We’ve ranked the five most popular COVID-19 vaccines on the market by efficacy rate and availability among the handful of approved vaccines and those nearing completion.
Novavax
In the United States, Novavax is conducting a phase 3 trial with its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine. However, the company reported encouraging results from a trial in the United Kingdom on Thursday, demonstrating that the vaccine is 96 percent effective in preventing both the original COVID-19 strain and the U.K. variant B.117. The trial in the United Kingdom has enrolled over 15,000 adult participants, with a quarter of them being over the age of 65. The trial in the United States is expected to conclude this spring, and an FDA approval could come soon after.
Pfizer-BioNTech
According to clinical trial results, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases. More recent real-world data from Israel, where the vaccine has been administered to 90 percent of the population, show that the vaccine is equally effective against asymptomatic cases.
According to Pfizer and BioNTech, their vaccine is 94 percent effective against asymptomatic cases after the second dose. The discovery is significant because the most recent analysis was conducted when more than 80% of Israel’s COVID-19 cases were from the U.K. variant B.117, indicating that the vaccine is highly effective against this variant.
Moderna
The COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna is based on the same biotech platform (messenger RNA) as the Pfizer-BioNTech shots. Data from clinical trials show that Moderna’s vaccine is 94.1 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 cases in people aged 18 and up. People aged 65 and up have a slightly lower efficacy rate.
Moderna, like Pfizer, intends to supply 100 million doses in the United States by the end of March. The pharmaceutical company intends to increase production in the spring and produce 200 million more shots by the summer.
Johnson & Johnson
Among the three authorised vaccines in the United States, J&J’s one-shot vaccine has the lowest average efficacy rate. According to global trial data, the vaccine is only 66% effective at preventing symptomatic cases. (The effectiveness rate in the United States is slightly higher, at 72 percent.) What is important is that the vaccine is highly effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths and is safe for widespread use. (Flu vaccines have an average efficacy rate of 40% to 60%.)
AstraZeneca-Oxford
Despite having a much lower efficacy rate than competitors, AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University, was the first to receive emergency use authorization in the developed world. AstraZeneca’s doses were first administered in the United Kingdom in December of last year. Countries in Europe and Asia quickly followed suit.
Note:- Keep in mind that all approved vaccines are safe for widespread use, and there is no reason to prefer one vaccine over another.