One COVID Vaccine Held Up Best Over Time, CDC Study Suggests

In terms of preventing COVID-related hospitalizations, the two-dose mRNA vaccines from Pfizer (Comirnaty) and Moderna offered the best protection upfront and over time, a case-control analysis involving data from 21 U.S. hospitals showed.

From March to August 2021, the vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 hospitalizations landed at 93% for the Moderna vaccine, 88% for Pfizer’s, and 71% for Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J), reported Wesley Self, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues, writing in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

After 120 days from the time of vaccination, however, Moderna’s VE against hospitalization only dipped to 92%, a non-significant decline, while Pfizer’s dropped to 77% (P<0.001).