Moderna Vaccine May Be Better Against Delta Variant Than Pfizer’s: Reuters

Moderna Vaccine May Be More Effective Against Delta Variant Than Pfizer-BioNTech

Conversations are often abuzz with Covid-19 vaccines these days. If we aren’t discussing the side effects, we’d be asking each other which vaccine we took out of curiosity.

With new emerging variants that are significantly more infectious, vaccine efficacy is another hotly debated topic.

Health experts are still studying the mRNA vaccines, and the results continue to surprise us. They recently discovered that Moderna’s vaccine might be more effective against the Delta variant than Pfizer-BioNTech’s.

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Here’s a summary of the latest findings in the United States.

Moderna has 76% effectiveness against Delta variant

According to Reuters, medRxiv reports show Moderna’s mRNA vaccine may be the best against the Delta variant. This means that Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is potentially less effective.

Researchers discovered this in a study involving over 50,000 patients in the Mayo Clinic Health System.

They found that Moderna’s vaccine effectiveness against infection dropped from 86% in early 2021 to 76% last month when the Delta variant was most prevalent.

And in this same period, Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine effectiveness fell to 42%—a 34% drop.

Moderna booster shot may be necessary soon

Reuters reported that both vaccines remain effective at preventing Covid-19 patients from suffering severe illness and getting hospitalised.

However, a Moderna booster shot may be needed “soon” for those who received both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Likelihood of testing positive 5 months after 2nd vaccine dose

Separately, researchers in the United States also found that those who received their 2nd dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over 5 months ago are more vulnerable against Covid-19.

This is in comparison with those who were fully vaccinated less than 5 months ago.

The discovery came after conducting a test on 34,000 fully vaccinated adults in Israel, where 1.8% – or about 612 adults – were confirmed with Covid-19.

Across all ages, a person is likelier to test positive for Covid-19 after receiving the 2nd vaccine dose at least 146 days – or 4.8 months – earlier.

In patients older than 60, the chances of testing positive were almost 3 times higher. The research continues and is pending peer review.

Time to pick a vaccine if you’ve yet to book an appointment

As research is ongoing, recent news suggests that Moderna is the more superior mRNA vaccine so far.

If you have yet to book your jab, this could be the motivation you need to pick a vaccine that you believe in. After all, Singapore authorities have made it easier now for people to walk in at vaccination centres and get jabbed.

Ministers have also highlighted that vaccination is one of the main pillars that would carry Singapore through the pandemic. Let’s do our part by being socially responsible.

Moderna previously said the vaccine has a 93% efficacy for 4-6 months:

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Featured image adapted from Kyodo News.