Pfizer, Covaxin To Covishield: A Complete Analysis of The Efficacies of COVID-19 Vaccines

Planning to get jabbed soon? There are in total 5 COVID-19 vaccines available worldwide right now. Here is a detailed analysis of the efficacies of each on of them.

It is more than a year now that the novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. Since then the virus has claimed several lives, putting the healthcare system at the ultimate risk and inviting uncountable challenges to the experts around the world. It was earlier this year that the vaccines against the SARS-CoV2 (the virus which is causing the COVID-19) were rolled out post-several human trials. However, these vaccines are only to help the body to produce antibodies to fight the coronavirus attack. Currently, there are 5 total vaccines available worldwide for the administration on the human body. When there are so many vaccines available for you, and since it is the only tool that can help you to win against the virus, it is probably wise to get educated about these vaccines and their efficacy rates. Here is a detailed analysis of the efficacy of all the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available for human administration.

Pfizer/BioNTech

The made-in USA COVID-19 vaccine was given an official nod of approval by the World Health Organisation in December 2020. According to the experts, this vaccine was considered as the first one which was safe to administer to humans to fight against the deadly Covid-19. The efficacy rate of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was found to be 95% and was declared safe with mild-to-moderate side effects. This is a two-dose vaccine that requires a gap of 21 days between each of the two doses. The vaccine is currently available in the US, UK, Africa. According to the reports, the vaccine will be available in India by the end of July this year.

Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine

On December 18, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for the second vaccine against the novel coronavirus Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The two-dose vaccine was allowed to be administered to anyone who is above 18-years-old. According to the reports, the vaccine can cause mild to moderate side effects. The gap between each of the two doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is 28-days. The efficacy rate of the vaccine was registered to be 94%. Currently, the vaccine is available in almost all western countries. Reports about the availability of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in India are still awaited.

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

The one vaccine which faced the most of the controversies was Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the nod for the emergency use authorization of the J&J's COVID-19 vaccine. However, a warning has been added to the vaccine anyone who is above 50-years-old must be aware of the rare risk of blood clots with low platelets after vaccination. Reports have revealed that the vaccine has 66% efficacy against the novel coronavirus. The vaccine as compared to the others available in the market currently is a single-dose vaccine.

Covaxin

This made-in-India vaccine has been widely administered in India in the past few months. Manufactured by the Hyderabad-based biotech company Bharat Biotech, against the SARS-CoV-2 strain, Covaxin was the first vaccine that was rolled out in India. According to the latest reports, this indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has an efficacy of 77.8%. The vaccine was approved for "restricted use in emergency situations" after Phase 1 and 2 trials. The recipient of the Covaxin needs to take two doses of the vaccine to get immunity against the novel coronavirus.

Covishield's COVID-19 Vaccine

Covishield's COVID-19 vaccine was developed by the AstraZeneca-Oxford University and is being made by the Serum Institute of India (SII). It the second vaccine against COVID-19 which was given emergency use authorization in India. Covishield's COVID-19 vaccine is considered to be safe on the human body with mostly mild-to-moderate side effects such as body ache, rise in body temperature, etc. According to the reports, the efficacy of the vaccine is 82.4% and is to be administered in two separate doses.