More and more COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available worldwide.
In the USA, Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) are the only two that have received emergency use authorization (USA) from government regulatory bodies so far, but Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has also applied for Friday.
Other companies such as Novavax (NVAX) and AstraZeneca (AZN) are also in the process of obtaining approval.
“Each additional vaccine is a game changer because we are closer to vaccinating enough people,” said Dr. Dara Kass, an emergency physician at Columbia University, on Yahoo Finance Live. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a dose. Its storage capacity is different. It provides incredible protection against illness and death and, in fact, has a long history of protection. “
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine varies in that it requires only one dose and can be stored in a normal freezer, compared to Pfizer (minus 70 degrees Celsius) and Modern (minus 20 degrees Celsius). This makes it easier for the J&J injection to be administered in communities that may not have access to these refrigerated storage units.
“Every step towards reaching the community, accessibility, access to the vaccine is important,” said Kass. “This is a step in the right direction. We need to have so many partners on the ground in the communities. We need to reach people where they are, which can mean community pharmacies. It may mean mobile vaccination units. This could mean large-scale vaccine centers in cities that can handle the storage capacity of Pfizer versus Moderna versus any other vaccine that comes. “
‘We are going in the right direction’
The Pfizer vaccine is reportedly 95% effective against the virus, while the Modern vaccine is 94.1% effective and Johnson & Johnson’s 66%.
In addition, AstraZeneca is approximately 82% and Novavax 89.3%.
Because of these disparities, some wonder whether they opt for a specific vaccine instead of just choosing what is available. But, according to Kass, it doesn’t matter.
“I want to make it very clear that all vaccines have been approved so far,” she said. “We only have two, but we hope to have a third and probably a fourth to provide incredible protection. Each one is incredible. Together, it’s unbelievable. “
Although the J&J vaccine is 66% protective against moderate to severe infections, it is 85% effective in protecting against serious illness and 100% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
“There is no reason to choose between vaccines for the level of protection,” said Kass. “You can decide to say, ‘I can only get a vaccine. I won’t be able to go back with that second dose. ‘Or perhaps there is another reason, from the point of view of operations, why you would choose one or the other, if you could. “
But, she continued, “I don’t see a time when people are going to choose one vaccine or another. Because, as far as I can tell, people are lucky to get an appointment and get vaccinated. “
The US reached a positive milestone earlier this week, with the number of vaccines administered exceeding the number of cases of COVID-19. The country is now on track to meet its goal of 100 million vaccines administered in 100 days.
More than 31 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the most recent data from the CDC, which corresponds to 9.6% of the population.
“We are going in the right direction, increasing the distribution of the vaccine,” said Kass. “But we are very, very far from our goal to vaccinate enough Americans to protect everyone else.”
‘It takes time to get the answers’
There are still many unknowns when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccines that have been developed, including whether they prevent the inoculated ones from spreading the virus to others who have not been vaccinated and whether they still provide sufficient protection against the new variant strains.
“AstraZeneca’s studies in England just showed that there is a decrease in transmissibility for vaccinated people,” said Kass. “But we haven’t proven that yet for the mRNA vaccines we have here. What I would say to people is likely that you will not be able to transmit the virus, but we have not proved it. “
Because of this, public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, are asking the public to continue wearing masks and practice social detachment, rather than risk exposing more people to the virus.
“Stay tuned and wear a mask, but realize that even if you are vaccinated, you will have a smoother course, if at all, in this very small fraction,” said Kass. “But most importantly, being vaccinated protects you from passing it on, from getting sick or dying. And that is the most important reason why people need to be vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity. “
“It takes time to get the answers,” she added. “There are several strains out there that are not the new original strain. And every time a virus replicates, it has a chance to mutate. We know that there are thousands of irrelevant mutations, and then some that set in. “
So far, there are three significant strains that have been identified worldwide – one in the UK, one in Brazil and one in South Africa, although more have emerged in recent months.
All companies that have developed or are still developing vaccines are examining whether their doses will effectively protect against new strains.
According to Kass, however, “even if there is a change in protection, it will not be a light switch. It is not that these vaccines do not work. Is that they may not work as well. And that was the information that came out about the South Africa variant, that the vaccine was less effective, not effective. “
The South African variant proved to be the most resistant among the mutant strains – a study indicated that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 6.5-8.6 times less effective against it, while Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines dropped to 57% and that of Novavax to 49%.
“What I would say is that you should still be vaccinated, if you have the chance,” said Kass. “We need to stop the virus from spreading, which will stop mutations. And then we need to wait for the information to make sure that all of our vaccines cover all the variants that we know are here. “
Adriana is a reporter and editor who covers health policy and policies for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on twitter @adrianambells.
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