There Are Three COVID Vaccines Now and They Are All Good
This weekend, the FDA authorized another COVID-19 vaccine , bringing the total number of variants in the US to three. While there are subtle differences between the three vaccines, they all appear to be safe and effective, and experts recommend that you get any of them.
What’s the new vaccine?
New – Johnson & Johnson / Janssen vaccine. Unlike previous vaccines, this vaccine only requires one dose, not two, and can be stored and transported at refrigerator temperature. Both of these features make administration more convenient.
While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were mRNA-based , the J&J vaccines use a different new technology. Instead of RNA inside the lipid bladder, it delivers DNA inside a harmless virus (an adenovirus modified so that it cannot replicate).
This piece of DNA does not alter your real genome. It just swims around for a bit before being destroyed. Meanwhile, your cells are reading it; it contains the coronavirus thorn protein recipe. We manufacture a spike protein that triggers an immune response.
Although this type of vaccine is new, it is not the first of its kind. J&J launched the Ebola vaccine, which was approved in Europe last year , using the same technology.
Is it less efficient?
This vaccine was less effective than Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, but it is important to note that this does not mean lower actual efficacy.
The J&J vaccine efficacy averaged 66% in the trial, with 72% efficacy in the US and 57% in South Africa. Pfizer and Moderna have shown efficiency around 95%. Each trial diagnosed COVID cases slightly differently, so they don’t necessarily measure the same thing.
But importantly, both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were tested before any of the latter options were circulated. The J&J vaccine is known to provide some protection against the South African variant, as it was the dominant strain in South Africa at the time of the trial, and also against the Brazilian variant that circulated in the Brazilian portion of the trial. If the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were tested under the same circumstances, we do not know if they will retain their high efficacy rates.
Bottom line, all three are good
All three vaccines are proven to be excellent at preventing death and hospitalization. This is the most important challenge for any COVID vaccine, and all three of our options do a great job. This is why experts advise getting any vaccine possible in the first place.
This insightful article in Kaiser Health News can help you make that decision. In addition to not being able to directly compare efficacy rates, the article points out that J&J vaccine also has milder side effects, so it may be a better option for older and sicker people. And because J&J is easier to administer, it may be that vaccination clinics administering the J&J vaccine will become more accessible to more people.
Here’s another option – an opinion on USA Today written by a group of doctors and scientists . They note that all vaccines are 100% effective in preventing death from COVID and add: “Waiting for a more effective vaccine is actually the worst thing you can do to reduce your risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. “
This article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine summarizes that a less effective vaccine introduced earlier saves more lives than waiting for a better performing vaccine.
In the end, you won’t do yourself any good if you give up one vaccine in order to take risks with another. The more people we can vaccinate, the faster we will all be protected.