Written by: Zeynep Demirag | Edited by: Zainab Bhatti and Nicole Xu

COVID-19 Vaccines: Moderna vs. Pfizer-BioNTech 

Researchers currently have 67 vaccines under clinical trials, in which 20 of them have made it to the last step to be considered safe in humans. The different types of vaccines effective against COVID-19 include mRNA, protein, and inactivated vaccines. Although protein and inactivated vaccines are effective and approved in other countries, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are currently the only two vaccines that have passed clinical trials and have been approved in the US. These two vaccines are similar in terms of technology and time-line, but they also differ in certain ways. 

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are both mRNA vaccines, which is a technology used to protect against COVID-19 infectious disease and to trigger an immune response. mRNA vaccines do not put a weakened or inactivated pathogen into our bodies like other COVID-19 vaccines approved in other countries. Rather, mRNA vaccines encode proteins that are then manufactured by the cells to make a protein, or peptide, to trigger an immune response (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases). Moreover, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are two doses. The Moderna vaccine comes in two separate 100 microgram doses that are given 28 days apart, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comes in two doses of 30 micrograms given 21 days apart. Moderna vaccines showed 94.1% efficacy rate and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine showed 95% efficacy rate in a 38,000-person trial. 

In terms of differences, the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine had a clinical trial with younger people aged 16 and older. Consequently, their vaccines are approved for 16-year olds and older.  The Moderna vaccine, on the other hand, had a clinical trial with participants aged 18 years and older, so Moderna vaccines have been approved for people aged 18-years and older. Moreover, storage protocol for the two vaccines differ. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are stored at -94 degrees Fahrenheit, while Moderna vaccines are stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, Moderna vaccines can be stored in a home freezer for 30 days, while Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines can be kept in a home freezer for only 5 days before they expire. The last difference between these two vaccines is that Pfizer-BioNTech developed the vaccine independently, while Moderna developed it in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (Anderson). 

There is no current evidence that mRNA vaccines cause or intensify autoimmune disease (Diamond). Lastly, both of these vaccines will not be affecting the DNA of your cells or cause your immune system to attack your own cells. These vaccines are going to protect you from coronavirus by entering your system. Though long term side effects of mRNA vaccines are theoretical. Furthering this point, Betty Diamond, an immunologist and rheumatologist at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research of Northwell Health, states that: “At the moment there’s every reason to suggest that people with autoimmune diseases ought to get either of these vaccines when they get rolled out” (Diamond). Overall, COVID-19 vaccination will be an essential tool to prevent the spread of the virus and to help stop the pandemic; therefore, everyone with or without underlying condition will have the best protection against the COVID-19 infectious disease.

Bibliography:

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). “Understanding MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 December 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html#:~:text=mRNA%20vaccines%20are%20a%20new,that%20triggers%20an%20immune%20response.

Anderson, Maia. “Pfizer-BioNTech vs Moderna Vaccines.” Becker’s Hospital Review, 28 December 2020, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/pfizer-vs-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-what-s-the-same-what-s-different.html

Diamond, Betty. “COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ: Safety, Side Effects, Efficacy.” WebMD, 22 January 2021, www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20201217/covid-19-vaccine-faq-safety-side-effects-efficacy#:~:text=Betty%20Diamond%2C%20MD%2C%20an%20immunologist,for%20people%20with%20such%20conditions.