It is 95% effective one week after receiving the second injection of the vaccine.Īlso, it is crucial to stick with the same vaccine brand. The first shot of the mRNA vaccine can help reduce the chance of getting symptomatic COVID-19 by 52%. This wasn’t specifically studied in clinical trials and the concern is the vaccine may not be as effective as taking it within 19–23 days after the first dose. We won’t know how effective the vaccine is if you receive the second dose more than 23 days after your first dose. After receiving the first shot there is a three week wait time for the second shot while the body primes the immune system. Two Shots Are Better Than OneĮach vaccine requires two shots, and it’s important to get both for maximum effectiveness. All shipments will be monitored with temperature probes to make sure the vaccines don’t spoil. From there, it will be shipped in freezers to clinics around the country. Moderna’s vaccines are being manufactured in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Indiana and shipped in containers at -20 degrees C to the main center for the Federal Government’s Operation Warp Speed, located in Irving, Texas. The Pfizer vaccine is manufactured in Michigan, put in vials and shipped in large thermal containers packed with dry ice to hospitals and clinics. It only enters the cytoplasm, the thick solution that fills each cell.īoth vaccines need to be kept frozen and will be delivered from labs to clinics all over the country using “the cold chain” method. It cannot change our genetics, because it never enters the cell nucleus, the storage house for our genetic code. After delivery of the coded message, the mRNA is quickly and safely degraded by the body. Both a strong antibody and T cell response is needed for a COVID-19 vaccine to be effective. The mRNA vaccine is also shown to produce a strong T cell response, giving it a distinct immunological advantage. If exposed to COVID-19 in the future, vaccine recipients will then have antibodies and specially trained T-cells to protect them. The immune system recognizes the protein as foreign and creates antibodies against it. Our cells then “read” the message, create the encoded protein and display it on the outer cellular membrane. The mRNA vaccine acts as a messenger or recipe card that enters our cells. Instead, it contains a code for a vital protein located on the virus, in this case the COVID-19 spike protein. Unlike traditional vaccines, a mRNA vaccine does not include dead or modified live viral elements. One major similarity of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines: Both are mRNA vaccines, or nucleic-acid based technology that has been studied for decades. How mRNA Vaccines Differ From Traditional Vaccines Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored at the super-cold temperature of minus 70 degrees C, whereas Moderna’s vaccine can be stored in a home freezer. The second shot of the Pfizer vaccine should be taken 21 days after the first, while the second Moderna shot should be taken 28 days after the first shot. Pfizer’s vaccine is recommended for people ages 16 and up, while Moderna’s vaccine is recommended for ages 18 and older. In addition to preventing any illness, those who were vaccinated and still became infected were less likely to develop a severe form of COVID-19. Both are administered intramuscularly, both require two shots, and both yield close to 95% effectiveness in preventing a COVID-19 infection in clinical trials. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are similar in many ways. COVID-19 Vaccines: A New Medical FrontierĪs deaths from COVID-19 surge, the FDA recently approved emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines for COVID-19, and there are several more types of vaccines to fight the pandemic in the works. What are the similarities and differences between the two vaccines? How do they work? How effective are they? What are the side effects? When do I get my shot? We aim to address some of the more pressing issues now. While people are both excited and nervous about what the future holds, there are, understandably, many questions surrounding the vaccines. This month saw the release of two new vaccines designed to combat COVID-19, with plans for more pandemic-fighting vaccines to roll out in the months ahead.
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