Report: Evidence grows to support COVID vaccine effectiveness
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Evidence is mounting that should encourage those who still remain unvaccinated to get the shot, according to findings in a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study combined data from tens of thousands of patients from nearly 200 hospitals across the country.
The goal was to measure the effectiveness of the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and the one-dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and how they fared at preventing COVID-19 emergency department visits and hospitalizations in people 50 and older.
Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president of data and analytics at the Indianapolis-based Regenstrief Institute, played a pivotal role in executing the study.
“What we found was that Moderna and Pfizer were statistically the same,” Grannis told News 8. “While Moderna’s point estimates were slightly higher statistically they looked the same. Johnson & Johnson, we have less data for, so our estimates for that were a little more uncertain, but the point estimates was in the 70%.”
Pfizer and Moderna were 91% effective at preventing emergency department visits while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 73%. In terms of hospitalizations, Moderna and Pfizer were 89% effective in preventing them with Johnson & Johnson being 68%.
While the absolute numbers between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine may seem like a big difference than the Johnson & Johnson, Grannis says all three vaccines provide a significant amount of protection.
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