New data on coronavirus vaccine effectiveness may be "a wakeup call"
The study found the Pfizer vaccine was only 42% effective against infection in July, when the Delta variant was dominant. "If that's not a wakeup call, I don't know what is," a senior Biden official told Axios.
The study, conducted by nference and the Mayo Clinic, compared the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the Mayo Clinic Health System over time from January to July.
Overall, it found that the Moderna vaccine was 86% effective against infection over the study period, and Pfizer's was 76%. Moderna's vaccine was 92% effective against hospitalization and Pfizer's was 85%.
But the vaccines' effectiveness against infection dropped sharply in July, when the Delta variant's prevalence in Minnesota had risen to over 70%.
Moderna was 76% effective against infection, and Pfizer was only 42% effective. [AGAINST DELTA]
The study found similar results in other states. For example, in Florida, the risk of infection in July for people fully vaccinated with Moderna was about 60% lower than for people fully vaccinated with Pfizer.
Although it has yet to be peer-reviewed, the study raises serious questions about both vaccines' long-term effectiveness, particularly Pfizer's.
It's unclear whether the results signify a reduction in effectiveness over time, a reduced effectiveness against Delta, or a combination of both.
“Based on the data that we have so far, it is a combination of both factors," said Venky Soundararajan, a lead author of the study. "The Moderna vaccine is likely — very likely — more effective than the Pfizer vaccine in areas where Delta is the dominant strain, and the Pfizer vaccine appears to have a lower durability of effectiveness.”
Yes, but: There has been no data so far that has found either vaccine's protection against severe disease and death is significantly less against Delta...
“This is the kind of surprising finding that needs confirmation before we should accept its validity," said Cornell virologist John Moore.
[Okay...First of all, Moore, fuck you. It is not surprising. More importantly (and you're hearing this from me now) we have to cut the drug makers some slack here. COVID-19 is unique in serious ways: its deadliness, its contagiousness, its ability to mutate. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were tasked with developing a vaccine in record time in 2020 against the original COVID-19 strain. They did. And their vaccines worked just as the doctor ordered against original COVID-19 and all other strains prior to Delta. The vaccines had a shelf life it is now apparent, particularly Pfizer's. How was Pfizer to know? Isn't that something you just have to see about? When Pfizer themselves advocated boosters the Biden administration countered harshly that the need was not shown. Most importantly, neither Pfizer nor Moderna could have predicted Delta. Yes, Moderna is more effective against Delta than Pfizer but I mean, my God, give them a break. I place blame on ponderous CDC for letting Delta lap them. Now what is the Bidens/CDC's messaging going to be? Forever, it was VACCINES! VACCINES! VACCINES! The evidence was there, ladies and gentlemen--the exponential rise of Delta in June, the shocking character of the breakthroughs in Provincetown, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Mesa County. CDC hid data as Official Washington and lackeys among professionals like John Moore and in the Fourth Estate kept singing the tinny same tune, more and more off-key by the day. It has been scandalous.]
In a statement, Pfizer said it and BioNTech "expect to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days after a decision to do so, subject to regulatory approval."
[Who has to make the "decision to do so"?]
