The corona vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna can be used in Germany after EU approval.
But there are differences.
In order to
contain
the
corona *
pandemic
,
vaccines
have been feverishly
developed.
The
EU
has for the
vaccines
of
BioNTech / Pfizer
and
Moderna
recently grant a license.
The
vaccines
are similar, but there are differences.
Kassel - After the
Biontech / Pfizer
corona vaccine
was
approved in
mid-December, the EU also granted approval for the
Moderna vaccine
on Wednesday (January 6th, 2021)
.
The hope now rests on the two vaccines to get the corona pandemic in Germany under control as quickly as possible.
However, many people are skeptical about whether they want to be vaccinated and, if so, with which vaccine.
According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn's plans, all citizens should have the opportunity to get
vaccinated
against the
corona
virus
by the summer
.
However, the willingness to do so has decreased since summer 2019.
According to a study by the University of Heidelberg, only 46 percent of those questioned said in December that they wanted to be vaccinated.
In the summer it was almost 55 percent.
Moderna and Biontech: which corona vaccine protects better?
Both vaccines are
mRNA vaccines
and therefore have the same mode of action.
They use messenger ribonucleic acid to trigger an immune response in the body.
The mRNA (messengerRNA = messenger ribonucleic acid) contains the assembly instructions for a component of the
Covid-19 pathogen
.
The body cells build their
virus defense
through the vaccine
*
itself. Both vaccines require two vaccinations, with the
Biontech / Pfizer vaccine
every three weeks, with the
Moderna vaccine
every four weeks.
+
After the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine (right), the preparation of the US company Moderna (left) may in future also be used in the EU.
But which vaccine is better?
These are the differences in vaccines.
© Jessica Hill / Stefan Sauer / dpa
Both the
Biontech / Pfizer vaccine
and the
Moderna vaccine
are relatively
effective
.
The Biontech / Pfizer vaccine is
95 percent
effective after the second dose
.
According to the results of the phase 3 study, the vaccine is already 52 percent effective after the first dose.
In order to be able to vaccinate more people, some experts have suggested postponing the second dose, as reported by fr.de *.
Vaccines from Biontech and Moderna in comparison
The
vaccine
of
Moderna
has, according to the US company 4 days after the second dose, an efficacy of
94.1 percent
.
For comparison: According to the
RKI, the
effectiveness of the flu vaccination 2020
in young people is up to 80 percent.
In older adults, the effectiveness of the flu vaccination is 41 to 63 percent, because older people often have a "reduced immune response, so that the vaccination is less reliable for them," according to the RKI.
With the
corona vaccines
from Moderna and Biontech, no difference in effectiveness was found between older and younger people.
Both
vaccines
were
tested in several thousand people
in
phase 3 studies
.
Around 44,000 participants took part in the phase 3 study by Biontech / Pfizer, and around 30,000 at Moderna.
In both studies, the participants received two doses of the vaccine, half of the participants received a placebo preparation, the other half the vaccine.
Moderna and Biontech vaccine: These side effects can occur
"Typical complaints after a
vaccination
are reddening, swelling and pain at the vaccination site. General reactions such as fever, headache, pain in the limbs and malaise are also possible," says the
RKI
.
These reactions usually subside completely after a few days.
The
side effects of
the vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna are within a comparable normal range.
With both vaccines,
side effects
occurred
more often after the second vaccine dose.
There were more side effects compared to flu vaccines.
Serious side effects were the same as placebo for both vaccines.
Side effects of Biontech and Pfizer in comparison
Participation in an observational study on the tolerance of # COVID19 vaccines: The Paul Ehrlich Institute has developed the #SafeVac 2.0 app to gain further knowledge about tolerance.
The app is available in the Apple App & Google Play Store.
👉https: //t.co/RSr6Xqexx8 pic.twitter.com/WbYxkvnSP5
- Paul Ehrlich Institute (@PEI_Germany) December 22, 2020
The
most common side effects of the Biontech / Pfizer
vaccine
are
local reactions
.
83 percent of those vaccinated between 16 and 55 years of age reported pain at the injection site after the first dose, 6 percent reported redness at the injection site.
The
systemic reactions
included fatigue (vaccination: 47 percent; placebo: 33 percent), headache (42 percent vs. 34 percent) and muscle pain (21 percent vs. 11 percent), according to the
RKI
.
In the UK, some people had
severe allergic reactions
after
vaccination
.
After
vaccination
with the
Moderna vaccine
, the following side effects were reported, as reported by the Ă„rzteblatt:
Injection site pain (91.6 percent)
Fatigue (68.5 percent)
Headache (63.0 percent)
Muscle pain (59.6 percent)
Joint pain (44.8 percent)
Chills (43.4 percent)
Comparison of Biontech and Moderna: vaccines stored differently
There are big differences in the storage of the
vaccines
.
The vaccine from
Biontech / Pfizer
must be stored at minus 70 degrees.
The
Moderna vaccine
must be stored at around minus 20 degrees Celsius.
There are also differences after thawing: The Pfizer vaccine can be stored in the refrigerator, but must be used within five days.
The Moderna vaccine is stable for 30 days at refrigerator temperature and twelve hours at room temperature.
The vaccines also seem to differ enormously in terms of price: Belgian State Secretary Eva De Bleeker temporarily published the previously kept secret prices on Twitter.
Accordingly, a dose of the
Moderna vaccine should
cost the equivalent of around 15 euros, one from
Biontech / Pfizer
12 euros, and one from Astrazeneca only 1.78 euros.
(Sarah Neumeyer with dpa)
* hna.de and fr.de are part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Jessica Hill / Stefan Sauer / dpa
