good news for us is that a quick response equals an effective response,” he said. Mark Loafman, chair of family and community medicine for Cook County Health in Illinois, told NBC 5. “It tells us that the vaccine works. Our body produces a robust immune response and we feel that it is a positive thing. We therefore tend to see that the vaccines with a higher effectiveness have more so-called side effects or symptoms. , because it works so well. “
According to Pfizer, approximately 3.8% of their clinical trial participants experienced fatigue as a side effect and 2% had headaches.
Moderna says 9.7% of their participants felt tired and 4.5% had headaches.
The CDC reports that the most common side effects are at the injection site. These include:
Common side effects in the body include:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Cold Fever
- Fever
- Nausea
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people to be detained for 15 minutes after vaccination, and those with a history of other allergies for 30 minutes so that they can be monitored and treated immediately if they respond.
Are side effects more likely after the first or second dose?
With the two-dose vaccines, people will be more likely to report side effects after their second dose, experts said.
According to the CDC, side effects after your second survey may be “more intense than those you experienced after your first survey.”
“These side effects are normal signs that your body is building up protection and should disappear within a few days,” says the CDC.
In trials of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, more people experienced side effects after the second dose.
But that does not mean you should not get the second chance if you get to your first side effects, experts say.
“When people receive the second dose, they receive the second enhancer to achieve maximum efficacy,” said Dr. Edward Cachay, an infectious disease specialist at UCSD, said.
The CDC also noted that both shots were needed.
“The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Modern COVID-19 vaccine both need two shots to get the most protection,” the CDC said. “You should get the second shot, even if you have side effects after the first shot, unless a vaccination provider or your doctor tells you not to get it.”
Are some people more likely to experience side effects?
There are also factors that make you more likely to experience side effects.
Chicago’s top doctor said Thursday that younger people are more likely to experience side effects because younger people have a more robust immune system.
And according to Loafman, the body’s immune system creates the symptoms.
“It’s just a reflection of the immune response, just like we have when we get sick,” he said.
Arwady also noted that women are more likely to report side effects than men.
“Some of this is because women may just be better reporters … but there’s probably something real about it too, because something else that’s interesting to those who may not know as much about immunity is that autoimmune diseases? Many, many more probably in women, too, ‘Arwady said. “And even the, like, more serious like the allergic reactions, the more serious allergic reactions? More likely in women. ”
Why is this?
Arwady said that estrogen can increase immune responses, while testosterone can decrease it. At the same time, she noted that ‘many of your immunomodulatory genes’ may live on an ‘x’ chromosome, of which women have two, while men have one.
“So there are all these reasons that immunity in general goes a little higher in women than in men,” she said. “And so we see women, a little more likely to report some of the side effects.”
Data from the CDC also reported that women have more side effects than men, according to monitoring from the first month of vaccinations.
From December 14 to January 13, more than 79 percent of the side effects were reported by women, the data showed. Meanwhile, women received approximately 61.2 percent of the doses administered during the same period.
Side effects can also vary depending on whether or not you have had coronavirus.
“We’re more likely to see people report some side effects because it works a bit like a booster dose for your immune system,” Arwady said. “Your immune system has already learned from the lessons how to protect itself, not in such a long way not so protective.”
“It’s probably also the booster effect,” Arwady said.
Loafman agrees.
“If you had COVID a while ago or already have some immunity, it’s more like an enhancer,” he said. “And boosters for some people are completely asymptomatic, boosters for other people cause their immune response to it, so they have inflammation with it.”
But it is not negative to get side effects, say health experts.
“If you do not get side effects, it does not mean that you are not protected,” Arwady said. “I really want to be clear about that.”
According to Loafman, it simply means’ your body has not reacted with so much inflammatory response.
“You’re still making antibodies,” he said.
According to Loafman, each person’s response is unique.
“It’s really just a reflection of how unique each of our systems is, what other immunities we have,” he said. ‘You know, a lot of the antibodies cross-react and we have cross-reactivity, so it’s really a mosaic. Each of our immune systems is a mosaic composition of everything we’ve been through and everything we’ve had and everything we’ve had recently. Our individual response varies. Everyone gets the right immune response. ‘