Coronavirus vaccines compare – Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca- On 14th December the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s announced that its vaccine successfully prevented coronavirus infection, 3 candidates appear to be promising vital tools to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week Drug company partners Pfizer and BioNTech and Biotech firm Moderna announced that their vaccines were ready to submit to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization.
Pfizer vaccine is already being administered in the US and another Moderna could be approved for use by the end of the week, and the third AstraZeneca is coming soon. More data will be available in the upcoming weeks when companies take their applications to the Food and Drug Administration.
Till then, here is a closer look at all three coronavirus vaccines based on the limited information presented in company press releases.
Coronavirus Vaccines Compare
| Pfizer | Moderna | AstraZeneca | |
| How it works | Messenger RNA (mRNA) | Messenger RNA (mRNA) | Inactivated cold virus |
| Shots do you need | You need 2 doses, three weeks apart | Two doses, four weeks apart | 2 doses, four weeks apart |
| Side effects | Headache, muscle pain, fatigue, fevers, chills, especially after the second dose.
|
Muscle aches, fever, headaches lasting a few days. Effects worse after the second dose. | Not yet known |
| Safety
|
There are no major safety problems in this vaccine | No concern according to the company | There is no safety concern |
| What % of people did it protect from becoming infected in clinical studies? | 95% in their clinical trials | 94.1% in their clinical trials | 70% in their clinical trials |
| How many Dose will be available | 50 million | 20 million | 3 billion planned for 2021 |
| Availability | Starting 14th Dec, 1.3 billion in 2021 | Starting 21st Dec, 80 million for the US in 2021 | 2021 |
| Approval /expected approval | Granted emergency use authorization on 11th Dec. | Advisory committee meeting17th Dec; approval expected 24 to 48 hours after | Has not submitted an application for emergency use authorization in the U.S. |
Source-www.webmd.com and Online News