NCID Finds Moderna More Effective Booster For Elderly Over 60, It Produces More Antibodies

Moderna Is A More Effective Booster Shot For Adults Older Than 60

When deciding which vaccine booster shot to get, many Singaporeans likely choose whatever the nearest centre administers, without thinking too much about whether it’s Moderna or Pfizer.

While many may assume that both have similar effects, a National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) research argues otherwise.

According to their findings, Moderna could be the better option for the elderly over 60.

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Within that age group, Moderna apparently produces more antibodies than Pfizer. This is crucial because they tend to have lower antibody levels after the primary vaccination series.

Moderna produces 2 times more antibodies than Pfizer

According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), NCID conducted a study of 100 participants who received the Pfizer-BioNTech shots as their primary series of Covid-19 vaccinations.

Half of the participants were older than 60 and the other half were younger than 60.

On Thursday (17 Mar), NCID found that participants over 60 who received Moderna booster shots had stronger antibody responses across all Covid-19 variants of concern.

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7 days after the booster shot, antibody levels were about twice as high in those who took Moderna than those who took Pfizer. On day 28, this number became 1.5.

Participants below 60 years of age meanwhile showed no significant differences.

Differences in side effects from Moderna booster shot

According to The Straits Times (ST), vaccine reactions were common amongst the participants but were mild and short-lived.

Side effects include pain at the injection site within 3 days of the booster, fatigue, and muscle pain.

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However, ST noted that for older participants, those who were administered Moderna as their booster experienced fever and weakness more frequently.

Fortunately, none of the participants experienced serious side effects.

NCID will continue to conduct the study to provide more data on booster shots and antibody levels at the 6-month and 1-year mark.

Staying safe during the pandemic

Efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic have gotten more advanced, including the creation of Pfizer’s Covid-19 tablet.

However, we still have to do our part to protect ourselves and others from the infection.

We hope that those who still have not gotten their booster shots will do so soon, especially if they’re in a high-risk group.

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Featured image adapted from Mufid Majnun on Unsplash and Google Maps.