Researchers have blessed us with Covid-19 vaccines in record time—the process could have taken them 10 to 15 years, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in less than a year. Before 2020, the fastest-ever vaccine—for mumps—took 4 years to develop in the 1960s.
Both of these shots achieve the same result: they help our bodies to develop immunity to the virus that causes Covid-19 without us having to get the illness. There are, however, slight differences between them.
Health expert Amanda Howell has published a comprehensive presentation, inviting everyone to take a closer look at the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and get a better understanding of the way leading out of this horrific pandemic.
More info: Instagram | Twitter
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
According to medical experts, allergic reactions from vaccines are rare, but can sometimes happen. In the first data available since authorized immunizations began in the U.S. in December, the CDC reported 353 adverse events (roughly 1.9 million doses have been served nationwide).
Still, the FDA said it was looking into allergic reactions that happened after people were given Pfizer’s vaccine. Doran Fink, deputy director of the FDA’s division of vaccines and related product applications, said the agency will consider whether additional recommendations on the vaccines are needed after the investigation.
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
You could say this presentation was Howell’s passion project. She has a master’s degree in public health and owns a health consulting company; Amanda works primarily in the health education and communication space and finds absolute joy in taking complex scientific topics and making them easier to understand and more enjoyable to look at. Instagram is the main place to find her fun, informative posts on a wide range of health topics.
“My post started as a comparison between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and quickly turned into an easily-digestible source of Covid-19 vaccine information,” Howell told Bored Panda. “My community looks to me as an expert in matters of public health and they had questions about the differences between the two. Moreover, not many people understand mRNA technology or research in this area spanning decades. Making one of my classic ‘swipe posts’ has always been an incredibly easy way for me to get information about important topics out to my community quickly.”
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
Image credits: amandahowellhealth
In terms of effectiveness for Covid-19 and use in the general public, Howell thinks both of these vaccines are on the same playing field and equally amazing. “Neither is more preferable than the other. My recommendation is to get whatever one is offered to you as soon as possible. From a storage perspective, Moderna is less complicated for health organizations because it doesn’t require an ultra-cold freezer for storage,” she explained.
Given the fact that there is a lot of scary-sounding misinformation online regarding vaccines, mRNA technology, and health, Howell advises people to get their information from the experts.
“‘Digital pandemics’ (the viral spread of misinformation online) are a massive public health issue. Experts in public health are working hard to combat misinformation, much of this is done on our time (for free). We don’t have any agenda other than protecting the health and wellness of our communities,” she added.
People have been really thankful for the comparison
"Could kill you" vs. "Won't kill you". "Could feel horrific for weeks or months or years" vs "Could feel bad for a day". Hmmmm.... tough call /s
Is Islander Cowboy trying to claim that the vaccine has a 1% kill rate? It looks like it, but I haven't heard of a single death from it - has anybody else? A google search revealed only this article about misinformation: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/12/16/covid-19-vaccine-death-rumor-fact-check-alabama-nurse-rumors/3932335001/
Parmeisan ?
Well I'm not an idiot. Of course, I'm happy that they've found vaccines, but my husband who is in the high risk group doesn't want to vaccinate because he already had an anaphylactic shock caused by antibiotics few years ago and it's quite possible that the vaccine does the same, as some cases show. So yes, it can kill you. I'm not an expert but I'm surprised that they didn't consider the undesired reaction of the immune system. Allergies are not rare in this time and age.
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the Sars-Cov2 virus has a 1% chance of mutating into the Covid Disease. So if there is a 99% chance that Sars-Cov2 of becoming a fatal disease, and the world is panicking over 1%, then the vaccine should only KILL about 1% of the planet.. right.. 1% of 7.8 billion = 7,800,0000
78 million. Your comma is in the wrong place. Also, the current IFR (infection fatality rate) estimates are closer to 0.5% so it would be closer to 39 million. Also, I don't get what your "mutating into the Covid disease" means??? If you are exposed to Sars-Cov2, you have the Covid disease. Whether you are symptomatic or merely infectious, you have the disease. This is not like HIV positive vs. having AIDS. But, as the article says, surviving is not the same as thriving. MANY people experience serious and debilitating symptoms. And some people have after-effects that persist for months (and possible much longer).
@Islander Cowboy, if I can clarify? It doesn't mutate. It causes disease, of differing severity in different populations and age groups. Also, Covid's actual mortality rate is up to 5% in some areas/populations. The consequences of surviving infection is called "morbidity". It may kill you years later from issues like heart damage, which is seen in young healthy adults, for pity's sake. I hold an MD, but am not a practicing doctor. I do, however, work with Covid patients and their families. Also, the OP was misunderstood. A 99% survival rate in vaccines is used b/c you never in medicine say 100% ----- but we do know over 330K US citizens alone have died in 2020 of this disease. Globally, the death toll is as of today about 1.8 MILLION people, with about 82 MILLION infected ---- and each survivor has a chance of debilitating long-term problems even if they only had moderate disease symptoms. Peace.
??? The average worldwide death rate from Covid-19 is 3%, not 1%. And where the heck are you getting this "mutating" notion from? It doesn't have to mutate to kill someone or make them extremely ill.
"It has a 99% survival rate"? Some cancers do too. Nobody takes those lightly. Also, COVID has all those weird random easter eggs like hearing loss and "COVID toes".
People who say, but only x% of people die, ignore that fact that, plus up to 40% chance of organ damage, and 1/4 of Covid patients still exhausted or showing symptoms for more than a month (long Covid).
It's actually a 97% survival rate worldwide (average). I really don't know where people get this "99%" figure from. Plus, even people who aren't killed by it are sometimes still having problems months later. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
the survival rate is only 97% those who claim otherwise are innumerate
I believe it's 99% for the healthiest demographics. Which, when people focus on it exclusively, implies that they don't care about the lives of people who face a higher risk.
It depends on how you divvy up the data. People over 65 have a mortality rate of approximately 17% whereas under 5 years old is approximately 0.3% fatal. Anyone claiming a "97% survival rate" is more innumerate.
Craig Silberman easy
Actually, as Henry Tuttle pointed out, this is how statistics are made into lies. We also don't have accurate case fatality rates and infection fatality rates, for reasons as pointed out by HT, but also b/c some nations are cooking their numbers, if not outright lying about their rates of infection, mortality rates, etc.
You have CASE fatality rate and INFECTION fatality rate mixed up. CFR depends on how many people get tested. If 10 people end up in the hospital and half of them die and ONLY THOSE PEOPLE are tested for Covid like in the early days, the rate is 50%. That doesn't mean that the IFR is 50%, it means there's not enough testing. The CFR is an exact percentage based on the number who die vs. the number who are tested. The IFR is an estimated number based on the number who die vs. the number we THINK were Covid positive. This can come from anti-body testing after the fact, widespread random testing, etc. As long as not every person who has the disease gets tested, the CFR will never equal the actual IFR (which is also not going to be correct until everyone is tested before or after but will likely be close due to asymptomatic). The current IFR estimates by every scientist (who intelligent people claim to follow and who are not "innumerate") is that the IFR is about 0.5% (or 1/200).
Actually the Moderna one can be stored up to three days at 38f, that is the long term storage temp. Pfizers temp that cold is for both long and short term. So while on paper Pfizers is slightly better, uses less dosages, etc, Moderna's one is better for distribution given that is can be stored short term in a standard fridge and long term in a regular commercial freezer unlike Pfizers which requires special equipment. Rural areas and developing nations the Moderna one is better, big cities in Developed countries Pfizers would be the better option.
Exactly. Moderna will be far more accessible in rural America, for example, whereas Pfizer's might be much easier to find if you live near a huge medical center in a medium to large city. I'm rural. I'll end up with Moderna's, is my guess. We can't afford new freezers at our local hospital!
The VA hospitals are getting both. One hospital near me in Los Angeles has the Pfizer, while the other one in Long Beach has the Moderna! Waiting to be notified that we can get it....
Good to know, @BrandyGrote. Of course, we're not on the list till.... uh.... yeah, never mind.
"Could kill you" vs. "Won't kill you". "Could feel horrific for weeks or months or years" vs "Could feel bad for a day". Hmmmm.... tough call /s
Is Islander Cowboy trying to claim that the vaccine has a 1% kill rate? It looks like it, but I haven't heard of a single death from it - has anybody else? A google search revealed only this article about misinformation: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/12/16/covid-19-vaccine-death-rumor-fact-check-alabama-nurse-rumors/3932335001/
Parmeisan ?
Well I'm not an idiot. Of course, I'm happy that they've found vaccines, but my husband who is in the high risk group doesn't want to vaccinate because he already had an anaphylactic shock caused by antibiotics few years ago and it's quite possible that the vaccine does the same, as some cases show. So yes, it can kill you. I'm not an expert but I'm surprised that they didn't consider the undesired reaction of the immune system. Allergies are not rare in this time and age.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
the Sars-Cov2 virus has a 1% chance of mutating into the Covid Disease. So if there is a 99% chance that Sars-Cov2 of becoming a fatal disease, and the world is panicking over 1%, then the vaccine should only KILL about 1% of the planet.. right.. 1% of 7.8 billion = 7,800,0000
78 million. Your comma is in the wrong place. Also, the current IFR (infection fatality rate) estimates are closer to 0.5% so it would be closer to 39 million. Also, I don't get what your "mutating into the Covid disease" means??? If you are exposed to Sars-Cov2, you have the Covid disease. Whether you are symptomatic or merely infectious, you have the disease. This is not like HIV positive vs. having AIDS. But, as the article says, surviving is not the same as thriving. MANY people experience serious and debilitating symptoms. And some people have after-effects that persist for months (and possible much longer).
@Islander Cowboy, if I can clarify? It doesn't mutate. It causes disease, of differing severity in different populations and age groups. Also, Covid's actual mortality rate is up to 5% in some areas/populations. The consequences of surviving infection is called "morbidity". It may kill you years later from issues like heart damage, which is seen in young healthy adults, for pity's sake. I hold an MD, but am not a practicing doctor. I do, however, work with Covid patients and their families. Also, the OP was misunderstood. A 99% survival rate in vaccines is used b/c you never in medicine say 100% ----- but we do know over 330K US citizens alone have died in 2020 of this disease. Globally, the death toll is as of today about 1.8 MILLION people, with about 82 MILLION infected ---- and each survivor has a chance of debilitating long-term problems even if they only had moderate disease symptoms. Peace.
??? The average worldwide death rate from Covid-19 is 3%, not 1%. And where the heck are you getting this "mutating" notion from? It doesn't have to mutate to kill someone or make them extremely ill.
"It has a 99% survival rate"? Some cancers do too. Nobody takes those lightly. Also, COVID has all those weird random easter eggs like hearing loss and "COVID toes".
People who say, but only x% of people die, ignore that fact that, plus up to 40% chance of organ damage, and 1/4 of Covid patients still exhausted or showing symptoms for more than a month (long Covid).
It's actually a 97% survival rate worldwide (average). I really don't know where people get this "99%" figure from. Plus, even people who aren't killed by it are sometimes still having problems months later. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
the survival rate is only 97% those who claim otherwise are innumerate
I believe it's 99% for the healthiest demographics. Which, when people focus on it exclusively, implies that they don't care about the lives of people who face a higher risk.
It depends on how you divvy up the data. People over 65 have a mortality rate of approximately 17% whereas under 5 years old is approximately 0.3% fatal. Anyone claiming a "97% survival rate" is more innumerate.
Craig Silberman easy
Actually, as Henry Tuttle pointed out, this is how statistics are made into lies. We also don't have accurate case fatality rates and infection fatality rates, for reasons as pointed out by HT, but also b/c some nations are cooking their numbers, if not outright lying about their rates of infection, mortality rates, etc.
You have CASE fatality rate and INFECTION fatality rate mixed up. CFR depends on how many people get tested. If 10 people end up in the hospital and half of them die and ONLY THOSE PEOPLE are tested for Covid like in the early days, the rate is 50%. That doesn't mean that the IFR is 50%, it means there's not enough testing. The CFR is an exact percentage based on the number who die vs. the number who are tested. The IFR is an estimated number based on the number who die vs. the number we THINK were Covid positive. This can come from anti-body testing after the fact, widespread random testing, etc. As long as not every person who has the disease gets tested, the CFR will never equal the actual IFR (which is also not going to be correct until everyone is tested before or after but will likely be close due to asymptomatic). The current IFR estimates by every scientist (who intelligent people claim to follow and who are not "innumerate") is that the IFR is about 0.5% (or 1/200).
Actually the Moderna one can be stored up to three days at 38f, that is the long term storage temp. Pfizers temp that cold is for both long and short term. So while on paper Pfizers is slightly better, uses less dosages, etc, Moderna's one is better for distribution given that is can be stored short term in a standard fridge and long term in a regular commercial freezer unlike Pfizers which requires special equipment. Rural areas and developing nations the Moderna one is better, big cities in Developed countries Pfizers would be the better option.
Exactly. Moderna will be far more accessible in rural America, for example, whereas Pfizer's might be much easier to find if you live near a huge medical center in a medium to large city. I'm rural. I'll end up with Moderna's, is my guess. We can't afford new freezers at our local hospital!
The VA hospitals are getting both. One hospital near me in Los Angeles has the Pfizer, while the other one in Long Beach has the Moderna! Waiting to be notified that we can get it....
Good to know, @BrandyGrote. Of course, we're not on the list till.... uh.... yeah, never mind.